I Am the Good Shepherd

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. (St. John 10:10)

          I used to believe that to understand John 10 and Psalm 23 fully, a person needed to be a shepherd or have some familiarity with sheep-herding. I despaired of ever grasping those texts completely. After all, Philip Keller’s delightful little book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 offers keen and nuanced insight into the allegory and meaning of the Lord being the Shepherd of His people; it is filled with the kind of details only a professional would know.

          Then I entered the pastorate and realized you don’t have to be a shepherd to understand John 10 deeply.

          All you have to be is a believer in Christ, trying to live for him in a fallen world.

          For sheep like you and me, this world doesn’t offer much consolation. Jesus, however, does: as the Bishop of our souls, he loved you and me, his sheep, to the point of laying down his life that we might have life.

          So even in a dying world, if your Good Shepherd spared not his own life, what have you to fear?

          Our confidence is bolstered and our spirits are cheered this Advent because Jesus is our exclusively perfect Shepherd.

          The theme of John 10 (and its related Old Testament passage, Psalm 23) is the exceedingly goodness and supreme perfection of our Shepherd. While Psalm 23 brings you and me such consolation, we should bear in mind that Christ fulfilled that psalm entirely in his saving mercy and abundant provision for us. Psalm 23 must be explored with an eye on John 10, and the two texts together form an overwhelmingly encouraging description of our Savior as our Perfect Shepherd.

          That’s good news, because whether or not you realized it, you’re a sheep. You follow someone, or thing, every moment of your life, whether you’re listening to your fleshly desire for more stuff or for status, or whether you’re listening to popular “religion,” or whether you’re heeding the voice of God in Scripture. If you’re following the Good Shepherd, Jesus says, you have comfort to the very depth of your soul.

          There simply is no shepherd like the Lord Jesus. To be sure there are other shepherds who, as under-shepherds of Christ’s, nourish the flock. From Moses to David to faithful elder-pastors in the Leakesville Presbyterian Church, there are other “decent” shepherds. But there is only one Good Shepherd.

          Jesus teaches in John 10 that all who came before him, and who did not minister his gospel, are at best hirelings (who are self-interested and don’t ultimately care about the sheep) or at worst thieves and robbers, bent on destroying the sheep for personal gain. Jesus, by contrast, gives his very life for the sheep.

          In a world of “shepherds”, there is only one Good Shepherd.

          Jesus also is our prevenient Shepherd: he goes before you and me in every step of life.

          It’s intriguing in verse 4 that Jesus says he puts out his sheep and goes before them. This was the custom in the Ancient Near East, whereas in America shepherds tend to follow after their sheep. Here shepherds might “pick up the pieces” or respond to enemy activity; hirelings might see a threat on the horizon and simply flee, allowing the sheep to scatter (verse 14).

Jesus literally goes through the trials of life before you and I ever meet them.

          Cancer, alienation from loved ones, providing long-term care for an aging parent and, finally, death all can seem like lonely times of suffering. Have you ever encountered a time of trial in your life when you’ve wondered, “Am I the only person in the world going through this?”

          Well, there probably are other folks going through the same trials.

          More important, Jesus the Good Shepherd already has gone through the worst of the curse before you – and for you.

          It’s Jesus who shuts and opens doors in your life for your own good. It might not make sense at the time, but surely he knows best. It’s Jesus who sees spiritual threats on the horizon and steers your path away from them. It’s Jesus who drives away Satan and his minions from you, who protects you from spiritual wolves.

          St. Paul writes to the Hebrews that Christ is the Captain of our salvation, having completed that salvation through sufferings. This might well be Paul’s interpretation of Jesus’ going before us as our Good Shepherd. He endured the fury of the Father on the cross so you wouldn’t have to face it. He went through death to lead you into life. He always goes before you, defending and comforting and identifying with you in every moment.

          Even though you walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, fear no evil: Jesus’ rod and staff comfort you. The Shepherd is before you. And he already has emerged victorious.

          Jesus furthermore is our providing Shepherd, giving his very life so that you might have life – and have it to the full.

          Sheep will seek a shepherd, as you and I already have noted. But it’s not as though Jesus is one Shepherd among many or the best among several worthy choices. Every other shepherd steals life; only Christ gives life.

