I have to say that a great part of how we the sheep have learned to run is because our great Shepherd has taught us well. Jesus didn’t just blurt out this idea of false shepherds. He has taken the image from what the prophets have said before Him. Indeed, I wonder if there mightn’t be great value in taking a look at how the image of the shepherd has been presented through the course of Scripture. Given that Jesus has chosen this image for Himself, surely, I will find in the pages of the Old Covenant much that will speak to me of Him in His chosen role.
Let me start with my pastor’s favorite point of “first mention.” The first I see shepherds spoken of directly is towards the end of Genesis, when Jacob and sons are first come into Egypt at Joseph’s call (Ge 46:31-47:4). There, Joseph tells them to inform Pharaoh that they are all shepherds, in order that Pharaoh will be inclined to settle them in a land apart, in the land of Goshen which is truly the best of the land. Pharaoh will do this, we learn, because “every shepherd is loathsome to the Egyptians.” And yet, Pharaoh knowingly settles them in, “the best of the land” (Ge 47:6). How Israel had come to resemble Egypt in her thinking, at least here in Jerusalem! They, too, had learned to despise the shepherd, to find him loathsome. They were necessary, to be sure, but not necessarily as welcome associates.
Interestingly, when Jacob pronounces his dying blessings upon his several sons, a particularly prophetic passage, he has this word for the sons of Joseph. “His bow remained firm and his arms agile, from the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob from whence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. From the God of your father who helps you, the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of heaven, of the deep, of breast and womb” (Ge 49:24-25). Who upholds? The Mighty One from whence is the Shepherd! The Shepherd. There, so near the very beginnings of Israel, we are granted sight of the One Who was to come. The One Who will very shortly be proclaiming, “I AM the Shepherd” (Jn 10:14).
Of course, one cannot consider the role of the shepherd without encountering David, the great king of Israel. He was a shepherd from his youth, and it was as a continuation of this role that God anointed him king over Israel, the people and the sheep of God. “The Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be a ruler over Israel’” (2Sa 5:2). With this, God had appointed David as the chief shepherd, but not the sole shepherd. Later, as David discusses the matter of the tabernacle with God, he is reminded by God that He had never asked any of those among the tribes, whom He had commanded to shepherd His people, to build Him a house (2Sa 7:7). In other words, David is not alone in his labors. God has appointed many to aid in this matter of caring for the sheep.
As Israel entered into its monarchical years, the idea of king as shepherd of the nation is made clearer, particularly in those times when the prophets found it necessary to speak correction to the kings. Chief among the examples of this corrective use of the image is the message Micaiah speaks to Jehoshaphat. “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep with no shepherd. The Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let them return to their homes in peace’” (1Ki 22:17, 2Chr 18:16).
I will come back to the prophetic usage of this image shortly, but first comes the wisdom literature, so let me look at that. Most famously, we have the opening imagery of Psalm 23. The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall want for nothing. He causes me to rest in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. Wherever He leads, whatever I may walk in the midst of, I fear no evil for He is with me. His rod and staff are a comfort to me (Ps 23:1-4). Given the association of shepherd and king, doesn’t this announce our Lord as the ultimate king, the King of kings! Again, David points to the Lord as the shepherd over Israel at the end of Psalm 28. “Be their shepherd and carry them forever” (Ps 28:9). Here, the people are not only sheep, but young lambs in need of carrying. And God is the loving Shepherd, His concern for the sheep so great that He will indeed carry them round His shoulders lest they be worn away by the efforts of following.
Asaph continues the association of God and shepherd, going so far as to cry out to God as the Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock (Ps 80:1). Think about that in connection with the claim Jesus makes in the next part of John’s gospel: “I AM the Good Shepherd.” This is the image He is bringing forward in Himself. Solomon also saw the connection of God and Shepherd, and to this one Shepherd he attributes all the wise words given to man (Ecc 12:11). All wisdom is given by one Shepherd. Perhaps we might also understand from this that all those who lay hold of wisdom are likewise given to the flock by that same one Shepherd.
However, it is truly the prophets of Israel who bring together the image of God and Shepherd in fullness. “Behold! The Lord God will come with might,” Isaiah writes (Isa 40:1-11). “Like a shepherd He will tend His flock. In His arm He will gather the lambs, carrying them in His bosom. He will lead the nursing ewes gently.” As the chief Shepherd over His flocks, He appoints shepherds under His authority as the need arises. Thus, God announces Cyrus as His shepherd, working for His purposes and under His direction (Isa 44:28).
