The LORD, Our Shepherd

Sermon Introduction

Last week, we spoke on Jesus as the Good Shepherd and how He illustrated that in the Gospel of John. This is what it means to be a Good Shepherd. In Jesus’ time, the Judeans and Galileans were steeped in Old Testament imagery. Everything related back to Scripture for them. Children from a young age would be taught Scripture by their father, because it was seen as a special blessing for a young man to learn his first verse from his father.

Now, we have our obsessions and things we focus on. It’s no surprise to hear people of my generation sit and talk about movie series they have enjoyed in such minute detail you wonder if the writer intended for those connections to be made.

In Jesus’ day, the three most quoted books of Scripture were Deuteronomy, Psalms, and Proverbs. If anyone made a reference to them, the average mind would make the connection. When Jesus said He was the Good Shepherd, the listener would immediately think of Psalm 23.

The Bible makes many references to believers being like a flock of sheep. “All we like sheep have gone astray,” Isaiah tells us in 53:6. These are not compliments. Jesus warns that people will come in like wolves among the flock.

If we are like sheep, then what is our leader like? To what does the thing compare?

Scripture Introduction

As you turn to Psalm 23, let’s talk briefly about that the book of Psalms is. It’s poetry. Every chapter is a poem. Hebrew poetry functions in images and symbols instead of rhyming. Rhyming is actually too simple in Hebrew for it to be considered an art form. Instead, they paint pictures with their words directly into the reader’s mind.

The collection of Psalms functions like a hymnal. It has praise songs and teaching songs. It has songs of deep feeling of thanksgiving. The Psalms are also very personal and introspective. The poets have no fear of pouring themselves out to God. They record their deepest sorrows here, though the psalm we will look at today is a psalm of gratitude.

Psalm 23:1-6 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. ³ He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. ⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I 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 have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. ⁶ Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

This is why we love the Lord. He gave so much for us in the first place by freeing us from our sins, and He continues to give throughout our walk with Him.

Point 1:

Psalm 23:1-3 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. ³ He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

David wrote more psalms than any other writer. Out of the 150 psalms in our Bible, David gave us 73, almost half. The second place writer of the psalms is Asaph with only twelve. Many of the Psalms have no author listed so we simply cannot say if David wrote others.

Art comes out of what the artist has experienced or can deeply imagine. With Psalm 23, David drew up on his life as a shepherd boy, tending the flocks of his family. As a shepherd himself, David knew what it took to be a good one. The shepherd protected the flock from predators. David tells in another place how he fought off a lion and a bear that came for the flock. Jacob, who spent two decades as an under shepherd for Laban in Genesis, tells how he bore the cost of any losses to predators himself though custom said the under shepherd could not be charged for loss if he had done everything possible to prevent the loss. The shepherd takes care of the sheep.

In the days with open grazing, the shepherd would lead his flock from one place to another. The flock became accustomed to him and followed his leadership. The flock looked to him for protection because he had already led them well.

In this Psalm, David does something that his descendant Jesus would later do. Jesus several times made comparisons between men and God, saying, “if you, being evil, do this, how much more so will God do?” That’s the kind of imagery David calls on here. “If we, being evil, still know how to care for sheep, how much more so will God care for us?”

When Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd, Psalm 23 came to mind for many hearers. Jesus is the one who provides for the flock and takes them to the best pastures. Jesus leads the flock beside still waters and gives them rest of the soul. As Jesus said in Matthew, “Come unto me all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” That’s a wonderful promise. Rest. The wonderful rest of God.

David also tells us that the Lord guides believers in the paths of righteousness. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” No, good works will not save you, but if you are saved you will do good works. Ephesians 2:10 tells us we were created to do good works. James says that faith without works is dead. But those who are saved will actively seek out good to do. They won’t simply avoid evil. They will actively do good.

