The Good Shepherd and His Flock

The people God has chosen to be the sheep of His pasture (Ps 100:3), are a holy people to the Lord, a people for His personal possession (Dt 7:6). They are a remnant, according to His gracious choice (Rom 11:5), and they come from every nation, tribe, and tongue (Rev 5:9).

The Lord is their shepherd (Ps 23:1), and He is the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11). He calls each of His sheep by name (Jn 10:3) because He knows them (Jn 10:27), for their names were written in His book from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8; 17:8).

The Good Shepherd leads His sheep, and they follow Him because they belong to Him (1 Cor 3:23), and He cares for them (1 Pet 5:7). He meets their needs (Ps 23:1b), for food and water (Ps 23:2), even in the presence of their enemies (Ps 23:5). The devil prowls like a lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8), but no one can pluck even one of the Great Shepherd’s own, from His hand (Jn 10:28–29). They will never perish (Jn 10:28), for Jesus has given eternal life to God’s elect given to Him (Jn 6:37; 10:28; 17:2; 1 Jn 5:11).

The life of the sheep, in the care of the Chief Shepherd, is wholistic trust. The Spirit of truth guides the believer, on the narrow path of righteousness (Ps 23:3; Jn 16:13). He is our Helper (Jn 14:26), and we acknowledge Him in all our ways (Prv 3:5–6) because God’s ways are higher than our ways (Is 55:9). Jesus is the Head of the church and Lord of all (Acts 10:36; Eph 5:23; Col 1:18), so when we who are His, hear His voice, we follow Him (Jn 10:4, 27).

Jesus Christ is the one Leader in the church (Mt 23:10). He is in front of us, so as we journey to the tablelands on higher ground (Ps 23:5), we keep our eyes fixed on Him (Heb 12:2). In order to get there, the flock of God must pass through the valley of the shadow of death (Ps 23:4). Christians believe that God is able to do abundantly beyond all we can think or imagine (Eph 3:20).

The life of the sheep in Christ’s flock is rather mundane. Sheep by nature and design are non-performance animals. They do manifest a periodic fleece, but other than that, it is life basics. In fact, staying alive is about it.

The bad shepherd (hireling) is not attentive to his sheep. He loses sheep to predators. Being inattentive, the thief comes in and steals the sheep, while the bad shepherd is distracted with lesser things. Having not cared for the pasture nor the tablelands, the sheep are malnourished. This depicts the shepherds of Israel in Ezekiel 34, who feast on the sheep themselves, even devouring widow’s houses.

The world is filled with false religious leaders, past and present (2 Pet 2). These devour their followers in a myriad of ways; but time, allegiance, and financial sacrifice are high on the list for so-called leaders, prophets, and apostles. They live in luxury, while their sheep suffer.

For His name sake (Ps 23:3), Jesus cares for those given to Him by His father (Jn 6:37; 17:2, 6, 24). He never leaves nor forsakes His own (Heb 13:5). He feeds and tends His flock, by the Spirit, who appoints elders in every place (Acts 20:28). These men of God meet the qualifications set in Scripture (1 Tim 3:1–7; Tit 1:5–9). They serve the Lord Jesus, by ministries of the Word and prayer (Acts 6:4).

In following in Jesus’ steps (1 Pet 2:21), these teachers of sound doctrine suffer for the sake of the elect (2 Tim 2:10), as did Joseph, Moses, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist. The office holders in Christ’s church follow in the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42), in the New Testament. They steward the mysteries of the Gospel and care for souls (1 Cor 4:1).

God’s holy nation are children of light in the domain of darkness (Eph 5:8; Col 1:13; 1 Pet 2:9). We operate, wise as serpents but harmless as doves, being sheep in the midst of wolves (Mt 10:16). Our task is to be the flock of God, and to bear witness of His goodness, to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Our evangelism, for the sake of the unregenerate elect, is to tell of our Great Shepherd and His love for us, demonstrated by His works for our benefit (Heb 13:20). Truly, He has done great things. It is the Holy Spirit, who gathers Christ’s sheep into the sheepfold of the local church (1 Cor 12:13). Our Spirit-filled task is to tell of His greatness, by telling His story, the Gospel, from the pages of Scripture. The saint can say, “My cup overflows (Ps 23:5).”

With His rod and staff, our Good Shepherd disciplines His sheep (Heb 12:4–11). He teaches us, reproves, and rebukes us (2 Tim 3:16), while He protects us from the evil one (1 Pet 5:7). Just as Jesus kept His disciples while He was in the world (Jn 17:12), so the Spirit guides, helps, comforts, teaches, and protects every believer, today (Jn 14:26).

The gathering of the flock of God will continue, until the last of the chosen ones be found in union with Christ, who is in union with the Father (Jn 10:30; 14:11; 17:21). The Chief Shepherd (1 Pet 5:4), Jesus Christ, Himself, will return in person on the last day (Rev 1:7). He comes to bring judgment upon His enemies and all those who opposed Him (Rev 19:11–21). He will gather His elect sheep from the four winds (Mt 24:31), as they are resurrected to life (Jn 5:28–29), in glorified bodies conjoined with souls, made alive to God in Christ (Phil 3:21).

My dear reader, examine your placement, today. Are you in Christ’s church, as a member of His body of people? Are you outside of His loving care? Is He calling you to Himself? Repent of your sins and of following charlatans galore. Confess your allegiance to King Jesus, alone, and rejoice in all that He has done for His Beloved Sheep. You will…if you belong to Him.

David Norczyk

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

November 22, 2020