The Greatest Shepherd of All Time

How many times have you heard the mighty Psalms 23, in which it starts with the words, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" (Psalms 23:1)?

Does not this great shepherd provide all you need? And not just for pure survival, but with safety, daily food, and he watches over your soul so that you do not wander away.

Look here. There was once a man in a distant land who became very familiar with the shepherds of his country. As he was riding among the mountains, he came to a spring of water and stopped to rest for a while. Presently down one of the steep mountain paths, a shepherd came, leading his flock of sheep. Not long after, another shepherd with another flock came down to the water by another path, and then a third. The three flocks mingled together so that he began to wonder how each shepherd was ever going to find his sheep again.

At last, one of them rose and called out, “Follow!”; and his sheep came out from the great flock and followed him back into the mountains. He did not even stop to count them. Then the second shepherd got up and called out to his sheep, “Follow!" and those of his flock left the others and followed him away.

One day this man said to a shepherd, “I think I could make your sheep follow me.”

“I think not,” said the shepherd. “Give me your turban, and your cloak, and your staff,” said the man, “and we’ll see.” So he put on the shepherd’s turban and his cloak, and took the staff in his hand, and stood up where the sheep could see him, and called out, “Follow! Follow!” But not a sheep would take any notice of him. They don't know the voice of strangers.

Then he asked the shepherd if the sheep ever followed anybody but him. “O yes; sometimes a sheep gets sick, and then it will follow a stranger.” Just so with us Christians, we get sick and backslidden, and then we follow the devil.

Yet if we are well, we follow the shepherd of our soul, Christ Jesus, and He watches over us.

Can I tell you a secret?

The closer you are to the Lord, the safer you are. The furthest point from the shepherd is the most dangerous, and there the thief can easily steal the sheep. And even worse, some lions and bears are seeking wandering animals.

So you, "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).

Remember the young boy David, whose words were, "I have been taking care of my father’s sheep...When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death" (1 Samuel 17:34‭-‬35).

The boy would not let a sheep go into the hands of the enemy because each one was precious to him. He's risked his life for his flock's well-being. Do you see a similarity between David and Jesus?

The devil may roar at you and even snatch you in its jaws, yet it's the sheep's responsibility to cry out!! Cry out day and night until the faithful Shepherd will bring you peace in times of evil. Call out to Him until He seizes you and shuts the mouth of the devil.

And know this, even if you have been deceived by satan many times, God still loves you. Who can care for the sheep better than the loyal shepherd? Even to a wandering sheep, He will lift a hand.

Understand that Christ was slain like a lamb and was raised from the dead as a shepherd to give life to the sheep. He became a lamb to give life for our sake, meaning He became a man to give life to us humans.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (John 10:11) Jesus says.

The Lord reminds His disciples, "A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock" (John 10:12).

Most shepherd's hired hands work solely for money. They don't tend sheep because they have a passion for sheep or because it's their good pleasure. They do it purely to make a profit. They watch and tend sheep for the money they gain.

On the other hand, Christ doesn't tend the sheep to make money or even a hobby. Why would He, if He has all the riches stored away in the banks of heaven. "The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine," says the Lord.

He chooses to watch over His sheep. After all, He loves them because He loves you.

He is the shepherd that isn't forced to be with us. Instead, He chooses to be close to us.

He is very kind to you. You are the Lamb the Lord holds dear to His heart.

A friend was once visiting a far country, and he found a shepherd that kept up the old custom of naming his sheep. The friend said he wouldn’t believe that the sheep knew him when he called them by name. So he said to the shepherd, “I wish you would just call one or two.” The shepherd said, “Neriah.” The sheep stopped eating and looked up. The shepherd called out, “Come here.” The sheep came and stood looking up into his face.

He called another, and another, and they stood looking up at the shepherd. “How can you tell them apart?” “Oh, there are no two alike. Don’t you see? That sheep has lost a little bit of wool. That one is a little cross-eyed, and that one over there turns his toes in; this sheep is a little bit squint-eyed; that sheep has a black spot on its nose.” The friend found that he knew every one of his sheep by their faults and failings. He didn’t have a perfect one in his flock.

I suppose that is the way the Lord knows you and me. There is a greedy man; he wants to grasp the whole world. He needs a shepherd to humble him. There is a woman who has an awful tongue; she keeps the whole neighborhood stirred up. There is a woman over there who is dishonest. She needs the care of a shepherd to keep her sincere. Otherwise, she will ruin all her children; they will all turn out just like their mother. There is a father over there who wouldn’t swear for all the world before his children, but sometimes he gets provoked in his business and swears before he knows it. Doesn’t he need a shepherd’s care to keep his emotions under control?

Is there a man or woman on earth who doesn’t need the care of a shepherd? Haven’t we all got failings? If you want to know what your failings are, you can find someone who can point them out. God would never have sent Christ into the world if we didn’t need his care. We are as weak and foolish as sheep.

Are you not convinced that we have the most excellent Shepherd of all time?

If the lambs are too tired or injured to continue, He carries them upon His tender shoulders.

Is your soul hurting? There's excellent news! The Good Shepherd "heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." (Psalms 147:3).

He'll patch you up quickly and you'll be as good as new. Let the Master of the heart work on your heart, after all, He's the designer of it, so let Him nurture it.

As it's once said, "The world may be unkind to you but Christ never will." (-Dwight Moody)

Think about it, He took care of you years back and God is taking care of you right now. It's His good pleasure to be interested in you and give you eternal life. Listen to the words of Jesus, "Little flock... it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32).

If you're not His sheep and want to be, or you've wandered away, pray "Jesus, I come to you, My shepherd, my Redeemer, my Savior. I give my life to you, and forgive me all evil and clean me from my sins. Amen."

Hear these words the Lord Jesus asks, "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?" (Luke 15:4)

The 99 sheep are safe and sound sheltered in a flock, but one of them was lost, far away, over the hills, by itself, in the dark and cold night. He was all alone, on the wild mountain top, far away from the Shepherd's gentle care.

You might ask, "You have 99 tucked in safety, are they not enough for you, Lord?" And the reply is, "This one has wandered away, he is still Mine."

I tell you, that Shepherd went out through the desert terrain, through the rocky roads, and freezing nights. He crossed harsh waters, in the dark, he went seeking until finally, He heard the sheep's cry. He came to the little one who was on the verge of dying, utterly helpless.

You can see a track of blood all through the mountainside. The blood was shed for the one who had gone astray. The Shepherds hands are all pierced and torn. "From the thorns, My hands were pierced to bring back My lost sheep," says the gracious Shepherd.

Back they went through the river and mountain steep, with the sheep upon his shoulders.

There was great joy in heaven that day when the lost sheep was found and returned home. For the Lord, our Shepherd reminds us, "In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!" (Luke 15:7)

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