Jesus referred to Himself, among other things, as the ‘good shepherd’ (John 10:11, 14). The figurative language of ‘sheep’ and ‘shepherd’ speaks of care, provision and protection in a time when many people where shepherds of animals. This description was a reflection of His nature, His character, and His role in the lives of His followers. Jesus is the good Shepherd who would lay down His life for the sheep (John 10:11, 14), and thus show the highest form of love, leadership and friendship (John 15:13). And, whenever necessary, He would leave the 99 behind to go after the one lost sheep, because He came to seek and save what was lost (Matthew 18:10–14; cf., Luke 19:1–10). There is joy in heaven when the lost get found (see Luke 15).
Jesus’ listeners, hearing Him speak of the ‘good shepherd’ and ‘sheep,’ would’ve been reminded of God the Shepherd of Israel described in Psalm 23, and of king David, the shepherd-king of God’s people, who wrote that famous psalm. God has been a good and faithful Shepherd unto His people, His flock. Jesus was the incarnation of God the good Shepherd. Such imagery formed the rich Hebrew background to the understanding of Jesus as the ‘good shepherd.’
The Background to the Imagery of ‘Shepherd’ and ‘Sheep’
The figure of speech as ‘shepherd’ and ‘sheep,’ has its background in Jewish life and biblical descriptions of God. Perhaps the most famous of these is found in Psalm 23. God is a good Shepherd, who would provide for His people, the ‘sheep,’ be with them even when life is difficult, and prove Himself ever faithful to them. Therefore, fear no evil, the good Shepherd’s got you! God’s people would pray to the ‘Shepherd of Israel’ for revival and restoration (Psalm 80). It had been God who led His people ‘like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron’ (Psalm 77:20). God the Creator was Israel’s Shepherd, and His people saw themselves as ‘the sheep of His pasture’ (Psalm 100:3).
God is Shepherd over His people, who would gather His people after they had been scattered, and keep them ‘as a shepherd does his flock,’ because God loves His people with ‘an everlasting love’ (Jeremiah 31:3, 10). God is a true Shepherd, expressing His love by His care for His people.
‘He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young’ (Isaiah 40:11).
This is beautiful imagery of God’s love and care for His people. Leaders over God’s people had to be shepherds after God’s own heart. David was such a shepherd-king. Israel’s beloved king David was an actual shepherd boy who was taken from the sheepfold to be king over God’s people (2 Samuel 5:2) and lead them with integrity and skill (Psalm 78:70–72). David was a man after God’s own heart who would do God’s will and serve God’s purpose in His generation (Acts 13:22, 36). That’s why he was chosen in the place of the disobedient king Saul (1 Samuel 15). David the shepherd loved God the Shepherd of Israel. Davids’ love for God’s people was a reflection of Gods’ love for His flock.
David was trained by God on deserted pastures while tending his father’s sheep, and he occasionally had to fight off wild animals who sought to harm his father’s flock. This prepared David the shepherd to take down the seemingly undefeatable enemy of Israel, the giant Goliath. David became a national hero because his heart sought to defend the honour of God and His people (see 1 Samuel 16—17). The true shepherd would always lay down his life for his sheep and defend them, and so he did as king of Israel, God’s people. God the Shepherd of Israel installed David the shepherd-king over His people. His heart and actions were a reflection of God and was, therefore, true leadership, which qualified David to be king. When he was anointed and crowned king, he realised that it was God who made this possible and the purpose of his new position was for the sake of God’s people (2 Samuel 5:10, 12). Leadership is service and responsibility unto others, not power to enrich ourselves.
God would raise up such leaders, shepherds after His own heart, to feed His people with knowledge and understanding (Jeremiah 3:15). The Messiah, the good Shepherd, was from the lineage of David. He was such a Shepherd. We need more such shepherds to guard, guide and gather God’s flock. Peter called on his fellow-elders as shepherds to do their work of caring for God’s people according to the example of Christ, the Chief Shepherd. Christ did not lord it over people, and neither were the leaders of His Church. Leading by example is the way; humility is the attitude (1 Peter 5:1–5). We need true shepherds who lead and feed, and guard and gather, because false shepherds bring division and destruction. True shepherds reflect the heart of the true Shepherd, Christ.