Sadly for God’s people, it seems that the times often arise when we are left with “shepherds who have no understanding” (Isa 56:11). When the shepherds are of such little worth, the sheep become prey, and prey not only to the dogs, but even to the shepherds, for these are shepherds who have “all turned to their own way, each to his own unjust gain.” They are servants for hire, but they serve not their master, only their wallets. Even so, there remains a promise for the sheep. “Return to Me, for I am a master to you. I will bring you to Zion, and then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, shepherds who feed you on knowledge and understanding” (Jer 3:14-15).
Yet, again and again, the prophets must rebuke the shepherds. For, they “have become stupid. They have not sought the Lord, and therefore, they have not prospered. Their flock is scattered” (Jer 10:21). Understand, though, that Jeremiah counts himself amongst the shepherds, if not amongst those that need such rebuke. “As for me, I have not run away from being a shepherd like Yourself” (Jer 17:16). So, then, the image of the shepherd is not only that of the king ruling the nation. It also encompasses the prophets who speak to the sheep of God, whether true prophets or false. They who claim to represent God to the people are taking upon themselves the role of shepherd, and their labors in that role shall be measured by the true Shepherd Whom they claim to serve. If they shepherd as He shepherds, it shall be well for them. If not, they shall face His wrath.
Oh! Cry out, people of God, and hear the just rebuke of your Lord! “I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you would not listen! So has it been with you even from your youth. You resolutely refuse to obey My voice” (Jer 22:21-22). Sheep! And you will not listen to your own Shepherd! It’s unthinkable! So, what results? “The wind will sweep away all your shepherds.” In other words, having rejected the voice of the Shepherd, you have found other shepherds to follow, false shepherds, those same shepherds that Jesus now points to and says, “they are all thieves, stealing from My flock.” But, the true Shepherd will not suffer those deprivations to continue.
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord. “Then I Myself shall gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and shall bring them back to their pasture; and they will be fruitful and multiply. I shall also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord (Jer 23:1-4).
The people, the sheep, have suffered enough. Yes, they chose to follow those false shepherds, but it shall be the shepherds who pay the heavier penalty. As for those who were caught up in their deceptions, God will see to it that they are placed under the care of true shepherds who will do the job right, and will do the job well. None will be missing under their care. There immediately follows the announcement that God shall raise up a righteous Branch to reign as a wise and just king in the land (Jer 23:5). He is the Good Shepherd under Whom all other shepherds over God’s people will serve. And, truly, He has never lost a one of the sheep God has set in His flock.
Jeremiah returns to the end of those false ones, though, pronouncing that they shall come to the days of their own slaughter, their own dispersion. They shall prove incapable of fleeing from the true Master of the flock (Jer 25:34-35). To those who represent God falsely, then, a certainty of destruction. It may not be today and it may not be tomorrow, but it will surely come. God will not be mocked. And to be sure, Jeremiah knew a plague of false spokesmen, false claimants to the voice of God. Interesting, isn’t it, that these false prophets, like so many in our own day, were full of the prosperity message? All is peace, peace. All is God wants you better. But, the true word of God was ever, “Repent! The Kingdom is at hand.”
Neither is the priesthood free of the rebuke to the shepherds. They, too, are included in the office of shepherds over Israel, and it is to them, first and foremost, that Ezekiel addresses himself. Bear in mind that so much of Ezekiel’s message has to do with the corruption of the temple and its restoration. This is the place of the priest, not the prophet. This is the realm of the priest, not the king. Yet, he is called to bring correction into this very place. “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Say to them, ‘The Lord God says, “Woe to you, shepherds of Israel! You have been feeding yourselves when you should have been feeding the flock! Indeed, you feed yourselves on the very fat of that flock, and you clothe yourselves in the wool of the flock. You will not feed them, yet you slaughter them for your own benefit”’” (Eze 34:2-3). But, God will not leave it thus. “Because My flock has become a prey for lack of a sound shepherd, and because My shepherds couldn’t even be bothered to search for My flock, since they were too busy feeding themselves, I am against the shepherds. I will demand that they return My sheep to Me, and they shall never work as shepherds again. Not for Me, not for any man. I will deliver My flock from their mouths. I Myself will go seek out My sheep and see them safely returned, and I will personally care for My sheep” (Eze 34:8-10).
And then! And then Messiah! “Then, I will set over them one Shepherd, My servant David. He will feed them Himself. He will be their Shepherd” (Eze 34:23). Now, it should be obvious that David has long been dead as Ezekiel speaks what God is speaking. We must measure this prophecy by others. David must be clearly seen as the Branch, the one from the stump of the root of Jesse. And in this One, the Son of David, the Son of Man and Son of God, we shall have one Shepherd, one Good Shepherd, and in Him we will walk in all God’s ways, keeping His statutes and observing His laws (Eze 37:24).
