He Will Feed His Flock Like a Shepherd

One of the best-known psalms in the Bible is Psalm 23, the so-called Shepherd’s Psalm. At the very beginning, it says: “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.” That which filled David with deep gratitude and what he personally recognized as valid and true is what the prophet Isaiah later spoke of to comfort God’s people. With regard to Christ, he proclaimed: “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). 

His flock 

A reader familiar with the Bible will quickly realize that Isaiah could not have meant anyone else by the flock than the church of God – in other words, the sum of all born-again people. And the shepherd is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. This is consistent with Jesus’ self-testimony in one of the well-known words “I am:” “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own” (John 10:14). 

In order to make the nature of God’s church more tangible for us humans, the Bible – and therefore God Himself – uses an image that we can easily understand and perhaps even know from personal experience. If we look into it a little, it reveals a wonderful blessing from God. For a better understanding, it is helpful to open the Bible passage in John 10:1-18 and read it in context. 

How does one become part of the flock?

Jesus answers this question in no uncertain terms. Verse 9a says: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.” In other words: you only become part of this flock through Jesus Christ! He died on the cross for us humans. Jesus Himself said: “I lay down My life for the sheep” (verse 15b). This is precisely how He became the door for us, through which we can enter in faith and thus – metaphorically speaking – join the flock.

Without the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, no human being can be part of God’s church. When we confess our guilt to Him, ask for forgiveness, and accept it in faith, the miracle of rebirth takes place. We become part of “the flock.”

It is deeply touching that Jesus not only gave Himself as a sacrifice for us humans, but that He also wants to lead every person to His church. This is the only way to interpret Jesus’ words in verse 16: “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.” Jesus Himself is building His church.

His sheep follow Him

A light must have dawned on some of Jesus’ listeners when He told them: “He [the shepherd] 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” (verses 3b-4). Up to the present day in Palestine, a shepherd calls his sheep by name. He does this in order to gather them and then lead them to suitable pastures. He goes ahead of them, and they follow him.

The fact that we are called by our name shows that Jesus has the individual person in His church in mind, and that this personal relationship with Him is not only desired but also crucial for our discipleship. How much Jesus wants His church to follow Him – and only Him! Yes, He wants the church to stay at the source to which He leads it, that it gains its direction and spiritual maturity through His Word and clear proclamation.

He not only desires it but also expects it. The epistles to the churches in Asia Minor (Revelation 2-3) show us that God measures a church by this expectation. As a local congregation, we also bear responsibility for this today. Prayer warriors are needed in the church who have this in mind. Leadership in the local congregation needs to be aware of this responsibility and align itself accordingly. 

By going before the flock as a shepherd, Jesus not only shows them the way but also paves the way for them. This means that it is possible for a church to fulfill this expectation. But not only that: It also means that it is Jesus’ intention to lead His church to “green pastures” and “still waters.” He wants to ensure that His church is doing well. 

They follow Him, for they know His voice

So simple. So obvious. And yet it sometimes seems so complicated. Why is that? The main problem is probably that there is not just this one voice. The Bible itself tells us that there will be many voices in the end times that sound similar to that of the one Shepherd and yet are different (Matthew 24:23-24). It seems that this sign of the end times is being fulfilled more and more because we have an oversupply of religious deceptions and seductions.

In addition, we all to some extent have different needs. We have free will, and we make decisions. And that is good and God-given. However, we live in a time and in a world in which a person’s attention is equivalent to a monetary value. Consequently, efforts are made to gain this attention by all appropriate means. And we make decisions about who our attention belongs to. We do this constantly, day after day, hour after hour, and, yes, minute after minute.

With this in mind, it is so incredibly important that we know His voice! To do this, we need to engage with it. We need this quiet time again and again – truly, over and over again – in which we consciously concentrate on the voice of the Shepherd and get to know it better and better. The better we know His voice, the easier it will be for us to distinguish it from that of a stranger. And then what Jesus says in verse 5 will happen: “Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” (Note: Jesus speaks of strangers in the plural!)

The sheep know the Shepherd

Those who belong to His flock obviously not only know His voice but also the Shepherd Himself (verse 14). This is obvious because we have already seen that He is the door through which we enter the flock. However, Jesus expresses even more than this. This knowledge of the Shepherd includes a deep trust. Precisely because we have come to know the Good Shepherd, we should trust Him unconditionally. This is easy to write down, easy to read, and yet sometimes difficult to put into practice.

As a congregation, we experience and live through a wide variety of times. Sometimes we are filled with gratitude when we think of the congregation. Other times, we observe developments with concern. We experience disappointments or see signs of hope, etc. In every situation, our gaze should be focused solely on Christ, the Good Shepherd – because we know Him and should get to know Him better and better. His intention is and remains that His church should prosper, for He has come so that we may have life and life more abundantly. As the Good Shepherd, He will feed His flock.

Niko Ernst