The good shepherd

From the second generation of man, he started building cities to live in (Gen 4:17). Whatever man had built until the time of Noah was destroyed by the flood (Gen 6-9). God’s instructions after the flood were for man to spread out and repopulate the earth (Gen 9:1 & 7). Instead, they gathered into city/states, and the first one mentioned is Babel, which later became known as Babylon (Gen 10-11). Nineveh was also built around that time. God drove the people from Babel by dividing their languages. Although building city/states became widespread, many people lived a more pastoral and agrarian lifestyle. This was an issue when the first Hebrews moved to Egypt (Gen 45-50). Jacob and his family were shepherds, and they brought their cattle with them to Egypt. The Egyptians thought that was an abomination (Gen 46-47).

     When God manifested Himself in the flesh as Jesus Christ, He spoke often in parables (Mt 13:13-17 & 34). His parables were deep and profound but simple. They were illustrations of spiritual truth using stories from their everyday life on a farm raising animals and crops. When the Lord gave the statements we read in John 10:1-18 about Him being the good shepherd, they readily understood the references. Today, some of that meaning is lost on many people who live in large urban areas. From the time of Abraham, the father of the Jews, at least some of the Israelites were shepherds.

     Perhaps the most famous Jewish shepherd in the Bible was David (1Sam 16-17). He drew from his experience as a shepherd when he went to fight Goliath (1Sam 17:31-51). He refused the armor and sword of Saul, and instead he fought Goliath with the same tools he was used to as a shepherd – a sling and a stone. Later, as he wrote the psalms, he again drew from his experiences as a shepherd. He wrote one of the most famous and beloved chapters of the Bible – Psalm 23. He compared his relationship with God to that of a shepherd and his sheep. It is only 6 verses, but they have brought understanding and comfort to the people of God for about 3,000 years:

     The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

     He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

     He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

     Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art

       with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

     Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head   

        with oil; my cup runneth over.

     Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the

        house of the LORD for ever.

It is worth going through what David is describing here, because it is easy for some of the meaning to be lost on modern readers. David says the Lord is his shepherd. Therefore, he will never lack anything he needs. Just as a shepherd takes care of his sheep, God provides for His people. The Lord is described as a Shepherd in the Bible (Gen 49:24, Ps 80:1, Is 40:11, Jer 31:10, Eze 37:24, Amos 3:12, Heb 13:20, 1Pet 2:25, 1Pet 5:4).

      It is actually not very complimentary in some ways for the people of God to be compared to sheep, because to understand the comparison, we must know some the character flaws of sheep. David says God makes him lie down in green pastures. Sheep will not automatically find the best pastures to eat from, so the shepherd has to bring them there. He has to make them lie down there, which may take some effort because the sheep do not always cooperate. The shepherd knows what is best for them, but they don’t always comply. He sometimes has to physically make them lie down where the pasture is best for them. Sheep that are not monitored will eat things that are not good for them.

     The shepherd leads his sheep beside the still waters. He doesn’t lead them to moving water, because the sound may frighten them out of their peace. They may try to go into the moving river and drown.

     He restores my soul. The Hebrew word restore means to turn back. Sheep will wander off if not herded. They may not pay attention to potential dangers such as predatory animals like wolves. They may not see places where they can fall into a ditch or break a leg. Jesus said it was so urgent to get them out that they will even do it if it is the Sabbath (Mt 12:11). Sometimes, God not only guides us because He loves us. He does it for His name’s sake. God is careful to not give occasion for His reputation to be brought into question. Sometimes we are not so careful. Also, born again Christians have His name applied to them (Mt 28:18-20, Jn 3:3-5, Acts 2:38, Acts 4:12, Acts 8:12-17, Acts 9:15, Acts 10:43-48, Acts 15:14 & 17, Acts 19:1-7, Rom 1:5, 2Thes 1:12, 2Tim 2:9, Rev 3:12, Rev 22:4), and He doesn’t want ill repute brought on His name.

There are more references in the Old Testament where God said He was doing things for His name’s sake (Is 48:9, Eze 20).

