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TOPIC 7: PSALM 23 - The Lord is my Shepherd
Reflections on Psalm 23 and the pastoral words of Jesus
3. I am the good Shepherd

Jesus Christ reveals himself


JOHN 10:11-12, 14-15, 17-18
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 12 But the hireling who is not the shepherd, to whom the sheep do not belong, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees - and the Wolf catches the sheep and scatters them ... 14 I am the good shepherd and I know My sheep, and My sheep know Me, 15 as my Father knows Me, and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep ... 17 That is why My Father loves Me because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down by Myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power, to take it again. This commandment I have received of My Father.

Jesus Christ was about 30 years old, when He stepped out of His seclusion into the light of the public and revealed the secret of His person to His followers. He said:

JOHN 10:14
I am the good shepherd. ...

With these words Jesus spoke a magnificent, inexhaustible truth which will be valid throughout eternity.

For His revelation Jesus chose a phrase in which God is referring to Himself in the Old Testament. He said thus: "I am who I am. I am the Lord. I am Yahweh, the Almighty One, the most merciful. I am the faithful Shepherd, who has led His stiff-necked people through the desert for 40 years. I am the Lord David worships in Psalm 23. I am the Creator and Sustainer of the world. I have not come to judge and destroy mankind, which is evil and corrupt; but I have come to seek and to save that which is lost."

Jesus did not come to be a king taking revenge or an angry judge. He came to support, to help, he had a heart for the wretched, He comforted the poor for whom He cared and finally sacrificed Himself.

He called himself the good Shepherd. Previously He had said: "No one is good except God!" Now he was referring to Himself, He introduced Himself as the merciful and saving God, looking for the lost sheep as the faithful Shepherd, until he finds them and brings them home and into the community of His followers.

Jesus has taken over responsibility for the entire flock of God. He walks ahead of the incomprehensible large number of His followers, who have come to Him from many nations and languages and over countless ages. He brings them to the best pasture and leads them to the clear waters. He gives them not only what they need for daily life - food, clothing, work, family, home, health, joy and blessing, but also much more - everything they need for eternity! He gives them His own righteousness and His own spirit - eternal life. This life is already reflected now in truth, humility, hope and love. He leads His followers to a life of highest moral standard (Matthew 5:48). He leads his flock home to His father.

Jesus kept His flock through all temptations and persecutions. He is always faithful to them. No one can stop His way throughout all times. His flock is connected together not according to the principle of herd instinct, but by the love of the Holy Spirit. He bands together all His followers and overcomes divisions and pride. The person of the good Shepherd upholds the whole flock in unity.

The Self-sacrifice of Jesus

Jesus demonstrated His divine goodness by promising three times that He would give His life for His sheep (John 10:11-17). Anyone can see that He is the only good Shepherd by His vicarious death for His flock.

Jesus was not a hireling who worked for wages. His work did not end after a certain number of hours. He was with His followers day and night. Even today, He does not sleep nor slumber. He does not resemble the gods of the Hindus, which have to be woken up by the beating of gongs to make them attentive to the needs of their worshippers. Jesus is always there for His followers. He cares for them in good weather and in the storm, in the heat and the cold, in times of crisis and in diseases. He does not think of Himself and His own comfort, but repays the confidence of His flock with complete devotion to them. Because His herd has recognized His total sacrifice, they follow Him unconditionally, wherever He will lead them. The sheep trust Him completely at all times.

In the hour of danger, the difference between a hireling and the good Shepherd is revealed. The hireling will run away as soon as he sees the wolf coming. The hireling will attend to his own safety when his life is endangered, and leave the flock. The hireling will not die for his sheep, but prefers to sacrifice his sheep so that he might stay alive. While the wolf is ripping the sheep, the hireling will secure his own life.

Jesus was very different. From the beginning He was ready to give His life for His sheep. He became man to die for His disciples and followers. He took on a human body to be slaughtered as a Holy sacrifice for the well-being of His flock. That is why His father loves Him, because He gave His life for His sheep (Matthew 3:13-17, John 1:29).

Jesus knew the enemy of God. He compared him to a wolf. Wolves often hunt in packs, lurking for their victims. With endurance they will chase the herd until it is fatigued. Finally they will devour the weakened and tear them to pieces.

Usually a leading Wolf is at the head of such a pack. He is the strongest and smartest, whom all other wolves will obey. Jesus says that he is the one who wants to tear the flock apart. Jesus knew His enemy personally. He had met him in the desert and had overcome him by the power of His word in the hour of temptation. Jesus knew Satan, and in the Lord´s prayer referred to him as the evil one and the cause of all evil. This one wanted to fill his sheep with the poison of wickedness before he killed them. This vampire knew all the tricks - how to deceive the sheep and how to separate them from the shepherd before he finally destroyed them.

But his cunning did not help him much. The Lord kept His flock united and protected it by the power of His love and the power of His spirit. Finally the Wolf realized there would be no other way to get hold of the flock but to kill the shepherd himself.

Whoever wants to understand this prophetic parable of Jesus, which concerns His own death, must imagine how the Wolf, in the crucial hour, hurried closer to kill the Shepherd and to capture the flock of Christ. But Jesus did not flee, although He knew what awaited Him. He had the power to give His life. It was not taken from Him, but He gave it voluntarily. He knew that His death alone would guarantee the continuous existence of His flock. He knew the need for His sacrificial suffering and death. He Himself determined the hour of His death.

Jesus confronted the Wolf of all wolves. He carried no weapon to defend Himself. His armor consisted of truth, love, humility, faith, hope, and the knowledge of complete agreement with His Father in heaven.

The leading Wolf of the evil pack rushed at the good Shepherd to rip Him apart. Finally he would have free access to the sheep. No one would stop him from devouring them one after the other.

Jesus approached Satan with outstretched hands. He was embodying the cross in person. When the Wolf jumped at Him, He grabbed him by his neck and would not let him go. The Wolf defended himself in desperation and tried to lethally bite the good Shepherd. Both fell to the ground. Foam descended from the open throat of the wolf upon the face of the Lord. The good Shepherd was bleeding to death from the battle wounds inflicted on Him by the enemy of God. But He still would not let go of the evil one. Dying he fell over him, squeezing the enemy of His flock with His tortured body, holding him captive in His stiffening hands.

The herd had been scattered, full of horror, when their faithful Shepherd died. But none of His sheep had been bitten by the wolf. The dying Shepherd had defeated them and given His life for His sheep.

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