Who is Jesus? Advent Day 14

David, the shepherd boy turned king, is the one who wrote the well-known and beloved encouraging words in Psalm 23. Because of David’s early life tending his father’s flock, he would have known FULL well the shepherd’s role over his flock. David would understand how a shepherd guides, leads, provides, and protects. He connected his role of guarding his flock to how the Lord cares for his people.

Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

Later in the Bible, through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord uses a shepherd reference for Himself to prophesy how He would save His people.

As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.

Ezekiel 34: 12

The Lord had promised to come and find His sheep. He would gather them back and redeem them Himself. The Old Testament shows the Lord’s people reject Him over and over and over again. Yet, He mercifully delivers them, heals them, restores them, provides for them, comforts them, and again and again forgives them. And they just keep returning to the ways of the world.

And STILL, He has a plan for good for them. A plan to prosper them and give them a hope and a future.

And STILL, He sends His Son

And STILL, He chooses to light the darkness up with His Light.

And STILL, He chooses to leave the 9‭9 for the 1 lost sheep.

This continual merciful restoration is compared by Jesus to that of a good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd is another example of a name the Lord gives to Himself. Again when the Lord says, I AM….I think it’s pretty important to pay attention.

Jesus knew the scriptures well. He would have known Psalm 23 and when He declares that He is the Good Shepherd, He is saying, “I am the Lord that David was referring to and I will take care of you just as the psalmist described.”

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” John 10: 14-18

If you’ve ever struggled with how God could sacrifice His only begotten Son as an act of love for all mankind, you can see here that Jesus’s red letter Words say,

“I give my life willingly. No one is taking it. I am giving it for my sheep.
To read Jesus’s love for us is so amazing. And Jesus is the visible image of the Lord Himself. Jesus said,
“If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” John 14:9

The Lord Himself chose to come to earth in visible, touchable, relational form as a man in flesh, so that we could be saved. That’s how much God loves us. He also starts to speak about “the other sheep that He is bringing into the sheepfold. He is speaking of stretching the promise beyond the Jewish people.

Remember, God’s people were those descendants set apart from the 12 tribes of Israel. And Jesus LOVES them with a faithful passion. He has gone to great lengths to protect and draw them back to Himself. And yet, He ALSO had a plan for all of His creation. It would have been hard for them to grasp when Jesus told His disciples that He was bringing more sheep into the sheepfold. A sheepfold would become ONE group shepherded together, including meals and close contact. The Jewish people didn’t eat or have close contact with Gentiles.

But God! Peter has a vision to preach to the Gentiles when the Holy Spirit is given. Then, when they were anointed with the seal of the Holy Spirit, it became physical proof that God’s promises were EXTENDED to ALL who call on Him in faith and trust in Jesus.

Dear Lord,
You are the Good Shepherd who loves us so much that You continually Shepherd us back into the fold. You protect us and keep us close to You. Your Holy Spirit writes Your commands on our hearts so that we continually hear Your small, still voice guiding us into the paths of life. You are SO merciful as You keep drawing us into deeper and deeper relationship with You.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Blessings as you rest in the Good Shepherd!

Vanessa Lynn