THE GOOD SHEPHERD

‘All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way’, says Isaiah chapter 53 verse six. In a lost world where mankind has erred from the pathway of God, men and women desperately need a shepherd to lead them into the path of life and protect them from danger. Unlike the ‘hirelings’ of the Jewish leadership, who were false shepherds, the Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid His life down for the sheep, v. 11. His claim of being ‘good’ is vindicated by His willingness and capability to save His sheep through the sacrifice of Himself. Furthermore, the Lord Jesus knows His sheep - individually and completely. The combination of sacrificial love and pastoral understanding ensures that Christ has every right to describe Himself as ‘the Good Shepherd’.

In this evil world, the sheep face many dangers. The Lord refers to wolves who threaten the flock, inciting the hirelings to flee, vv. 12-13. Among the perilous situations that the sheep regularly face are rampant immorality, multifaceted false doctrine, and outright persecution. In the difficulties of life, Christ draws near, rather than estrange Himself from His people’s needs. He puts Himself in harm’s way in order to rescue His endangered ones.

Certainly, love motivates Him to protect the sheep from the multitude of their foes, 1 John 3.16. Their deliverance was historically effected by the death of the Lord Jesus on the Cross. His crucifixion was much more than a senseless miscarriage of human justice. It was actually a sacrifice that satisfied God the Father’s righteous requirements against sin, as well as a tremendous spiritual victory over infernal powers, Rom. 3. 24-26; Col. 2.13-15.

The Good Shepherd has an unparalleled relationship of intimacy with His followers. They recognize the voice of their deliverer and protector - the One who ‘maketh me to lie down in green pastures … [and] leadeth me beside the still waters’, Ps. 23. 2. He provides them with spiritual sustenance, perfectly suited to their needs. They can respond with the assurance of the psalmist, ‘I shall not want’, Ps. 23.1. Can you?