     David describes a place that God will be with him as the valley of the shadow of death. If David is talking about death literally, then this means that even in his journey from this world to the next, he will not have to face it alone. God will go with him even unto death. Peter quoted from David’s Psalm 16:8-11 on the day of Pentecost to show that David was not just talking about how God saved him from the fear of death. He was predicting the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:25-36). The fear of death is a prison that the Lord Jesus can free us from. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Heb 2:14-15).” He spent three days in the grave so we can have eternal life (Rom 5:17, Rom 6:9, Rom 8:2, 1Cor 15:21, 26, & 54, 2Tim 1:10, Heb 2:9, Heb 9:15, 1Pet 3:18, Rev 1:18, Rev 21:8). The resurrection of Jesus is just as central to the gospel as His death (Rom 5, 1Cor 15). If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then the gospel is a lie, we are not saved, sin is not fully conquered, and there is no hope for man. Many people who have had near death experiences come back and no longer fear death.

     If David used a metaphor about the valley of the shadow of death, the meaning is still the same. There is a valley just to the southwest of Jerusalem mentioned many times in the Bible. It is called the valley of the son of Hinnom. The name Hinnom eventually became the word Gehenna, which is another name for hell. It is also called Topheth, which means the place of fire. The worship of Molech was practiced in this valley. They made an idol which was in the shape of an animal but was hollow. They would make a fire in the idol and then place their children in it to be burned alive as a sacrifice to it (Lev 18:21, Lev 20:2-5, 2Ki 23:10, Jer 32:35). King Josiah led one of the greatest revivals of Israel, and one of the things he did to turn the people back to God was that he defiled this area so this practice would cease. Historians say that this place later became a garbage dump which continually burned. The imagery is quite clear.

     It is debated where Jesus was spiritually while His body was in the grave. One possibility is that He was in hell. There are some clues in this direction. Hell and the grave are always described as being beneath (Deut 32:22, Job 11:8, Ps 55:15, Ps 86:13, Prov 5:5, Prov 7:27, Prov 9:18, Prov 15:24, Is 5:14, Is 14:9 & 15, Eze 31:16-17, Eze 32:21 & 27, Amos 9:2, Mt 11:23, Lk 16:23, 2Pet 2:4). Ephesians 4:9 says, “Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?” There is some debate about where Jesus was buried. The two places most often referred to are the garden tomb and the church of the holy sepulcher. Neither of these tombs go very deep at all. They certainly do not seem to indicate a place that would be described as the lower parts of the earth. In Revelation 1:18, Jesus says He has the keys of death and hell. One thing we do know for sure is that Jesus died and rose again. The devil does not rule over hell, and he is not even there yet (Job 1:7, Job 2:2, 1Pet 5:8). He is always described in the Bible as being above ground on the earth. Hell was originally made for him and his angels as their destination (Mt 25:41). He will end up in the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). Born again Christians who abide in a relationship with the Lord need not fear hell, but they do need to fear God who can send them there if they walk away from Him (Mt 10:28). There is eternal security, but it is not unconditional.

     David continued in Psalm 23 by saying, “thy rod and thy staff they comfort me”. A shepherd’s rod was used several ways. As the sheep returned from their pasture to the safety of the sheepfold, the shepherd would stand at the gate and have each sheep pass under his rod as he called their name (Eze 20:37). Each sheep had its own name. By this the shepherd could check the condition of the sheep and reenforce their familiarity with his voice. The rod was also called a crook because it had a curve on the end that the shepherd could use to direct the sheep and to pull them out of a hole if they fell in. The staff was a walking stick. The shepherd could use either one as a disciplinary tool if necessary. Yet David said the Lord’s rod and staff comforted him. We do not enjoy chastisement from the Lord. If it was enjoyable, it would not serve its purpose. Yet it does yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness (Heb 12:5-15). He is a good Father who trains His children to do right. He does it because He loves us and counts us as his children, not because He doesn’t. We may not enjoy the process, but the results are worth enduring it. He does not use His rod to destroy His children, but some day He will set up His kingdom on this earth and will rule the nations, not with a wooden rod, but one of iron (Ps 2:9, Rev 2:27, Rev 2:27, Rev 12:5, Rev 19:15).

