What the Bible says about Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd
(From Forerunner Commentary)
God says that He, "who scattered Israel," will also gather it "as a shepherd does his flock." He asks that His message be declared "in the isles afar off." This is not Crete or even Cyprus or Malta. The islands must be far away, and northwest of Jerusalem.
Here again, God says He will gather Israel from "the isles afar off." Note the plural, isles.
Charles Whitaker
Searching for Israel (Part Eight): The Scattering of Ten-Tribed Israel
Notice that the sheep pass under the rod. Besides being an instrument of both offense and defense—the rod was, in effect, a two-foot club—it also functioned as a tool, under which the sheep passed. What does this picture? First of all, it pictures counting. The shepherd would count the sheep in his flock to make sure they were all present and accounted for.
It pictures something else too. As the sheep passed under the rod—a symbol of the Word of God—they would undergo a close scrutiny. The shepherd would run his rod backward or across the grain, as it were, of the wool. The rod separated the wool, allowing the shepherd to look down onto the sheep's skin. He was then able to see both the quality of the skin and of the wool.
God is illustrating that by means of His rod, He is giving us careful, close scrutiny for two reasons: One, it gives Him the opportunity to evaluate the quality of His sheep. Two, it provides a means of separation. Quality and separation are the two reasons for His scrutiny of us.
Recall Matthew 25 and the separation of the sheep and the goats. The rod aids in identifying or making sure of possession. Sheep's ears were often bored through or distinctively notched as a mark of identification. Sometimes, since the shepherds could not always see that identifying mark due to several flocks being mixed together in the pasture, they would make the sheep pass under the rod. When they did, the shepherd would flip back the ear to see the mark of possession. Again, it also gave them a chance to evaluate and determine the relative health and quality of that sheep.
We are all under the rod right now. Now is the time of our judgment (I Peter 4:17), and we are under evaluation to determine to whom we really belong: God or Satan. Who is our shepherd? The rod is a vitally important instrument for a shepherd. No good shepherd would be without one.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Psalm 23 (Part Three)Related Topics: God's Judgment | God's Possessiveness | Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd | Judgment on House of God | Judgment, God's | Psalm 23 | Separation | Separation from the World | Separation of Righteous from the Wicked | Separation of Sheep from Goats | Sheep | Sheep as Metaphor | Shepherd | Shepherd as Metaphor | Shepherding the Flock
In a similar parable in Matthew 18:12-14, Jesus describes God's care over the least and little ones. In this parable in Luke, He magnifies divine grace to the lost, showing that God desires their recovery and salvation. The Bible contains many prophetic references to the One who would be the Ideal Shepherd (Psalm 23:1), the Perfect Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:11-16), and a Savior who would see the multitudes as sheep having no shepherd or, even worse, a worthless shepherd (Zechariah 11:16-17). Christ claims for Himself the title of the Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14). In Luke's illustration, Jesus seeks the lost sheep, sinners who desire to change because the Good Shepherd gives His life for those who repent. He desires to save them, give them His Holy Spirit, and help them through a life of overcoming that ends in eternal life.
Martin G. Collins
Parables of Luke 15 (Part One)
Old Testament prophecies of the coming of the Messiah prepared people to think of Him as a Shepherd (Psalm 23; Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:11-16, 23; 37:24). In John 10:1, Jesus explains that the shepherd enters by the gate, the lawful way of going into a sheep pen as opposed to some other way. By this, He contrasts himself with false messiahs, who by deceitful claims seek to steal sheep or who presumptuously try to exert control over the people. Jesus Christ came as the legitimate Heir of the chosen seed and fulfilled the promises of the Old Testament.
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Good Shepherd (Part One)
Although Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd and the Chief Shepherd, He is not the church's only shepherd. From the days of ancient Israel up through the New Covenant church era, He has also appointed under-shepherds to watch over His physical or spiritual flock—and this will continue into the Millennium (Numbers 27:15-17; II Samuel 5:2; 7:7; I Chronicles 11:2; 17:6; Psalm 78:70-72; Isaiah 44:28; Ezekiel 34:23; 37:24; John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28; I Peter 5:2-4). The Chief Shepherd provides the pattern for His under-shepherds, and thus He gifts them to carry out their responsibilities in a way that reflects His own shepherding. Notice some of the attributes of a godly shepherd:
» He cares for his sheep to the point of giving his own life for them (II Samuel 24:17; John 10:11, 13).
