Who do you say that I am?
Good Shepherd
Theme Verse: "Who do you say that I am?" Matthew 16:15
Readings: Psalm 23, John 10:1-18, Micah 2:12-13 and 5:2-5a, Isaiah 40:9-11
Optional: Ezekiel 34
Memory Verse: "The LORD* is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23:1 (Pre-K to grade 3)
A word received: How have you experienced Jesus as your good shepherd?
Probably most of us encountered Jesus as Shepherd either when we heard and perhaps learned the 23rd Psalm or when we saw a picture of Jesus the Shepherd holding a lamb in his arms. I remember when our 3 year old son, Jonathan, sat staring at that picture and all of a sudden announced, "I'm Jesus' little lamb." Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." Prayer: Lord, help our children to know you as their shepherd and help us as adults to come to you in trust as a little child.
So the first thing we need to learn is that Jesus IS (still, right now) the Good Shepherd and he wants to be your Shepherd and mine. He wants to shepherd his flock and bring back the lost and the strays. Jesus says the Shepherd "calls his own sheep by name."(John 10:3) Jesus knows your name. He calls you by name and he wants you to know his voice(vs.4), to hear his voice(vs.3), and follow him.
If you have read about sheep you know they need to be taken care of and protected. They are pretty good about getting into trouble--just like people. The sheep in the Middle East in Jesus' time and today are lead by a shepherd, not driven ahead of him.
A writer, recently in Israel, talked about several shepherds meeting and talking while their sheep swirled around them, all mixed together but when the shepherds left and called their sheep, the sheep knew their own shepherd's voice and followed him.
Sheep need protection, food and guidance. That's why the shepherds carried a rod (big stick to kill anything coming after the sheep) and a staff, a stick with a hook on the end like the one the Bishop carries ( to grab and rescue or sort out the sheep). At night when the sheep were in a safe pen the shepherd slept lying across the gate ("I AM the Door"). Anything that wanted to get at his sheep had to get past him! Ann Spangler in the book "Praying the Names of Jesus" tells a story on pg.318 of a neighbor who invited a homeless man to his house to spend the night and began to worry that the man might not be as harmless as he looked so he spent the night lying on the floor at the top of the stairs to protect his children!
Israel was a good land but a lot of it was pretty dry so the shepherd had to lead his flock to places where there were good pastures and "still waters" (sheep won't drink from actively flowing water). The sheep had to be led. They couldn't find these places on their own, that might change frequently.
Jesus loved children and loved to take them in his arms and bless them and like a shepherd carry them in his arm and gently lead expectant mothers and mothers of small children (Isaiah 40:11)
Part of what the shepherd was prepared to do was defend his sheep with his life. One of the important things Jesus says as the Good Shepherd was that he "lays down his life for the sheep" (John10:11) "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." (vs.18 ) Jesus died for us on the cross and rose again both as the "Lamb of God" and as the "Good Shepherd".
There are several other important ideas connected to the idea of a Shepherd. We see in Psalm 23 that GOD (the LORD) is my Shepherd. *Note: (When LORD is in capital letters it refers to God's Name ("I AM") which a religious Jew thought too holy to pronounce.) See Isaiah 40:9-11. In Ezekiel 34 God has strong words of rebuke for the false shepherd of Israel (many of the leaders) and God speaks of a time coming when "I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep…I will seek out the lost, and I will bring back the strays, and I will bind up the crippled and I will strengthen the weak…"(vs.15-16).. Then God points forward to the time of the Messiah, the "anointed" one who will be a shepherd-ruler like King David. (v.s23) Part of the role of the Messiah was to be a shepherd to God's people. This Messiah-Shepherd will be a king in the line of David.
Ordinary shepherds were quite lowly but kings were also to be shepherds. Isaiah 44:28 refers to the foreign king Cyrus as a shepherd whom God had appointed. David is the Shepherd-King in Psalm 78:70-72.
Micah 5:2 talks about where the future king, the "anointed" one, will come from (Bethlehem) but it also talks about how this Messiah-King will shepherd his flock in the Name of his God. Micah 2:12-13 speaks of a time when God will bring together his scattered flock. He will also be their king and lead them.
By saying that he is the Good Shepherd, Jesus is also saying indirectly that he is the Messiah-Shepherd-King. He is also linking himself with God who is the Shepherd of Israel who will one day shepherd his people himself (Ezekiel 34). This Shepherd-King will also judge between the good sheep and the bad ones, the good shepherds and the bad ones. Remember Jesus teaching about the Day of Judgment in Matthew 25:31-32 where the Son of Man will separate the sheep and the goats.
Sometimes ordained ministers are called "pastors" which means shepherds. God calls some of his sheep to shepherd others. After Jesus' resurrection Jesus told Peter to "Feed my lambs", "Tend my sheep", "Feed my sheep".(John 21:15-17. God calls some to be official shepherds of his flock but God also calls some, children and adults, to function as shepherds for others. Is the chief Shepherd asking you to do that for someone, perhaps even a younger child?
At the end of time we will stand in front of the Throne in heaven and the Lamb of God will be there on the Throne and the Lamb will be our Shepherd and lead us to springs of living water and wipe away every tear. (Revelation 7:17)
The 23rd Psalm says "even though I walk through the valley of deep darkness (or the shadow of death) I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me."(vs4) God has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." Hebrew 13:5 (See Joshua 1:5)
Now look at some words the teachers got in response to Psalm 23. How is God speaking to you in these verses?
"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want." (Psalm 23:1) A word received: I AM your provider.
Do we really believe this? Do we ask for it? Do you have any experience to share of God's provision?
"He makes me to lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still waters." (Psalm 23:2) A word received: Look to me and I will guide you for your own good.
Has the Lord ever given you times of green pastures, rest and still waters?
"He restores my soul; he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." (Psalm 23:3) A word received: My name is holy and I want you to do those things which will bring honor to my name.
How often do we consider the impact on the honor of God's Name of the things we do and say? Pray for help?
"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." (Psalm 23:4) A word received: That is my heart's desire -- to comfort you, my people. Look to me; seek me out; I will guide you through to victory over sin and death.
Jesus longs to comfort us (comfort meaning both comfort in the usual sense and strengthening). We need to constantly look to him and seek him out to carry us through to victory over sin and death. Do you have an example to share?
"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over." (Psalm 23:5) A word received: I will anoint your head with the oil of my Holy Spirit if you invite me to do that.
Have we invited the Lord to do that recently?
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." (Psalm 23:6) A word received: I will come between you and every past evil if you will invite me into those places.
Thank you Jesus for coming between me and all that is past.
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