     Psalm 23 continues with “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies”. Sheep do not eat at a table like people. The word table here can mean the table of shewbread in the tabernacle of which David once ate (1Sam 21:1-6, Mt 12:1-4). It can also mean a private, royal meal (1Sam 20:29, 2Sam 9:7, 2Sam 19:28, 1Ki 2:7. 1Ki 4:27). It may also seem strange to think of God preparing a table for us. He is the Master, and we are His servants. Jesus said, “But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do (Lk 17:7-10)”. This seems like the right order of things. However, the Lord also said, “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them (Lk 12:35-37)”. At the last supper, Jesus gave His disciples an example of humble service. Because they did not have paved roads or closed shoes, when they went into a house, the first thing they would do is wash their feet (Gen 18:4, Gen 19:2, Gen 24:32, 1Sam 25:41, 2Sam 11:8, Lk 7:38). This was usually done by a servant. The apostles were too busy arguing over who was going to be the greatest that they neglected the Lord’s feet and their own (Lk 22:24-26, Jn 13:5-14). Jesus took care of it Himself to show them servitude. This was not the first time they had this argument (Mk 9:34, Lk 9:46). The mother of James and John asked the Lord to place them at His right and left hands in His kingdom, and the other 10 got angry with them (Mt 20:20-28). Peter thought the idea of Jesus washing his feet was out of order, and he initially refused to let Him do it. Although he did not fully understand what the Lord was teaching them, he did want to have a part in Him. The Lord then concluded this lesson by saying, “Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them (Jn 13:12-17)”.

     David saw God as He who provides everything he could ever need. He was so confident of this that he said God would even do it in the presence of His enemies. David wrote many of his psalms while being pursued by king Saul who was trying to kill him. Saul made at least 20 attempts on his life (1Sam 18-26). David also had other enemies. He was saying that God will provide for him so that not only will he be taken care of, but He will do it even though he is surrounded by enemies so they could see it too. It is noteworthy that Psalm 23 comes right after Psalm 22, which contains 8 prophetic statements about the suffering of Christ. Note that there is not one use of the word “if” in Psalm 23. For David, it was not a maybe, but a certainty.

     David then continued this psalm with “thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over”. There were three main offices in the Old Testament to which people were anointed with oil as a symbol of the Spirit of God coming on them. They were the offices of prophet, priest, and king. David was obviously king, but he was also a prophet, and in a few ways entered the office of priest (1Sam 23:9, 1Sam 30:7, 2Sam 6:14, Acts 2:29-31). Jesus is king, prophet, and priest (Jn 4:44, Heb 2-10, Rev 19:16). The Hebrew word Messiah and the Greek word Christ both mean anointed (Ps 2:2, Ps 45:7 with Heb 1:9, Is 61:1 with Lk 4:18, Acts 10:38). A shepherd would pour oil on the heads of his sheep for at least two reasons. It would give the sheep a refreshing in the hot middle-eastern weather, and it would keep pests away from tormenting them.

     God will not only fill our cup. He will keep pouring after it is full until it runs over. God is not a God of scarcity but of great abundance. Jesus said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again (Lk 6:38)”. If we seem not to be experiencing this, we can ask ourselves several questions. Are we choosing to focus on the negative – what we want to have but don’t right now? Are we lacking in faith? “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (Jam 1:5-8).” Are we asking for the wrong thing? “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (Jam 4:2-3).” Are we being stingy and then expecting God to be generous with us (Lk 6:38)” God has more than we can ever handle, but He will only put in our hands what we are spiritually mature enough to handle according to His will. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us (1Jn 5:14)”.

     Then David closes this beautiful psalm with “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever”. The word follow here means to pursue or chase. This is not a passive following. It is intentional and purposeful. This will happen until this life is over, and then the best comes after that – eternal life in paradise with Him (Rev 22:1-5).

     The Lord is a good shepherd that provides abundantly for His own and He guards us from the enemy. However, there are also bad shepherds and false shepherds (Mt 7:15-29). “And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more (Lk 12:42-48).” Sadly, there are too many who are hypocrites like the Pharisees who maintain an image before men, but God knows who they really are (Mt 23). Too many people have been wounded by what is called church hurt. They were seeking help and guidance, but instead they got mistreated by those who were supposed to be good shepherds. Many people will be lost in eternity because they succumbed to their wounds instead of finding a better situation and forgiving (Mt 6:12-15, Mt 18:21-35). We are required by God to forgive and even pray for those who mistreat us (Mt 5:43-48). It doesn’t matter if the offender repents. We must forgive so that we can be healed (Heb 12:12-17). God spoke to the Israelites who had been conquered by Assyria and Babylon and driven from their land. Although they had their own sins which made them partly responsible for their judgment, God also had compassion on the wounded sheep whose leaders had failed them, and He promised to restore them (Eze 34). You may think there is nothing left of your soul to be restored, but God says, “Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch (Amos 3:12)”.