If Ezekiel’s message isn’t clear enough, I can turn to Micah, who says that the One from Bethlehem Ephrathah will go forth on His behalf to rule Israel (Mic 5:2-5). “His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord. And they, His sheep, will remain because He will be great, and He will be great to the ends of the earth. He, the Shepherd, the One, will be our peace.
Zechariah picks up on several of the themes already seen. He writes of God’s ire at the shepherds who have failed to keep the people on course (Zech 10:2-3), as well as the way the shepherds of Israel (kings, priests, prophets) have not only neglected the sheep but even profited by the destruction of the sheep (Zech 1:3-6).
To this, he adds what is, I believe, a unique prophetic image. God says that He will raise up a shepherd “who will not care for the perishing, will not seek the scattered, will not heal the broken, will not sustain. Rather, he will devour the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. He will be worthless, but he will also be the object of God’s wrath, his arm being wholly withered and his right eye blinded” (Zech 11:16-17). This message comes as a warning to Israel, not to her shepherds. The shepherds have been dealt with already. But the sheep share in the guilt. Recalling what Jesus says in His parable, the sheep know the voice of their own shepherd and will flee from the voice of a stranger. Yet, they have followed the strange voices and fled their true shepherd!
The final image of the shepherd that Zechariah gives us returns to that of Messiah, the True Shepherd sent to the sheep. Yet, here again the prophecy is shocking. God calls down the sword upon His own Shepherd, His Associate. He does so that the sheep may be scattered, that He might turn Himself against the sheep (Zech 13:7-9). Yet, as always, the darkest prophecies of God always hold out the seed of promise. Two thirds will be cut off, but that final third will not only remain, but be refined, purified, and proved true. That remaining third will call upon His name and He will answer. They will call themselves His people and He will agree that He is their God. Of course, the fulfillment of the part about striking down His own Shepherd is seen to be fulfilled at the Cross. The second part may be seen as fulfilled in the history of His nation and particularly of His apostles. The record of the early church is a record of perseverance through great adversity. All manner of effort by Jew and by Gentile were arrayed against the new faith in great violence, and yet, the new faith arose. And yet, the faithful remained so. The remaining sheep were refined and purified by their trials, and proven true to God by their perseverance in the midst.
In the Gospels, the image of the Shepherd of God is most clear in John’s record, particularly in this chapter currently under study. But, the image returns in the restoration of Peter after his denial of Jesus. Three times Jesus asks, “Peter, do you love Me?” And with each affirmative answer from Peter, He enjoins service upon Peter: Tend My lambs; shepherd My sheep; Tend My sheep. Now, these are clearly parallel descriptions of but one service to be rendered, and they point to a most important matter: The Good Shepherd is again appointing shepherds to serve under His command, upon His authority and in His interest.
This image stuck, and not only with Peter and John. Paul also recognized the role of the shepherd in the Church. As he made his way to Jerusalem, knowing that the outcome there was unlikely to be good for his person, he gave instruction to those among whom he took final comfort. “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock. The Holy Spirit has made you overseers that you may shepherd the church of God, the church He purchased for Himself with His own blood! Savage wolves will come to attack the flock in my absence, even some of your own number will be shown wolves, seeking to draw away disciples after themselves. So remain alert! Recall all that I have admonished you over, and abide in the fact that God is able to build you up, to give you the inheritance among the sanctified” (Ac 20:28-32).
Jesus, of course, remains the great Shepherd (Heb 13:20), the Chief Shepherd (1Pe 5:4). Yet, He has appointed those to serve under Him. The flock is large and wide-spread, and requires more immediate attention than He can give. Let me rephrase that slightly. He is hardly to be thought incapable of providing the most intimate of personal attention to each individual sheep. He is fully able! He has chosen to select from among those who serve Him to serve in this role of shepherd. He has blessed us with this great benefit, that we have not only the all-sufficient yet invisible Shepherd in Himself, but also have visible and homely shepherds to whom we can turn. Here, of course, I mean homely in its more original, non-derogatory sense. Our shepherds, by His design, are men like unto ourselves, men we can relate to more easily for their being so akin to our own nature.
