It is true: no mere man has authority over the moment of his death – but the Lord Jesus is no mere man. In Ecclesiastes 8:8 we read that ‘no one has power on the day of death’. It couldn’t be clearer that in His death He became a voluntary sacrifice for sinners like us. He ‘gives His life’ (John 10:11), laying it down for the sake of His sheep (John 10:17). When we think about what He did for us, He certainly is a good Shepherd. Why not trust Him today to take away your sins and secure for you a place in heaven? However, Christ is the genuine Shepherd, the good one, absolutely trustworthy and perfect. We read about ‘a foolish shepherd … woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock!’ (Zechariah 11:15-17). In a future day, a false prophet, a pseudo messiah, will present himself to Israel and will fleece and flay the flock. In saying He is good, the Lord Jesus is distinguishing Himself from another shepherd spoken about in the Bible. He is also perfectly sinless, having no blemish or flaw. He is winsome in His character, lovely and kind on every level. This means that Jesus is the Shepherd, ‘the good one’. The adjective ‘good’ precedes ‘Shepherd’. No one else could come and deliver us, but thankfully He came and has made Himself available to all who trust Him. He alone came down from heaven into this world to rescue sinful men and women. It presents the Lord Jesus as the only way of salvation. That is the wonderful truth of the gospel message. The word ‘I’ is emphatic, meaning ‘I and no other’. This verb is significant because in the Old Testament it is the great name of God – ‘I AM WHO I AM’ (Exodus 3:14). Therefore, when this man, Jesus from Nazareth, used the term ‘Shepherd’, He was identifying Himself with the God of the Old Testament, being the Son of God in all His divine fullness.Īnother indication of Jesus’s deity is the expression ‘I am’. Finally, to complete the set, in the Prophets we find God speaking: ‘Awake O sword against My Shepherd, against the Man that is my Companion ’ (Zechariah 13:7). In the Psalms we read that ‘the Lord is my shepherd’ (Psalm 23:1), a well-known phrase often used in songs of worship and praise. This is the first reference in scripture to God as a Shepherd. In the Law, Jacob talks about God as the ‘mighty God of Jacob, the Shepherd, the stone of Israel’ (Genesis 49:24). It is often useful and confirming to look into the three main parts of the Old Testament, the Law, the Psalms and the Prophets, to find a harmony of idea and thought. In the Old Testament this expression is frequently used of God. Those who were listening to the Lord Jesus would have pricked up their ears when they heard Him describe Himself as a Shepherd. Therefore we need to be changed we need to have our feet taken from the broad road that leads to destruction and moved to the narrow road that leads to life. The Bible helps us appreciate that every one of us is in this state: ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23). What we do springs from a nature which is opposed to the laws of God. We begin our life as sinners going astray and doing things our own way, just like sheep who are far away from their shepherd. In fact, the Old Testament part of the Bible says that ‘all we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way’ (Isaiah 53:6). The sheep in the verse are an apt description of us. Sheep and shepherd were everyday terms the audience would understand. The Lord Jesus used this title to help people appreciate that He is the loving, caring, Saviour of the world.
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