» He knows his sheep (John 10:14).
» He is known by his sheep (John 10:14).
» He feeds his flock (Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:23; John 21:15, 17).
» He pays special attention to the young (Isaiah 40:11; John 21:15).
» He gathers his flock when they become scattered (Jeremiah 31:10; Ezekiel 34:12).
» He oversees the flock willingly rather than by compulsion (I Peter 5:2).
» He is not greedy for money, but eager to serve (I Peter 5:2).
» He serves by example rather than force (Ezekiel 34:4; I Peter 5:3; see Matthew 25:20-28).
» He seeks out the lost sheep (Deuteronomy 22:1; Ezekiel 34:16; Psalm 119:176; Matthew 10:6; 18:10-14; Luke 15:1-7).
» He protects the sheep (I Samuel 17:34-36).
On the other hand, false shepherds also exist, those whom God has not appointed. Jesus describes a person who tries to access the sheep without going through Him as "a thief and a robber" (John 10:1, 8). The thief comes "to steal, to kill, and to destroy" (John 10:10), though these actions may not be apparent on the surface. He also describes "hirelings," whose care is not for the sheep but for their own safety and security (John 10:12-13). Rather than laying down their lives for them, such hirelings abandon the sheep at the very time they need help the most.
God also calls attention to His appointed shepherds who have become derelict in their duties. In Jeremiah 23:1, the One who became Jesus Christ pronounces a "woe" on "shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture," who have "scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them" (verse 2). He says in Jeremiah 50:6, "My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray . . .." Jeremiah 10:21 speaks of shepherds who "have become dull-hearted, and have not sought the LORD," and the result is that "they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered."
Likewise, Ezekiel mentions shepherds who feed themselves rather than the flock (Ezekiel 34:2-3), who rule with "cruelty and force" rather than strengthening, healing, binding what is broken, bringing back what was driven away, and seeking what was lost (verse 4). Though the most immediate application in these verses is to the physical leaders of the nations of Israel, it also applies in antitype to the shepherds of God's spiritual flock.
Even though under-shepherds do not always perfectly emulate the Good Shepherd, He has nevertheless established their roles and offices, and He has specifically gifted them to serve in this way. This is the order that Jesus Christ has ordained. Yet, our carnal tendency may be to either abuse or rebel against this order—either to become too dependent on an under-shepherd or to reject human shepherds altogether, believing that we are better off on our own, finding our own food, and determining our own paths.
David C. Grabbe
The Shepherd's Guidance (Part Two)Related Topics: Hireling | Human Shepherds | Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd | Submitting to Elders | Submitting to Human Shepherds | Under-Shepherd
Unlike other animals, sheep rarely find their own way safely. Since sheep go astray, their guidance and safety lies in the Shepherd's leadership (Psalm 23:1-2). A thief, a robber, or a stranger may call the sheep by name and try to imitate their Shepherd's voice, but through long usage and intimacy, the sheep can discern a strange voice and become alarmed. We know the Shepherd's voice because the Holy Spirit gives us discernment; the result is that we turn and flee from any unfamiliar, misleading voice.
Often the unfamiliar voice is a religious-sounding one. Just as the Pharisees' voices confused and misled Jews, so do many religious leaders' voices today. Since the truth is not in them (I John 1:8; 2:4), they lead foolish sheep away from the truth. It is vital for us to seek to live according to the Good Shepherd's will, known from His voice. His positive guidance leads us "in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake" (Psalm 23:3).
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Good Shepherd (Part Two)Related Topics: God's Holy Spirit | Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd | Parable of the Good Shepherd | Relationship with God | Righteousness | Shepherd | Shepherd as Metaphor | Shepherd's Voice | Truth | Voice of God | Voice of the Lord | Voice of the Shepherd | Yielding to God | Yielding to God's Will
A significant title of Jesus Christ is "the Good Shepherd" (John 10:11, 14), and it is a perfect description for what He does in personally knowing and caring for His sheep. As part of this title, He mentions one of His primary activities in the latter half of John 10:9: "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."