Surely, in Jesus we have a High Priest Who is most fully able to commiserate with our trials, for He has faced every trial and temptation that we face. He has faced them and triumphed over them. Yet, as much as He is Son of Man and like ourselves in this, we are incapable of separating out the fact that He is also Son of God. However much we may recognize His humanity, His godhead becomes something of a stumbling block when it comes to fully accepting His sympathy for our condition. See, He overcame everything! He never failed. He is not entirely like us, for He has no sin of which to express regret. He never had cause to repent, for He never fell short.
These shepherds He has appointed as His local representatives, though: They are like me. They have the same challenges I have. They have their failings just like I do. They are like me. I can relate to them, and I can expect them to relate to me. Oh! What a disservice is done by those who try and raise their pastors up as somehow superior! It is a disservice to the pastor, who must suffer the battles of pride that come with such elevation. It is a disservice to self, for in elevating the pastor so, the bond of commonality is lost. This is not to say the pastor is not worthy of honor. Of course he is! Worthy of honor and worthy of concerted prayer on the part of his charges, for the role of the pastor, the shepherd, is a difficult role indeed. But, honor does not require idolizing. Honor does not require pedestals. Our pastors are, just like the apostles, men such as ourselves. We ought not dare to ever view them otherwise. It is a setup for failure to do so, for they will surely disappoint in one fashion or another. If they have been made out to be more than is right, these disappointments can do great damage to faith. If they are seen as human and not so very different from the sheep (for they too, are sheep), then such disappointments are no worse than opportunities to forgive as we are forgiven.
As a final point or two on this brief sidetrack into the image of the shepherd, I come to the pinnacle of the Scriptural revelation of that Great Shepherd I have in Christ. Behold! When the Chief Shepherd appears, I will receive the unfading crown of glory (1Pe 5:4)! Now, before I get too excited about that, let me place it back in its context. Peter is addressing the elders, among whom he sets himself as a fellow elder. Stop for a moment, and see the humility of Peter. Here is the apostle, the leader among the apostles, and yet, he gives himself no great rank for all that. He does not push his seniority, nor lay claim to any sort of primacy in the church. It’s simply, a message from one elder to another. And his message is simple: “Shepherd the flock of God among you. Do so willingly as God wills. You are not shepherds by compulsion and you mustn’t take up the job for profit. Yet, be eager to shepherd your charges by example” (1Pe 5:1-3)! This is what lays the groundwork for that promise. You have set yourself as an example, therefore, that crown of glory is assured when He comes.
Yes, the passage is addressed to the elders, but does it not apply to us all? Are we not, each one of us, called to be as examples to the flock? Indeed, each of us is in some ways an elder to others. There will always be those we could mentor and disciple. If we do not do so in a more direct fashion, then at the very least we can do so by our example. We can live out, and not only at church, a life that truly shows what it means to “walk worthy.” In doing so, we can be assured that along with our own elders, we will receive that unfading crown of glory.
And, know this: “The Lamb in the center of the throne shall be our shepherd. He shall guide us to the springs of the Water of Life” (Rev 7:17). Is it really any wonder that Jesus takes upon Himself the image of the Lamb, Who is our Shepherd? In His own person, He sets forth the image for those who would serve His flock. Every shepherd a sheep. Thus it has always been amongst His people, and thus it shall always be, for He, too, is from amongst His own. He, too, is truly man, more truly so than any other! He, too, has walked lowly, like the sheep. Just as His compassion as our High Priest was perfected by the time of His humiliation among men, so, too, His guardianship as Shepherd is perfected by having been a sheep.
This is exactly what He expects of those who would serve as leaders over His own. Listen! The Great Shepherd is, as is well understood, Prophet, Priest and King. This study has seen that each of these three offices is wrapped up in the image of the Shepherd. The Great Shepherd, then, is the focal point of all as He fulfills those three offices in one Person. Until His return, though, He places many as shepherds over His people but under Himself.
Each one who would serve in the priestly office, bearing the prayers of the sheep before the throne of the Lamb, is set as a shepherd and called upon to serve faithfully and for right purpose, never for gain, never for fame, only for His Name. Each one who would serve in the prophetic office, speaking God’s Word to His people, must likewise heed every warning and admonition to the shepherds who serve under the Lamb. Those who hold positions of civil authority are hardly excluded, either. It matters not whether they acknowledge the lordship of the Lamb, for His authority does not depend on their acceptance. His authority is absolute! They will serve Him faithfully or they will suffer His wrath. Thus it has ever been and thus it shall continue until the day of His return to establish His rule in full!
Glory, indeed, to the Lamb of God Who sits upon His throne in all eternity! Blessed be His Name, and May His rule be established in perfection, first in me, and finally throughout the earth!
