Sermon Tone Analysis

On Sunday mornings, we are in the midst of a study of John’s gospel.

In , Christ declares himself to be the Good Shepherd.

Most likely, many of us, when the shepherd motif arises, we think of , “The Lord is my shepherd.”

On Sunday mornings, we are in the midst of a study of John’s gospel.

In , Christ declares himself to be the Good Shepherd.

Most likely, many of us, when the shepherd motif arises, we think of , “The Lord is my shepherd.”

On Sunday mornings, we are in the midst of a study of John’s gospel.

In , Christ declares himself to be the Good Shepherd.

Most likely, many of us, when the shepherd motif arises, we think of , “The Lord is my shepherd.”

Also, in light of IDOP Sunday, I want to ask a question.

How do believers, who live in countries with persecution, understand the idea of God is their caring, comforting, guiding, and protecting shepherd?

How do believers that are destitute, poor, persecuted, killed, homes and churches burned, rejected from society . . .

how do believers who are imprisoned and torn from their families connect with the statement, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”?

How is comforting to them?

Open Doors, a ministry committed to supporting the persecuted church, offers the following information regarding some of the top persecuted nations.

North Korea.

Number 1 on the World Watch List.

Picture a professional football stadium for the big game on Sunday, filled to capacity.

That’s roughly the number of Christians in labor camps in North Korea.

Their crime?

Believing in Jesus.

There are no parents in North Korea reading Bible stories to their young children.

They simply can’t afford to for fear that the child may say something and reveal their beliefs.

Christian fellowship looks much different in North Korea.

There can be no worship services.

There can be no gathering.

It might look like this: picture a Christian walking into a park and taking a seat on a bench.

And then over some period of time, scanning the park to see if maybe there’s another believer to visit with for a moment.

And yet, it is estimated there are 300,000 believers in North Korea.

They’re worshiping God wherever and however they can.

Pakistan.

Number 5 on the World Watch List.

Ambiguous blasphemy laws have been put in place, which can be used to throw any Christian in jail for a real or perceived slight against Islam.

Any accuser can claim something derogatory was said about Islam or Muhammad, and the person accused can be arrested and sentenced to death.

Often, the accusation is accompanied by a group of people eager to administer mob justice.

Pakistani children are educated in thousands of madrasas—Islamic schools—where they are often exposed to extremist messages and ideology.

Additionally, women and children are abducted at an alarming rate; perhaps 700 of them last year, with some of them sexual abused, forcefully married to Muslim men and forced to convert to Islam.

Eritrea.

Number 6 on the World Watch list.

Eritrea is one of the most closed countries in the world.

It’s often called the “North Korea of Africa” because of its brutal dictatorship.

No church operates without government direction.

There is no public evangelical presence.

There may be more than 1,000 Christians imprisoned in metal shipping containers that function as prisons.

Nigeria.

Number 14 on the World Watch List.

In recent years, it was Boko Haram, a militant Muslim group that was the primary force attacking and killing Christians, particularly in the Northeast corner of Nigeria.

Since the beginning of their insurgency in 2009, Boko Haram is responsible for at least tens of thousands of deaths, and over 2 million people were displaced through the destruction of their communities.

Nigeria has a huge population of Christian widows.

When attacking church buildings, pastors and elders were targeted.

When attacking homes, the fathers and sons were targeted.

Over time, this has left the country with many widows.

And yet, the Nigerian church continues to follow Jesus and serve His Church.

Churches are running trauma counseling centers, helping distribute relief aid and help with rebuilding efforts in villages that were attacked.[1]

YHWH is my Shepherd

YHWH the ever existent, present and personal God is seen in these verses as a Shepherd.

I don’t think it was mere happen stance that David used YHWH as his title for God.

The distant all-powerful Elohim and Adonai may have reflected an impersonal feel in light of God being a shepherd.[2]

God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord [YHWH], the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’

This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

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Shepherd.

We of course do not find it odd that David finds comfort in the idea of a shepherd.

If David were to reflect on his life as a shepherd, he would be reminded of his care of his sheep.

David watched carefully over his sheep.

He defended them from the lion and the bear and anything else that might endanger them.

He carefully found them plenty of pasture and water.

All this and much more David experienced as God, his shepherd, led, directed, guided, protected and defended him throughout his life.

The root word for “shepherd” carries the idea of pasturing and tending but as well the idea of tranquility (calm, quiet, stillness).

As the shepherd leads and directs, he brings a stillness and calm to his sheep.

This tranquility describes a scenario in which two animals who are normally pursuer and prey, graze together (such as the bear and cow in and the wolf and the lamb in ).

This tranquility allows for stillness and quite between two enemies.

YHWH fills the role as shepherd, and we who are naturally his enemies are taken from a place of enmity into a place of stillness and quiet calm.

Two implications.

(1) YHWH as shepherd implies that he cares, provides, calls, leads, defends, and guards his sheep.

As of this point we see that David has experienced this loving kindness in his own life.

Not only does the fact that YHWH is a shepherd imply his care and protection of His sheep, it as well implies (2) that those who follow are characterized by a tendency to go their own way, an inability to defend themselves, and an inability to provide for themselves.

Truly, some of Christ’s sheep hover close to him.

They respond immediately to his call.

They find great joy in his care and provision.

They are in no danger of getting lost or attacked by wild beasts.

However, sadly too large a portion, are consumed with the lures of the world.

They seek their own pleasures and selfish interests.

“They run from bush to bush, searching for variety or delicacies, and only now and then lift their heads to see where the shepherd is, or, rather where the general flock is, lest they get so far away as to occasion a remark in their little community, or rebuke from their keeper.”

[3]

However, David emphasizes the beauty of the shepherd, not the foibles of the sheep or their inability to provide and protect themselves.

But the implication is clear.

If great solace and comfort are acquired through God’s protection and provision, it assumes an inability on our part to do those things for ourselves.

This is not something to be ashamed of, so much as we ought to glory in the fact that God has offered himself as a shepherd.

My shepherd.

A second and most beautiful point in the statement, “The Lord is my shepherd” is the personal possession stated in the word “my.”

YHWH was not simply any shepherd.

Little comfort comes from YHWH being someone else’s shepherd.

David realized that the great provision found in the great Shepherd was poured out on him, and so David was comforted in knowing that the Great Shepherd was his own shepherd.

We draw the same comfort.

Christ is my shepherd ().

Christ is established as a shepherd in these verses.

If Christ is your shepherd, there are some great realities presented in these verses.

Christ knows His sheep.

His sheep know Him.

His sheep will not follow anyone else.

His sheep follow only Him.