Apart from the good examples of shepherd-leadership, there are also the prophetic warnings about false shepherds (see Jeremiah 23; Ezekiel 34). These false leaders were driven to enrich themselves by their position of power, rather than to lay down their lives to serve God’s people and purpose. Paul might have had these in mind when he warned the believers before his departure that ‘savage wolves’ would arise who would not spare the flock (the believers). They would speak perverse things and draw people after themselves (Acts 20:29–30). Such people are driven by selfish gain and care not about the people they seek to deceive. Heresy brings confusion and deception; heretics cause division and harm. The main problem for prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel was that false shepherds divided and scattered, instead of to gather and unite. Division is contrary to the nature of God, the good Shepherd (Jeremiah 31:10; Isaiah 40:11). He seeks to gather and unite.
False shepherds are actually like ‘wolves in sheep clothing,’ the false prophets Jesus warned about (Matthew 7:15). The appearance (external) might look right, but their true nature (internal) is something very different. Externally they look like sheep, but internally they are ‘ravenous wolves.’ God’s people are ‘as sheep in the midst of wolves’ and therefore need to be alert, wise, discerning and remain pure in heart (Matthew 10:16). False prophets would teach false doctrine and seek to deceive.
Jesus’ disciples must abide by what their Lord and Shepherd taught them if they want to avoid building a house (a life) ‘on sand’ (weak foundation) that would not withstand the storms of life and collapse. Obedience to Christ’s words, on the other hand, is wisdom and stability when life gets rough and difficult (see Matthew 7:24–27). True shepherds would teach what is according to the sound words of the Gospel in line with Jesus’ words (1 Timothy 6:3–4). Imposters, on the other hand, would seek to deceive even the believers, but true disciples will continue in the sound teaching of sacred, inspired Scripture (2 Timothy 3:13–17). Jesus warned His disciples that in the End Times deception would be one of the major issues we should be aware of (Matthew 24; note especially verses 4, 11, 24). On a positive note, Jesus will keep us safe! Those who endure to the end will be saved (v 13).
Striking the Shepherd
When Jesus was arrested before His crucifixion, the sheep were temporarily scattered, as evil men struck the Shepherd (Matthew 26:31, 47–56). But He had promised to gather them again (v 32) and His apostles, the true shepherds, were to feed His sheep (John 21:15–17), notably the one who assured Jesus that he would not leave him (Matthew 26:33–35); yet he, too, failed (vv 69–75). Jesus would protect Simon, who was to strengthen his fellow disciples after He had been restored despite his lapse (Luke 22:31–32). The good Shepherd is merciful and gathers His sheep. He would expect the same of His true shepherds over His flock.
Jesus as the good Shepherd would gather His sheep. God’s people had, at times, been like sheep ‘straying,’ yet they would be brought back to the ‘Shepherd and Guardian’ of their souls—Jesus the Messiah (1 Peter 2:25). Peter, writing these words, drew on the imagery of the ‘Suffering Servant’ Isaiah the prophet described (Isaiah 53). Peter himself had been scattered when the Shepherd was struck, but Jesus the good Shepherd restored him. The Messiah did so through His suffering on behalf of the sheep, His people.
Peter is describing the sufferings of Jesus (1 Peter 2:21–25) according to the words in Isaiah 53. By Jesus’ stripes God’s straying people would find healing and be restored back to their Shepherd and Guardian. Christ died and carried our sins in order to bring us back to God (1 Peter 3:18). The good Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep. Though He was struck and the sheep scattered, He rose from the dead and gathered His own. He is the good Shepherd!
Jesus the Good Shepherd
Before Jesus spoke of Himself as the ‘good Shepherd’ (John 10:11, 14), He gave an ‘illustration’ (vv 1–5), which the hearers at first didn’t understand (v 6). In it, there is a contrast between ‘thief,’ ‘robber’ (v 1) and ‘stranger’ (v 5) on the one hand, and the ‘shepherd’ (v 2–4), on the other. All of them hold some relationship with or have responsibility over the sheep. The question is one of entry point: there is a right way to enter, ‘by the door,’ not by climbing in some other way (v 1). Circumventing the ‘doorkepper’ (v 3) exposes that something is wrong with them, as the three negative descriptions also indicate. The true ‘shepherd of the sheep’ (v 2) has no need to circumvent, but finds the rightful access to the sheep he cares for (vv 3–4). True shepherds are known to their sheep by a familiar ‘voice’ they can trust (vv 3–4). They won’t trust and follow a ‘stranger’ (v 5).
Jesus then goes on to speak of the right entry point—through Him (vv 7–9). He is the door to the sheepfold, the people of God. He is the way, the truth and the life by which people can find and have access to God (14:6; cf., Ephesians 2:14–18). False leaders, as some before Him were, perhaps those He spoke to in John 9 (note especially verses 35–41), are ‘thieves and robbers,’ and the sheep knew it (v 8). Such thieves come to ‘steal, kill and destroy,’ yet Jesus, the true Shepherd, was to give them ‘pasture’ (true nourishment) and life in abundance (vv 9, 10). One is reminded of God the Shepherd David described in Psalm 23, in contrast to the false shepherds of Jeremiah 23.
