Shepherd

This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, commonly known as Good Shepherd Sunday, who is Christ. It's customary to talk about shepherds in general and then how Jesus is just like a shepherd. But there's a problem with this approach, and it has to do with the direct article "the".



Jesus said, "I am the Good Shepherd." (John 10:11). He didn't say, "I am a good shepherd." He didn't say, "I am like a good shepherd." Jesus was talking about a concrete image, the specificity of which often escapes us.



Jesus was master at using images that were already in the Jewish tradition and applied them directly to himself. That is what we find here.



In the OT, the image of a shepherd was used to denote kings and rulers. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel pick up on this. Ezekiel 34 is especially pointed in it's criticism of Israel's kings, calling them shepherds. To wit, verses 1-6:



The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.



The kings were lousy shepherds of Israel. Things were a mess. What is God to do with these kings? Verses 7-10:



"Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.



The kings and rulers, the shepherds, will be handed their pink slips promptly! But this raises a quandry: Who will then shepherd Israel? Verses 11-15:



"For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.



The question is answered: God Himself will seek out and rescue the sheep!!



When Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, this is what he's talking about! The chief priests and rulers of Israel have had their day bringing the nation to ruin. It was time for them to be handed their walking papers and for God to take over. In Jesus, God searched for His lost ones and rescued them from the jaws of those who would devour them. After God rescues, feeds and cares for His sheep, He covenants with them and leads them to peace. I'll let you look up and read verses 25-31 on your own.