Living-Walk - Pure and Simple Christianity for the Rest of Us?

The Good Shepherd

In Ezekiel 34, we see the Lord's brutal indictment against the shepherds in the land who were not tending for and protecting the sheep. Rather, they were devouring them and getting fat off of them. Here is the text...

The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

" 'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.

Folks - does this look at all familiar to any of you as you look out on the church landscape?

Given the situation then, what does the Lord decide to do, replace the wicked shepherds with others perhaps? Hire new shepherds maybe? Read on...

" 'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

Astounding! The Lord will not replace the shepherds with others (hired hands) but He Himself will personally become their Shepherd! He will directly assume responsibility for feeding and protecting (the two primary tasks of a shepherd) the sheep.

And, as in everything else, we see this fulfilled and realized in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd (John 10)...

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. "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. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

My friends, hear what this speaks to us - The Lord alone is our Shepherd. Never again will men assume this role. The Lord God has determined this! Jesus Christ is charged with feeding, protecting (and even ultimately judging) the Father's flock. He alone has been deemed worthy!

In practical terms then, what does this tell us about God's care for His sheep, and even perhaps church leadership? In I Peter we read...

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it 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 will never fade away.

Ahhh, so there are elders who are tasked with shepherding God's flock, but this is not an official or titular role. They are not "the" Shepherd, but rather workers in the field, with shepherding duties. [In actuality they too are sheep]. It has already been made clear that no longer will "hired hands" ever assume primary care over God's sheep. It is the Chief Shepherd that exercises primary care over the sheep. The Lord Jesus Himself used this language frequently during His time on earth, to convey His love and concern for the sheep who were routinely left to the ravages of predators. He will FEED, PROTECT, SHELTER, LEAD TO PASTURE, and in every manner NURTURE the sheep who represent the Father's Flock. And not one of them will He lose or abandon - this is made clear in many Scriptures. He is the Good Shepherd for this very reason! While other shepherds enriched their lives off of the sheep, He lays His down for them!

Brethren - our spiritual sustenance and survival are contingent upon no man, not even ourselves. Let us look to the Shepherd of Our Souls, in living and abandoned faith, to provide every good thing in Christ! He knows His sheep perfectly doesn't He? And He loves them perfectly? While we may learn from one another, as His LIFE and TRUTH flow out from one vessel to the next; while we can indeed edify and encourage one another in the faith, setting a pure example among the saints (as Peter indicates), these are such small things compared to what the Good Shepherd must represent to us intimately and exclusively.

We are all merely sheep aren't we, whether we are mature saints or newly born. Have you ever seen sheep following a "lead" sheep, who seems to know the location of good pasture and water? Have you ever observed a really tough "bodyguard-like" sheep defending the flock from a pack of hungry wolves? Now I don't pretend to know much about sheep, and there may be exceptions, but I think you see my point here. The sheep are essentially helpless without a Good Shepherd! And the Lord is our Shepherd!

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even 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 overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23)

Hallelujah!

We don't need to follow or trust ANY man anymore! Only Him! We will never need to entrust our spiritual lives to ANY hired hand, only He who is our Eternal and Loving Shepherd!

The lesson is clear, my friends. Two-thousand years of sordid church history marks this testimony to be true. Oh, how so many false shepherds have scattered and devoured so many little ones, when they could have protected and nurtured them! Rather than lead them to the House of the Lord, they led them into the barren wilderness, estranged and alienated from God!

PRAISE GOD that we have that Good Shepherd who will never leave us nor forsake us! Praise God Indeed!

Father...Oh Father, what riches and wonders we discover in your Beloved Son, the True Shepherd who will bring us to pasture in your eternal kingdom; who protects us faithfully and vigorously from perils without and within; who feeds us with the heavenly bread of His very life and life-giving streams of living water! Forgive us Father, for seeking shepherds other than the True Shepherd; hired hands who care only for themselves and not for your little ones. Oh that we would hear and know his Voice as He calls to us here in the field of this world, to draw us near to Himself, and to all His care and provision! This we pray as it is your will, in His Name. Amen.

Please pray for us here at Living-Walk, that we would watch and see the Master at work, and understand what He would have us do.

Your friend in Christ Jesus,

Wayne