The matter of "finding pasture" is a critical part of what a shepherd does for his sheep. Sheep are the farthest thing from being self-sufficient. They cannot make it on their own for very long, though they are seemingly oblivious to this. Left to themselves, they will not thrive because they require constant attention and direction. More than any other class of livestock, they are dependent on outside intervention, which is one reason why Jesus refers to Christians—us—as sheep: Without Him to lead, provide, and protect us, we would be in real trouble.
As Phillip Keller details in his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, when sheep are left to their own ways, they cause utter desolation. Since sheep are so docile, we do not typically think of them as destructive animals, but their destructiveness lies in the fact that they are creatures of habit. Stubbornly following their habitual nature, they do not consider the future. Sheep will follow the same trails until the trails become ruts, and they will continue to walk those ruts until they have carved gullies in the midst of their pastureland. They will graze an area, day after day, until it has been turned into a wasteland. They will nibble the grass down to its roots, leading to the erosion of what may have been prime topsoil. In addition, they will pollute those same fields until they are rife with parasites and disease.
Sheep have their favorite spots, to which they will return repeatedly, quickly contaminating those areas. If great care is not taken, disease can run amok through an entire flock. If sheep are left to themselves, this is guaranteed to happen, which is why they require a shepherd's constant management and oversight.
To keep a flock well-fed and free of disease, as well as to maintain his pastures, a skilled shepherd keeps his flock on the move, slowly but continually. He frequently changes where they pasture, gradually moving them throughout all of his fields. In this way, he ensures that his flock has the best food and enough of it. He makes sure that he returns to an area only after the life cycles of the various parasites have run their courses, so the flock does not continually re-infect itself. The longer the sheep remain in the same place, the more the shepherd incurs the risk that they will malnourish and sicken themselves or those around them.
Since Christ refers to the church as a flock, and to individuals as sheep (Matthew 26:31; Luke 12:32; John 10:16), we can be sure that He will be doing something similar with His church. Left to ourselves, we tend to develop habits that can be destructive, whether to ourselves or those in our environment. Even with the best of intentions, we sin, and our sins pollute and can cause an environment of disease. We consume, but without a wise Shepherd overseeing what we consume, there is tremendous danger to ourselves and those around us.
Thus, when we find that the circumstances of our lives are changing, we do not have to fear that things are actually out of control. They may just be out of our control. When we are under the ownership and care of the Good Shepherd, He changes our circumstances and keeps our lives from becoming static.
David C. Grabbe
The Shepherd's Guidance (Part One)
As the Good Shepherd, Jesus died for earth's sinners, who like sheep have gone astray. Good, as used here, means more than having goodness in a physical sense but also having an excellent nature (Exodus 33:19-20). It signifies what is morally beautiful, noble, and true (Exodus 34:6-7). Christ's use of the word in this parable implies that He perfects all godly attributes in others; He is the Good Shepherd who manifests the characteristics of perfect goodness. He guides and supports His sheep, and sacrifices Himself for them. His benevolence exceeds all others (Psalm 31:19).
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Good Shepherd (Part One)Related Topics: Jesus Christ as Shepherd | Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd | Parable of the Good Shepherd | Sheep | Sheep as Metaphor | Shepherd | Shepherd as Metaphor
Jesus says, "I know My sheep, and am known by My own." Both the Shepherd and the sheep are aware of this, and it enables the Shepherd to lead His sheep in the best possible way, helping them to learn what He teaches and to do what He commands. Being known by and knowing the Shepherd implies that, not only do they know His voice, but they have an intimate understanding of the way He thinks and are inclined to reflect His way of doing things. Their imitation of the Shepherd becomes automatic because the sheep anticipate his will. They become one with the Shepherd, as the Shepherd is one with the Father (John 10:15, 30). Just as full knowledge exists between the Father and the Son, the Shepherd has a complete knowledge of each of His sheep.
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Good Shepherd (Part Two)
When Jesus came in the flesh, He emphasized that He had been sent by the Father, and that His authority, offices, purposes, plans, and power were received from Him. All this was done with Jesus' complete acceptance and agreement (Philippians 2:5-8); He did not come reluctantly but with purpose and zeal. As the Great Shepherd, He sacrificed Himself, rose from the grave, and ascended to heaven, where He now intercedes for His sheep (Hebrews 7:25; 10:5-10; 13:20-21). Both the Father and His Son are one in Their love for the sheep, and so the Son came to seek and to save those who were lost.