We cannot allow our failures and/or the failures of others to cause us to become disconnected from God and His people. False shepherds are dangerous, but the answer to that is not to have no shepherd. That is how sheep get destroyed by the predators that are waiting for them to be away from the protection and provision of the shepherd (Num 27:17, 1Ki 23:17, Zech 10:2, Zech 11:15-17, Zech 13:7 with Mt 26:31, Mt 9:36). It is not easy to forgive and overcome, but with the Chief Shepherd above we can.

     Jesus explains His role as our Shepherd to us in John 10:1-18. He starts by saying that he who tries to enter the sheepfold by any other way than through the door is a thief. This is a clear picture of false teachers and who they serve – the devil (Jn 8:31-59, 2Cor 11:12-15, 2Pet 2). A good shepherd builds a safe enclosure for his sheep to protect them. There is a gate or door through which the shepherd leads his sheep out to pasture and then back in for safety during the night. The thief will try to enter the sheepfold by climbing over the very fence meant to keep him out. He will not enter properly through the door because his intent is to circumvent the shepherd and the safeguards that he has in place so he can steal sheep. The word pastor means shepherd. The shepherd also has a porter who is at the access point. Porters in the Bible were more than just door greeters. They were the guards of the gates (1Chr 9:21-22, 2Chr 23:19, 2Chr 35:15, Neh 12:25, Mk 13:34). The porter of the temple was to make sure nothing unclean could enter that holy place (2Chr 23:19). When the true shepherd approaches the gate, the porter will open it for him. The shepherd calls each sheep by an individual name. Each Christian has a personal and unique relationship with the Lord. He does not lump us into groups. He values each individual, and they all have an identity in Him. Through repetition the sheep get to know their name and the shepherd’s voice. They follow Him because of who He is to them and because they know His voice. He does not push from behind. He leads from the front, going before them to find them safe and good pasture, and to look for dangers before they get there. Sheep will not respond to the voice of a stranger. There is video on the internet showing this in action. Several strangers will call to the sheep and they will completely ignore them. Then when the true shepherd calls their names, they immediately come running to him.

     The people did not understand this parable, so He continued with more specifics. He said that He is the door. In John 14:6, He said that He is the way, the truth and the life. Noah’s ark only had one door (Gen 6:16). If anyone wanted to be saved, there was only one way in. Salvation only comes through the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12). The Lord continued, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”. The good shepherd will lay down his life for the sheep. David fought off a bear and a lion singlehandedly to protect his sheep (1Sam 17:34-37). They already had a sheep in their mouth, but David was not going to stand idly by and watch it devour his sheep. The prophet Amos was a shepherd before God called him (Amos 1:1). God said through him that even if all there was left of a sheep in the mouth of a lion was two legs or even just a piece of an ear, the shepherd will fight that lion to retrieve it (Amos 3:12). So too God will fight to restore His people who have fallen prey to the enemy.

     There may be a hired servant watching the flock, but he only cares about making money. He does not care for the sheep. He will flee when he sees danger coming and save only himself. He will leave the defenseless sheep to the merciless wolf. There are too many false teachers who are in it for the money. The prosperity preachers are wolves who neither provide good pasture for the sheep nor protect them from the enemy. They are the enemy. They pervert the scriptures for their own gain (1Tim 6). Only the true shepherd will risk his life for his sheep. Jesus gave His life willingly for our souls. The Jews and Romans could not have killed Him if they had detonated a hydrogen bomb at Calvary. He told Peter in the garden that He could have prevented His arrest and death by calling more than twelve legions of angels (Mt 26:53). A Roman legion was 6,000 foot soldiers and 100 calvary. The angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrians in one night (Is 37:36). For the sake of the point, suppose that 6,000 angels can kill that many at once. That’s 1 billion, 110 million people. Jesus laid down His life by choice out of love for us, even when we were His enemies by sin (Rom 5:6-10).

     Sometimes the simplest thing about God can be the hardest to believe. He loves us, and He is the good Shepherd. He will always be faithful to protect and provide for us. He is doing His job and more. The question is on us, not Him. Are we following His voice? Are we lying down and feeding on the good pasture He leads us to? Are we drinking from the still waters of His peace and safety? Are we wandering off on our own to feed on weeds and poison and drinking from a corrupt spring that cannot give life? Are we ignoring the dangers we put ourselves in when we stray from Him? He is not asking some impossible thing from us. He just wants us to follow Him and keep His commandments for our own benefit (Deut 10:12, Mic 6:8, Jn 14:15). God has nothing to gain from us. He is that He is (Ex 3:14). It is us who have to gain. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith (1Jn 5:1-4).”