In Psalm 23, David reveals that he has a very personal relationship with Jesus. He calls the Lord his “Shepherd.”
When I was a nonbeliever, sometimes I’d hear Christians say they had a personal relationship with Jesus, and I just didn’t understand it. How could you have a personal connection with Jesus? What did that even mean?
Also, how was that even possible when He died over two thousand years ago?
Now that I’ve received salvation, the Lord has begun teaching me about Himself and Christian life. We’ve had many physical encounters, as well as conversations during worship, including prayer, writing, and even while I’m praise dancing.
Over time, I realized that I’d gone from not knowing or believing in Jesus to having a strong bond with Him.
This relational aspect is the major difference between Christianity and other religions. We get the opportunity to know the true and living God, the One who answers and cares for us: Jesus.
Let’s learn what the Bible says about the Lord being our Good Shepherd in both the Old and New Testaments.
What is a Shepherd?
In the Bible, a shepherd was not only a physical job, but a spiritual assignment. Although being a shepherd was considered a lowly position in ancient Middle Eastern culture, some of the most famous leaders in the Bible were indeed shepherds. Some include Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and David.
So, what does a shepherd do? What’s so “lowly” about this job?
Being a shepherd required hard labor, a patient heart, and the courage to defend the flock, since sheep needed protection from wild animals.
David, the shepherd-king, recalls his time as a shepherd-boy, “…when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.” (2 Samuel 17:34-35 ESV)
Sheep are unable to defend themselves in a fight, and so they need someone to protect them or else they will not survive for long.
Shepherds are also responsible for leading sheep to food and water, which were hard to come by in the Judean wilderness.
When we recall that the Shepherd in the 23rd Psalm leads the sheep toward green pastures and still waters, it’s easy to imagine a lush, green pasture and a flowing river of water. However, David was an Israelite who lived in the Judean Desert: a dry and dangerous place with limited grass and water.
So where does his understanding of “green pastures” and “still waters” come from?
The Judean wilderness was speckled with patches of green grass (then and now) along the rolling mountainside. The Shepherd would lead his sheep to these patches, allowing them to graze for hours until satisfied.
The shepherd also leads his sheep to drink from wells dug deep within the earth. They’d use a bucket to drag the water up from the ground to water the flock.
The sheep looked to their shepherd as the provider of every need they could ever have in life. And he provided it, no matter the cost to his safety.
Sound like someone familiar?
Old Testament: The Lord as Our Shepherd
The Lord has always been a shepherd of His people, even before the Fall.
In the Garden of Eden, the Lord provided everything that Adam and the Woman (not yet named Eve) needed to thrive. They lived in abundance:
- food and water resources
- a safe space to live
- a calling to have dominion over the land and animals
- a commission to be fruitful and multiply to grow the human population
- God Himself walking in the Garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8 ESV)
What more could you need in a world without sin?
When Adam and the Woman ate the forbidden fruit, they could no longer dwell with God as His sheep. They were expelled from the Garden of Eden, but Jesus was still their Shepherd. He covered their shame and sin even before He went to the cross by making garments of animal flesh to cover their nakedness, because fig leaves were not sufficient (Genesis 3:21 ESV). This foreshadows the revelation that blood must be shed to cover sins and iniquity.
As the biblical account progresses, we see the Lord constantly watching over His people, making covenants with them, and forgiving their disobedience. David understands this in his own life. He writes one of the most famous Psalms about the Lord in the entire Bible, one that Christians still learn and return to for comfort and encouragement:
Psalm 23:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness[b]
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,[c]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely[d] goodness and mercy[e] shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell[f] in the house of the Lord
forever.[g]
The Lord acts as Israel’s Shepherd in many other books of the Bible, comforting, correcting, and leading His chosen people back to righteousness for His name’s sake. The Israelites’ way of living was always meant to show non-believers that there is only One True God, and that He is many things, including loving, kind, patient, a provider, but most of all, holy.
The Lord’s reputation to the world depended on the condition and conduct of His chosen people. This is similar to the reputation of the shepherd, because his reputation as a good shepherd rested on the condition and conduct of his flock.
Jesus: the Good Shepherd in the New Testament
In the Gospels and beyond, the Lord shows Himself in human flesh to be the Good Shepherd of both the Israelites and Gentiles who would believe in Him for salvation. In the Gospel of Luke, for example, the author mainly focuses on Jesus’ heart for the lost and discarded in society.
Among healings of the lame, blind, and deaf, the famous Parable of the Lost Sheep reveals Jesus’ commitment to saving both Jew and Gentile.
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
15 “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15: 1-7 ESV)
For God’s eternal redemption of humanity to occur, the way to salvation must be revealed to those once seen as unworthy, unclean, and alienated from the life of God (Ephesians 4:18 ESV).
The Israelites, having been chosen as God’s first fruits of humanity to be redeemed, received the oracles of God first on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1-17; Romans 3:2 ESV). The Pharisees and scribes had been teaching the Law of Moses for thousands of years by the time Jesus came as the Promised Messiah. God’s chosen people were used to being separate not only from Gentiles but also from those on the outskirts of Jewish society. Namely, tax collectors, prostitutes, murderers, the lame, and the sick…
Unsurprisingly, the marginalized are the exact people whom Jesus sought out to receive the gospel and knowledge of the kingdom of God.
Paul the apostle says it in his letter to the Ephesians, a congregation of both Jews and Gentiles:
“When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is[a] that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (Ephesians 3:4-6 ESV)
Jesus says it again to the Pharisees in John 10, revealing Himself as the Good Shepherd, the true entry point to salvation and eternal fellowship with the Father.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again…” (John 10:11, 16-18 ESV).
Christians are the Sheep of the Lord
We have a choice in how we respond to the call of the Good Shepherd. Now that the work of redeeming humanity is finished through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can become His sheep. children of God.
When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, our life’s worries, burdens, and anxieties become His. No longer do we have to take care of everything on our own, stressing ourselves out with mundane tasks and routines that never seem to lead to a fulfilling life.
As His sheep, we go on a journey of building trust in Him as Lord, Savior, Father, Friend, Wonderful Counselor, Teacher, and more. We have to learn to let go of our safety nets and security blankets and follow Him wherever He leads.
This is easier said than done, I know!
But I’ve been walking with Jesus long enough to know that He will take you on a journey that leads to eternal life with Him and the Father.
The best way to build up trust is to get to know Him, which you can start today.
Take the plunge and begin building a deep bond with Jesus with the Abide Devotional.
Thanks for reading,
Paris
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