Our Shepherd

Our Shepherd and His sheep

Jesus, our Shepherd

"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! Psalm 23:1-6

"He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young." Isaiah 40:11

"He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'" Matthew 9:36-38

"What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the n will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." Matthew 18:12-14

"He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young." Isaiah 40:11

The Good Shepherd versus the selfish shepherd

"...he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." John 10:1-5

"I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:9-10

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep." John 10:11-13

"I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd." John 10:14-16 [This one flock includes sheep of many colors -- but only those who know the shepherd.]

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one." John 10:27-30

Separating His sheep and other sheep

"Jesus answered them, ' I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep." John 10:25-26

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the a sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left." Matthew 25:31-33

His compassion

"...when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd." Mark 6:34

"For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." 1 Peter 2:25

His command to human under-shepherds

"Jesus said to him again a second time, 'Simon [Peter]... do you love Me?'
He said to Him, ' Yes, Lord; You know that I ' love You. '
'He said to him, ' Tend My sheep.'" John 21:16

"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears." Acts 20:28 -31

"Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away." 1 Peter 5:2-4

False Shepherds & lost sheep

"My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them l astray." Jeremiah 50:6

"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!' says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: 'You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,' says the Lord. 'But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking, ' says the Lord." Jeremiah 23:1-4

"For the shepherds have become dull-hearted, and have not sought the Lord;
Therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered." Jeremiah 10:21

"Wail, shepherds, and cry! Roll about in the ashes, you leaders of the flock!
For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled...
And the shepherds will have no way to flee, nor the leaders of the flock to escape...
For the Lord has plundered their pasture, and the peaceful dwellings are cut down
Because of the fierce anger of the Lord." Jeremiah 25:34-38

"Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: 'Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

    "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them....
    "Thus says the Lord God: 'Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them." Ezekiel 34:2-10

Blessing follows judgment and repentance

"For thus says the Lord God: 'Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture....

      "I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.
      "And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: 'Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? ...
      "Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: 'Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

      "I will establish one a shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God...." Ezekiel 34:11-24

"And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding." Jeremiah 3:15

"He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock." Jeremiah 31:10

Prayer

"Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." Hebrews 13:20-21

"Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance;
Shepherd them also, and bear them up forever." Psalm 28:9

Heavenly Promise

"He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Revelation 7:15-17