The Good Shepherd

John 10:11 (NKJV)

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the

sheep.”

Looking at this passage Jesus is very specific who He is, He says “I am the good shepherd.” So why did Jesus refer to himself as a shepherd? The key to knowing this is to know some characteristics of sheep. A few key characteristics of sheep are;

• Skittish fearful creatures. 
• Near-sighted, not able to see far off.
• If left on their own, will totally destroy their pasture.
• Prone to wandering. 

So knowing that we are the sheep in the biblical illustration lets look at a passage where David, a shepherd himself, speaks on how our Good Shepherd Jesus cares for His flock. 

Psalm 23:1–6 (NKJV) 

  A Psalm of David.  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.

In this one passage we see how our True and Good Shepherd leads us. Since we are fearful, He is with us to comfort us. We can have a peace knowing that He is with us, and will never leave us. As with the sheep, we can only see the present; we are not able to see far off, but we have a Shepherd who leads us through the tough times and knows the path because He is the beginning and the end. Since sheep will over graze and eventually destroy their pasture, our good Shepherd  does this for us, He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He takes us to the green pastures and the still waters he wants us to know and grow in the word, so he sometimes moves his sheep to new places to mature. Lastly, as with sheep we are prone to wander, the Lord has a staff that protects us but also can gently correct us. Its up to us to listen and heed the correction, its for our own good, trust Him. 

The best part of our Shepherd Jesus is He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies; He anoints our heads with oil; our cup runs over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives; and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He laid down His life so you can have life, eternal life. 

Trust Jesus with your life, trust him as your Good Shepherd.