Jesus, Our Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” – John 10:11
Have you ever been to a sheep farm?
John 10:11 is one of my favorite verses. That said, we don’t have a lot of shepherding in the U.S.; so the description of Jesus as the good shepherd may be a little foreign to us.
What was a shepherd like?
For the shepherd who owned the sheep, the sheep were everything to him. He would take very good care of them, finding good pasture land for grazing, plentiful sources of clean water, and would treat their wounds.
He would keep watch over every single sheep, making sure they were all accounted for. If one wandered off, he would go find them. He knew every one of his sheep and the sheep knew his voice and followed Him. They didn’t follow Him because of fear, but because they knew He protected and provided for them.
The shepherd would go all out to protect them. In 1 Samuel 17:34-36, David, a shepherd at the time, tells of how he fought off a lion and bear to protect his flock.
“But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.’“
Jesus is our good shepherd.
He cares for us. He feeds us not only physically, but spiritually through His Word and communion. He refreshes us when we feel week. He watches over us and when we wander He will go after us and bring His lost sheep back home (Luke 15:1-7). He protects us. He even went up against our ultimate enemies, sin, death, and the devil, and laid down His life on the cross to deliver us from them.
Jesus is our good shepherd!
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for caring for me. Thank You for providing for me, refreshing me, and protecting me. Most of all, thank You for laying down Your life that I may live. Help me to follow your voice and thank You for coming to find me when I get lost.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