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Good Shepherd (Part One)
As the Ruling Shepherd, Jesus will return to reward His under-shepherds who were faithful in their care of the flock (I Peter 2:25; 5:2, 4). The shepherd is the symbol of the king, and in this regard, it is interesting to note how many of Israel's kings, patriarchs, and prophets began as shepherds.
Jesus does not mix His metaphors when He exhorts His disciples, "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). Three figures of speech combine to form the ideal kingship familiar in ancient times: the perfect king was shepherd of his flock, the loving father of his family, and commanding ruler of his country. Thus, when Jesus says with authority, "I am the good Shepherd," the qualities of shepherd, parent, and ruler are seen combined in Him (John 10:11, 14).
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Good Shepherd (Part One)
God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead, dwells in each member of His church through His Holy Spirit, and by it He will also give eternal life to them (Romans 8:11). Therefore, the life given to the sheep is the same Spirit that dwells in the Father, in the Shepherd, and in the sheep. Because the Shepherd gave His life for the sheep, sacrificing all, He is able to give abundant, eternal life to them by removing the obstacle of death, the penalty for sin, by the resurrection from the dead.
No one can steal His sheep from Him because they are, in effect, in the palm of His hand (I Peter 5:6; Revelation 1:17). Nothing could be safer or more secure. The Shepherd and His Father are one, and Their grip is tightly on Their church so that even "the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).
Thus, with a large number of sheep, the true Shepherd may shelter them in many pens, but they are still all His sheep and all one flock. The flock does not create this unity, but because the nature of the sheep is in harmony with their Shepherd, and because their relationship to Him is intimate, they recognize and obey His voice: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27).
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Good Shepherd (Part Two)
Because of the unraveling of the church of God in recent decades, the overall flock has experienced a great deal of agitation. In some cases, sheep are distrustful or disdainful of sheep in other legitimate folds. What seems to happen more often, though, is that shepherds are suspicious—and even contemptuous—of other shepherds, and may even engage in turf wars and sheep rustling, inciting further unrest among the sheep. If sheep have suffered abuse or neglect at the hands of a hireling or derelict shepherd, they will be less inclined to trust other shepherds, and peace is the casualty.
God says through Ezekiel that some dominant sheep will push other sheep around, "butt[ing] all the weak ones with your horns, and scatter[ing] them abroad" (Ezekiel 34:21), all the while using up the pasture and then defiling it (verses 18-19). Some shepherds, in letting their attention slip away from the Good Shepherd, have filled the void by elevating themselves. When this happens, a tendency arises to use and abuse the sheep rather than tending and feeding them. Because of the pressures of the times, both sheep and shepherd risk becoming bogged down in the quicksand of the world.
These symptoms can all be understood in light of Jeremiah 18:15-17, where God says that He scatters His people because they have forgotten Him. If He is not the top priority in our lives, He will change our circumstances—our "pasture," which could have many different applications—until we remember and seek Him once again. Thus, the ongoing unrest in the church of God is partly attributable to the carnality remaining within it and partly to the Good Shepherd's skillful management in guiding His sheep into circumstances ideal for growth, which can seem quite disruptive.
It is crucial to understand that, despite the chaos and confusion in the greater church of God, none of it is out of the Shepherd's control. He knew what He was doing when He scattered Israel and Judah, when He scattered the first-century church from Jerusalem, and when He scattered the church in our time. His thoughts and ways are infinitely above ours (Isaiah 55:9), but His acts always accomplish a good purpose. He limits the harm the hirelings can cause, even using their harm for ultimate good, if the sheep continue to look to Him. He oversees the under-shepherds, working in their lives to ensure that His will is fulfilled. He has already literally laid down His life for His sheep; not one who is looking to Him will be lost (John 6:39; 10:27-28).
If we are intent on following the Shepherd's guidance, continually looking to Him for direction, He will lead us to the best pastures. His guidance typically requires us to look to Him for everything. Part of the cost of discipleship is renouncing control of the direction and contents of our lives and submitting to His guidance when our circumstances undergo changes out of our control. When He moves us, it may be uncomfortable, but what it produces is invaluable: a singular focus on Him and a faith—trust—that will carry us into the Kingdom. It is comforting to remember that the Good Shepherd assures us, "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).
David C. Grabbe
The Shepherd's Guidance (Part Three)