          So many folks think alcohol or fancier vehicles or a bigger city in which to live will give them life. They follow to the “T” what the flesh or the ego dictate, thinking this will bring them more vitality. In reality, idols – false shepherds – only drain your life.

          Jesus proves his goodness as your Shepherd by giving his very life for yours. He says he lays down his life willingly, not because malefactors chose to kill him but ultimately because he chose to fulfill the Father’s will in making atonement for your sin. By giving his life as a ransom for you, you are free from condemnation now and forever. You are free to live as God’s adopted child, to be the person He always intended for you to be. You are free from the fear of hell and of death, free from having to try fruitlessly to earn your way into heaven (as though one could do so). You are free to hope in Christ.

          The Good Shepherd allows you to walk about freely in life and find pasture. As you feed on and apply His Word to your life, you will find nourishment for your soul even in the most trying of seasons. Like a tree planted by the rivers of water, you will bear fruit in every season.

          The Good Shepherd prepares a table for you – even in the presence of your spiritual enemies.

          Jesus also is the personal Shepherd: in a cold world where people like you and me don’t seem to matter, Jesus knows your name and loves you fully and eternally.

          In John 10 Jesus says he knows his sheep, and they know him. To “know” in Scripture is to enjoy a deeply intimate relationship with another; here Jesus is teaching that he knows your gifts, your fears, your needs and everything about you. In another place the Lord says he has the hairs on your head numbered – equally astounding and consoling.

          My uncle has been a physician for 40-plus years, and one of his creedal statements is that every person is different. He actually takes time to get to know his patients, because one person’s Claritin might be another person’s Allegra. He possesses an intimate knowledge of his patients and of their conditions and needs; consequently he is a much more effective doctor.

          The Good Shepherd knows you perfectly. He is, then, the perfect and personal Physician of your soul.

          Christ also says he calls you and me by name, much as Eastern shepherds call each sheep by a particular nickname. A name in the Bible represents a person’s character; Jesus knows your character and calls you personally to where he desires to lead you.

          It’s easy to feel forgotten in such an imposing world. You and I live in Greene County, Mississippi, a place known to very few people. Even our doctors hardly know us anymore; you’re a number, not a name – and certainly not a person.

          Jesus knows your name and every last detail about you. And he cares for you every moment of your life.

          In this broken world, where our enemies “threaten to undo us,” as Luther’s famous hymn puts it, it’s comforting to recall that Jesus also is our protective Shepherd who preserves us to the end.

          In the last portion of our text, Jesus reproves the Pharisees for not being among his sheep – in the company of the redeemed. His sheep hear his voice and follow in obedience, while those who are not his sheep disregard his Word and sooner or later fall away from him.

          In contrast to their hopeless apostasy, Jesus makes a glorious promise in verses 28 and 29: we, his sheep, will never perish or be plucked out of his hand. His Father is too mighty to allow any enemy to snatch us away from Christ; no temptation or trial finally can tear us away from Jesus and his love.

          Jesus does not promise that your life will be free of trials or even of tragedies. Remember, as God he sees all things, and he foresaw the car crashes and Pearl Harbors and 9-11s and cancers that would plague his people. In some mysterious way, all these trials are a part of his perfect will for you and me.

          But Jesus endured suffering far worse than anything you and I could face – and I say those words with all due respect and true Christian love. As awful, as devastating, as illness and death can be, Jesus’ suffering under the Father’s wrath as he bore your sins was infinitely worse. He even cried out, “My God, why have you forsaken me?”

          Of course, the Father hadn’t forsaken Jesus. He raised Jesus on the third day, and Jesus has been given the Name that is above every name.

          The Father did not forsake the Son in the darkest moment of all of space, time and history. If you are His child through faith in Christ, He will never, ever forsake you either. Surely goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life, and you will dwell in the Lord’s house forever.

          Live a little while as a Christian in a Christ-hating world, and you will experience what it means to be hungry, threatened, lonely and needful. You don’t have to be a shepherd to know that you’re a sheep.

          But be of good cheer: the Good Shepherd has come to feed you all the days of your life. He knows your name and your needs; he goes before and defends you; he gives his very life so that you might have true life.

          If Jesus is your Shepherd, truly you shall not want.