The issue of the rightful entry is also the issue of rightful leadership and care for the sheep. As the ‘good shepherd,’ Jesus would lay down His life for His sheep (vv 11, 15). This, in yet another contrast, is different from a ‘hireling’ (v 12), who ‘does not care about the sheep’ (v 13) and would abandon them when a wolf threatened their safety (v 12). The false shepherd cares for himself, not for the sheep. He would flee and let the wolf cause harm and havoc (v 12). False shepherds, as Paul said, won’t spare the flock, but use it for their own gain (Acts 20:29–30). True shepherding means selfless service for the wellbeing of the flock—even at your own expense. David was such a shepherd (see 1 Samuel 17:34–37; 19:4–5).
Jesus gave His life for the sheep! The ‘flock,’ the church, was purchased with the blood of the Shepherd and the shepherds of the church must protect what is God’s (Acts 20:28). Like David against Goliath, true leaders seek God’s honour and the wellbeing of His people, not their own honour and wellbeing. Paul, too, was a selfless servant of God’s church (vv 24, 27). The true sheep know the true Shepherd (John 10:14) and His voice (v 27). They follow Him and are safe (vv 3–4, 9). Jesus did what He did as commissioned by God the Father (vv 15, 17), bringing salvation among both Jews and Gentiles who would believe in Him (v 16; cf., Romans 1:16). The Messiah is our Peace who brings believers together and unites us (Ephesians 2:11–18). He gave His life as the Saviour and Shepherd; and so should we, following His example (1 John 3:16–18). Jesus the true shepherd gathers and unites. True shepherds follow His example—by their fruit you will know them.
True Shepherds after God’s Heart
The controversy that ensued (John 10:19–21), after Jesus started mentioning His heavenly Father (vv 15–18), is not surprising. Jesus was even accused of being demon-possessed! Interestingly, the reference back to the miracle of the man born blind (v 21) in defence of Jesus, indicates that Jesus’ words were in response to those who thought they saw but were actually spiritually blind (9:35–41). The healing was actually more than a physical healing; it served to expose spiritual blindness over the identity of the Messiah. No wonder the same people, or the same type of people, started objecting and accusing Jesus of blasphemy (John 10:31, 33, 39).
They wanted to know who He was, or who He claimed to be (v 24), yet not in order to know God and find salvation, but to defend their religious systems and get rid of the true Shepherd of the sheep, who was, obviously, a threat to their position. The fake will always persecute the real. Ishmael had a problem with Isaac; Esau persecuted Jacob. The evil and jealous ones among the religious leaders at the time eventually succeeded in handing Jesus over to the Romans to be crucified, but that, too, was part of God’s plan to bring salvation to those who would hear His voice and follow the true Shepherd! These rulers didn’t understand the purpose of God because they were spiritually blind.[1] Jesus is the true and good Shepherd—with Him you are safe! Follow His voice (John 10:27).
In the Book of Revelation, Jesus is symbolically depicted as a Lamb because of His sacrificial death as a lamb on the cross for the forgiveness of sins (cf., John 1:29). In this context, however, He is a Warrior to defeat evil (Revelation 7:17). His death was the laying down of His life as the good Shepherd to redeem those who believe in Him and become part of His flock, His people, and to defeat the evil powers in this world and establish God’s Kingdom of peace and justice. We must no longer go astray and remain lost; we can return to the Shepherd of our souls and be saved and be safe.
Jesus’ nature as Shepherd is to selflessly guard, guide and gather His sheep. Trust Jesus, the good Shepherd—He is good. Fear no evil. Follow Him, follow His voice, and be safe. True shepherds follow Jesus’ example—they are shepherds after God’s own heart. We need more such shepherds to guard, guide and gather God’s flock (Acts 20:28; Jeremiah 3:15). True shepherds gather; false shepherds, scatter. True shepherds give their lives for others; false shepherds selfishly use other people. Therefore, choose carefully whom you follow. Jesus the good Shepherd came to seek and find that which was lost. Do the same; and be a good shepherd.
Jesus is the good Shepherd. Follow Him, listen to His voice, and allow only true shepherds after God’s own heart to guard, guide and gather you. Be part of His flock and follow the good Shepherd—Jesus the Son and Saviour.
The good Shepherd loves you.
[1] See 1 Corinthians 1:18–31—2:16, note especially 2:6–8; cf., Acts 3:11–26, note especially verses 13, 17.
Powerful!