Jesus the Good Shepherd

Jesus the Good Shepherd.

One thing the Bible seems to say over and over again is that we need a good shepherd, and that shepherd is God.

The narrative of the Bible seems preoccupied with shepherds!

Cain and Abel, Abraham Isaac Jacob Moses David

God calls the leaders of his people shepherds and calls his people his sheep.

Why does this image keep recurring? What is it implying about us? What is it implying about God?

We need a shepherd.

Because we need feeding. We are hungry and thirsty. Only he can satisfy us.

We need protection. We are vulnerable. Only he can save us. We need guidance lest we wander. We are wayward. Only he knows the path of life.

We need care. We are wounded. Only he can heal us.

We are valuable. Not because we are good in and of ourselves, but because we represent him. Only he can truly give us eyes to see our real worth.

We need these things in order to flourish. We are languishing in exile. Only in his care can we truly flourish.

Why do we need God to be our shepherd.

Because no mere human can do this for us.

Maybe some truly gifted people can lead us out of the mess we’re in. No. No religious leader, no pastor, no political leader, no guru, no influencer, no podcast host, no boss, no husband, no wife, no parent, no child. In every way, the best any of these people can do is but a shadow of what we need the most. We need a shepherd. The difference between the ancient world and now is that they could hear that the needed a shepherd and it wasn’t offensive to them. They knew the world was dangerous. They knew that they were vulnerable. They knew that guidance and protection from those with more power and wisdom were necessary to their thriving. But we struggle to accept this. We don’t want heroes, we want influencers. We don’t want saviors, we want to be survivors. We don’t want shepherds, we want suggestions. Because we cannot do this for ourselves.

Maybe we can save ourselves?

No. No amount of self-actualization will suffice. No self-salvation will sustain. No amount of self-esteem can save. At the basic level, we don’t need good advice. (10-steps to a healthy marriage…or whatever.)

What we need most is good news. (God has come to save sinners.) At our core, we know we are people who need help, mercy, protection.

We are sheep in need of a shepherd. So no mere human can do this, we can’t do it for ourselves. So that’s two reasons we need God to be our shepherd. But it’s not all.

He actually loves it. Because he yearns and delights to do it.

Luke 15:3–7 - [3] So he told them this parable: [4] “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? [5] And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. [6] And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ [7] Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (ESV) Matthew 9:36 [36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (ESV) For the joy set before him he endured the cross.

We need a Shepherd and that Shepherd is God.

Jesus is the shepherd we need he is the shepherd God promised.

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Isaiah 40:10–11 ESV

Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Ezekiel 34:7–24

[7] “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: [8] As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep,…

[11] “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. [12] As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. … [15] I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. [16] I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

… [22] I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. [23] And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. [24] And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken. (ESV)

Micah 5:2–5 ESV

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men;

We need a Shepherd and that Shepherd is God.

It’s from this rich tradition that Jesus steps on the scene in John 10 and says I’m the one you’ve been waiting for.

Jesus spells it out for us beautifully in John 10.

John 10:1–18

[1] “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.

False teachers try to say they represent God’s care and guidance but do not actually know God’s ways or care about his people. It is very easy to be led estray into destruction by people who claim to know the way to a life of flourishing. How can we know who to trust?

Listen for the voice of truth.

[2] But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. [3] To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [4] When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

Jesus comes from God, he speaks in such a way that the people of God know him and respond to his voice. He leads them out and they follow willingly - because they trust him. If you want to know if you can trust Jesus, I would beg you to listen to his voice. Hear his teachings. Observe his heart. He has preserved his word in the scriptures.

[5] A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” [6] This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Jesus was condemning the leadership of the religious leaders of the day.

[7] So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. [8] All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. [9] I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

Jesus provides the safety we long for, offering us shelter from the storms of spiritual warfare, sinfulness, and the groaning of this broken world. Jesus is the portal between safety and nourishment. There is no safety or nourishment apart from him. He’s the door.

[10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

There are thieves.

Who are they? Those who reject the Lordship of Jesus.

Through ignoring him. Through vilifying him. Through insisting on their own way. Through telling you they know what’s best over and against the clear message of Jesus. These thieves, in the end, are stealing you away from Jesus, robbing you of all of the benefits of being in his care. These thieves, in the end are not interested in you truly, they are interested in themselves, feeling validated, important. They are consuming you, feeding on you. These thieves in the end are not there for your good, but are agents of your destruction. That’s the warning, church. Jesus has undershepherds. Satan has thieves.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

and then there is a benevolent life-giving shepherd. We need a Shepherd and that Shepherd is God.

He came that we may have life. He came to give us exactly what we need. That good pasture, that protection, that care, that joyful devotion. Jesus has come to show us that THIS IS THE HEART OF GOD.

[11] I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [12] He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. [13] He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

This is the difference between Jesus and any other leader. When it get’s real, when it gets costly, when the wolf comes into the pen, what will he do? The hired hands, the thieves, they don’t care. The sheep are a meal ticket, nothing more. A meal ticket is no god when you’re dead. But Jesus, when he sees the flock that he loves is in danger will lay down his life for the sheep. Jesus sees the mess that we’re in, and it’s worse than a wolf in the pen.

He sees that sin has us trapped, satan has us cornered, and death is waiting in the wings. He sees that his flock whom he loves is being threatened and he is so committed to his flock that he would lay down his life to save theirs. That’s the cross. Where satan, sin and death seemed to have won, only to find that in that death, Jesus, the Shepherd King flung a stone from the sling of the almighty to throw down our greatest foes. He laid down his life so that we could see our enemies defeated, so that we could see that his voice is the one we should trust. His leadership is the one we should follow. His care is the care we should seek. His ways are the ways we should walk in. How else could he prove to you that he is worthy of your trust than by laying down his life so that because of his death, you could live?

[14] I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Jesus is the good shepherd. Do you hear him this morning? Do you believe, like I do that the Father is calling you to him through the work of Jesus. You may have felt like your whole life has been a wandering. But even today, Jesus is rounding up sheep that are not of his original fold. Even today, he is welcoming more and more sheep into his care. Would you hear him and follow him? Would you listen to his voice, even if for the first time?

1 Peter 2:24–25 ESV

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

This isn’t a very Christmasy sermon…what gives?

Well. I love who God shares the news of Jesus’ birth with first. Shepherds.

Luke 2:8–15 ESV

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

How do we experience this? How do we enter into his care?

By grace.

Know that what you need is grace, not justice. Be humble enough to know that what you need most is grace.

Through faith.

Trust him! Listen to him. Say yes to him. Through his Word.

Listen to the Shepherd.

Read his word, it’s a lamp, a light, it’s food - man can’t live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Through his people.

John 21:15–17 [15] When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” [16] He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” [17] He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. (ESV)

Not just pastors, but one another. Point one another to the Shepherd!