Why are we to do good works and walk in the paths of righteousness? To glorify Him. We don’t do these things for ourselves but for His name’s sake. Every Christian leader that falters and falls into sin is a black eye to God’s kingdom. We know the names of many who started out following God and doing well but stumbled and abandoned the faith. Worse are those who continue acting as if they are in the faith but are really ravenous wolves, tearing apart the flock and preventing people from getting closer to God. In Matthew 7, Jesus warns of wolves in sheep’s clothing, these are those who works are only skin deep. They intend to destroy the flock and give a bad name to God’s people.

Other New Testament authors further describe Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Hebrews 13:20 and 21 tells us that the shepherd equips the saints. In 1 Peter 5:4, Peter calls Jesus the chief shepherd who comes in glory to reward the undershepherds.

Point 2:

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I 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 have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. ⁶ Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The whole psalm focuses on the Lord being the Good Shepherd and how the sheep respond to Him. The shepherd desires to take the sheep along pathways of righteousness, but that isn’t always the route we travel. There are times when the shepherd has to take the flock through dangerous territory to get to the good pastures. At these times, the sheep must trust the shepherd. The shepherd has brought them through tough times before. He has guided them in the little struggles of the home pastures; now they must trust in the dark times.

I had an experience like this with my first sheep. One evening, during her regular exercise, a dog barked and then began chasing her. I was not prepared for the sudden jerk on the rope, and seventh-grade me fell hard on the ground. I expected Baby to run on back to her shelter. However, she did not. As soon as she sensed I had dropped the rope, she stopped and came back to me.

Understand, she didn’t care if I was hurt or not. That was not her concern. After sniffing to see if I was still alive, she stood near me, tensed to run if needed. She trusted me to protect her from predators. She stayed near the closest source of protection she knew. She feared no dog, for her master’s walking stick comforted her.

Shepherds, famously, have carried crooked staffs for centuries. The hook on the end serves as weight if they need to strike out at a predator while also serving to catch lambs that are straying off. In Judea and Galilee, a lamb could easily get stuck on the side of a hill or cliff and need to be “hooked” up.

The Good Shepherd also provides a table in the presence of the sheep’s enemies. Even though we are surrounded by such a great number of evils, God assures us that no temptation can come upon us except ones we have the strength to overcome.

The Good Shepherd also anoints the sheep. Biting flies and parasites are the bane of a shepherd’s work. The wolf and bear might be a bigger threat but only on an occasional basis. Biting flies bother sheep throughout the season. The oil on the sheep’s head keeps the flies away from the face. The wool protects the body, but the face needs the oil.

Jesus gives so much that our cup overflows. He is great and His gifts are abundant.

The final thing David talks about with the Lord being his shepherd is that for those sheep who stay with the shepherd, goodness and mercy will pursue them. Some Bibles say “lovingkindness.” This is not just a word for forgiving someone. This mercy is covenant love. God shows kindness to us because we took on the covenant. Just as a shepherd takes care of his sheep because they trust his care, God takes care of those who have entered the covenant with Him. And those sheep will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Isn’t that good news? Isn’t that the kind of thing we need to hear?

For all the times we try to get away and run outside the pasture land, God graciously keeps us within it so that we may dwell with Him forever.

Conclusion

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, but I ask is He your shepherd? We all make choices every day that determine if He is or is not. One of the things about sheep is how they get lost but don’t realize they are lost until you find them. That’s like us. Sometimes, we choose to leave God but other times we just sorta wander away.

It doesn’t have to be that way. The rules the Father gave us are for our own good. They enhance life not limit it. Jesus said that He came to give us life abundant. That means we will experience peaks and valleys. But just as He is with us on the highest peak, He is with us in the lowest valley. Even through the valley of the shadow of death, He remains with us.

Have you come to the shepherd to become part of His flock?

Are you a sheep that has wandered away?

Are you a sheep in the flock that just wants to draw closer to the shepherd?

Whichever way, let Jesus be your Good Shepherd.