The Shepherd & His Sheep Part 1 – The Good Shepherd

The Shepherd & His Sheep Part 1 – The Good Shepherd

P. Jason Hubbard

1. NOT SHEPHERDS ARE GOOD.

Matthew 7:15 NLT – “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.”

Ezekiel 34:2-6 CSB – “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock. You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. They were scattered for lack of a shepherd; they became food for all the wild animals when they were scattered. My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.’”

Ezekiel 34:10-11, 15-16a CSB – “‘This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds. I will demand my flock from them and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue my flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.’ For this is what the Lord God says: ‘See, I myself will search for my flock and look for them. … I will tend my flock and let them lie down.’ This is the declaration of the Lord God. I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak…”

2. JESUS IS OUR SHEPHERD.

John 10:11-18 CSB – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

The Greek word for “good” is “kalos” which means: Beautiful, desirable, merry, pleasant, friendly, kind. Also = virtuous, right, noble.

Philippians 2:7-8 CSB – Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross.

Mark 6:34-37 CSB – When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things. When it grew late, his disciples approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late. Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages to buy themselves something to eat.” 

Mark 6:41-42 CSB – He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. Everyone ate and was satisfied.

He them.

He had on them.

He me their .

3. AND TO THE VOICE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

John 10:27-28 CSB – “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”