The Good, great, Chief Shepherd
Dr. John K. Mathew
The symbolic relationship between the Israelites and Jehovah as the sheep and the shepherd is a sublime topic in the Holy Scriptures.
Asaph, the Psalmist writes, "Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth" (80:1) It was consoling to Israel to think of Jehovah as the great shepherd of their flock, who provided such rich pastures that none needed to suffer want. In fact, some of the most significant people named in the Bible were shepherds by occupation. To name a few, Abel, the patriarch Moses, and David.
Even today, in the Holy Land, you may see shepherds leading flocks and revealing how intimately they know each sheep, its individual traits, and its unique needs. Jacob was an excellent shepherd who knew the psychology of the sheep. It reads in the book of Genesis, "Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. Then he placed peeled branches in all the watering troughs so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink they mated in front of the branches and they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted" (30: 37-39). David was a valiant shepherd willing to spare his life for the sheep.
He says when a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it, and killed it (1 Sam.17:34,35). Jehovah of the Old Testament was the shepherd of the Israelites. But we have a good shepherd who lays down his life for us. He is Jesus in whom all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form. He says, "I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep and my sheep know me- just as the Father knows me and I know the father- and I lay down my life for the sheep" (John 10:14).
David was a good shepherd, but Nathan had to convince him of his sin through an allegory of a sheep. Jacob was a good shepherd but he carries the baggage of cheating his father and brother. In Jesus, there is no blemish. Jesus Christ is not only a good shepherd He is a great shepherd as well. The author of the book of Hebrews writes, "May, the God of peace, who through the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus that good Shepherd of the sheep equips you with everything good for doing His will" (Heb.13;20). Apostle Peter presents Him as the Chief Shepherd. ( 1 Pet.5:4).
He is the Good, Great, and the Chief Shepherd.
