What Jesus Was, But Was Not: A Shepherd

Allen Webster

Topic(s): Jesus

Links to this entire series:

• What Jesus Was But Was Not: A Farmer
• What Jesus Was, But Was Not: A Shepherd

A shepherd is the most honored secular profession of the entire Old Testament era. Sheep and shepherds are referred to in the Bible more than five hundred times. Along with tending gardens and farming, it is one of the world’s oldest professions. Abel was a keeper of sheep, and he offered to God of the firstlings of the flock (Genesis 4:2). The Hebrew founding fathers—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—were all shepherds. When Jacob’s small family migrated into Egypt, they described their occupation: “Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers” (Genesis 47:3). David, Israel’s favorite king, was first a shepherd of his father’s sheep (1 Samuel 16:11).

The most beloved chapter of the Bible is the Shepherd’s Psalm, which compares the relationship between a man and his God to that of a sheep and his shepherd (Psalm 23). This figure is used often in the Old Testament (Psalm 74:1; 77:20; 78:52; 79:13; 80:1; Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 31:10; Ezekiel 34:12–14; Micah 5:4). God even pictured Himself as the Shepherd of Israel (Psalm 100:3). Needless to say, no one could have been blamed for expecting the Messiah to come in the guise of a shepherd.

But Jesus’ hand never held a shepherd’s crook, so far as we know. He never counted and recounted sheep as they passed under His rod at sunset. He never crinkled His nose at the pungent sheep smell on a hot Jerusalem day, nor did He strain His eye to see if that was a wandering sheep far down the hillside. He never chased away a bear, nor took a lion by the beard, as David did when his little lambs were threatened (cf. 1 Samuel 17:34–35).

The Shepherd’s Teaching.

Still, Jesus knew about sheep, and often talked about them. He made these remarkable statements that are filled with sheepfold rhetoric:

• “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7).
• “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (10:9).
• “I am the good shepherd” (10:11).
• “The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (10:11).
• “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine” (10:14).
• “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep” (10:15).
• “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (10:16).
• “When the Son of man shall come in his glory . . . before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left” (Matthew 25:31–33).

The Shepherd’s Actions.

The New Testament pictures Christ as the Shepherd over His flock, the church (Matthew 25:32; 26:31; John 10:1–18; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 2:25). Jesus is identified as “the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11), “the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25), “the chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4), and the “great shepherd of the sheep” (Hebrews 13:20). Looking at the context of these a bit closer reveals:

• The “Good Shepherd” died for His sheep (John 10:11, 15). David risked his life for his father’s sheep (1 Samuel 17:34), but Jesus did more. He sacrificed His life so that the flock might go to heaven (John 10:15).
• The “one Shepherd” unifies His sheep (John 10:16). Jews and Gentiles, all races and nationalities, economic, and educational levels are all found in the same flock.
• The “great shepherd” saves and protects the sheep (John 10:9, 12; James 1:21; 1 Peter 1:8–9). He promised to never leave (give us up, let us go, relax His hold on us) or forsake—leave us in the lurch—us (Hebrews 13:5; cf. 2 Timothy 4:10).
• A physician can save your life (cf. Job 2:4). A lawyer can save your fortune. A financial advisor can save your business (cf. Matthew 4:8-9; Luke 12:20). A coach can save the game. An image consultant can save your reputation. But only Jesus can save your soul (Matthew 16:26; cf. Job 27:8; Psalm 49:8).
• The Shepherd and Bishop (1 Peter 2:25) guides His sheep (Hebrews 13:20–21). He leads in the right way (John 10:4). Cattle are driven, but sheep are lead. Jesus does not drive us to heaven, or even simply point the direction to us; He goes before us, showing us the way, step by step (1 Peter 2:21–22).
• The “chief shepherd” will reward His sheep (1 Peter 5:4). He cares for His sheep individually (John 10:3). Jesus knows your name, and even the hairs upon your head (Matthew 10:29–30).

The Shepherd’s Sheep.

“We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3). “For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand” (Psalm 95:7). It is no accident that God compared man to sheep, because the behavior of sheep and humans is similar in many ways.

• Sheep require, more than any other livestock, endless attention. Christ must show endless care for us (Matthew 28:20; John 10:16, 29; 2 Timothy 4:16–17; Hebrews 13:5–6).¹
• Both have poor sense of direction and get lost easily (Isaiah 53:6; 1 Peter 2:25). The Shepherd feeds us and leads us.
• Both are nearsighted (2 Peter 1:9).
• Both must have another to supply their needs (Colossians 2:10; Ephesians 1:3; John 14:6; 15:7).
• Both need protection from danger (Hebrews 13:5–6; John 10:11–18; 1 Corinthians 10:13; James 1:13–15). Sheep have no defensive teeth or claws, cannot quickly flee, or have other means of protection (like a skunk’s smell or snake’s poison).
• Both are easily frightened (Matthew 1:20; 10:28; 28:5). There is a reason the phrase “fear not” is found 63 times in the Bible.
• Both can be stubborn (Hebrews 3:8, 15; 4:7).
• Both are “marked.” Shepherds cut marks into their sheep’s ears which allow them to be identified at a distance (similar to branding a cow). This signified ownership. In the Old Testament, if a slave chose to be a lifetime member of a Jewish family, his ear was pierced with an awl against a doorpost (Exodus 21:6). We have “sold” ourselves to the Lord and bear His mark on our souls (2 Corinthians 4:10; Galatians 6:17).

We can agree with the boy who misquoted—but understood—Psalm 23:1: “The Lord is my shepherd, he is all I want.”²

Endnotes:

¹I do not think these points are original with me, but I do not remember the source.
²Dan Winkler.