*Jesus the Good Shepherd*
*Psalms 23:1-3*- _”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”._
We are very familiar with this passage and probably have cited it on many occasions, however do we really understand what it means.
*Who is our Shepherd?*
*John 10:11, 14-15*- _”I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep”._
Jesus is the good shepherd to ALL believers. The role of a shepherd is to tend to his flock day and night & gather the sheep into a sheepfold at night for their protection. The sheepfold is a pen, a cave, or an area backed by stone walls. The shepherd would often sleep or sit in the opening, ready to guard his sheep from harm.
*John 10:12-13 AMP* – _”But the hired man [who merely serves for wages], who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away; and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. The man runs because he is a hired hand [who serves only for wages] and is not concerned about the [safety of the] sheep”._
We can see there’s a difference between a shepherd and a hired keeper.
A hired keeper would probably run away in the face of danger, however the shepherd would stay and defend his flock because of his genuine love and care for what belongs to him.
The Shepherd also protects his sheep from the weather, thieves, and predatory animals, and if necessary, he would lay down his life for them.
*John 10* tell us that the ‘theif’ is Satan who comes to steal, kill, and destroy God’s people (John 10:10). But the GOOD NEWS is, Jesus protects and save us from destruction giving us eternal life because of his undeserving love. Jesus is completely committed to us – even to His own death and resurrection. Jesus is the good shepherd who layed down His physical life for you and I so that we may have abundant life.
Going back to *Psalms 23:4*, it says _”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.”_
Again, we can see that Jesus our Shepherd protects us in challenging, dark and fearful situations because he is always with us and never leaves us!
The parable of the Lost sheep in *Luke 15:3-7*, again shows us how a good shepherd leaves his flock of 99 sheep to find the lost one.
This is truly an expression of his reckless love for us and that he is willing to do anything to ensure that we do not perish or become a victim of Satan’s evil plan.
Jesus said in *John 10:14* _”I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me”._ We can only know Jesus through a deep, personal relationship with him via salvation. Jesus knows us (his sheep) even by name, so therefore we should constantly desire to know him and his voice.
So brethren, let’s stay encouraged and grateful to Jesus our Good Shepherd who constantly leads us, protects us and loves us so that we may experience life and life more abundantly through him through redemption.
Thank you Jesus!!