In one of our previous discussions, we saw how Yahweh or Jehovah is said to be the Shepherd of his people,
“But his bow stayed strong,
and his forearms were nimble, by the hands of the strong one of
Jacob, by the name of the shepherd, the rock of Israel, by God,
your father, who supports you, by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings
from the skies above and blessings from the deep sea below, blessings from
breasts and womb.” Genesis 49:24-25 Common English Bible (CEB)
“Give ear, O
Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that
dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.” Psalm 80:1
Who not only guides and
protects them, but also feeds and nurtures them:
“The LORD is my
shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in
green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my
soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a
table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with
oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” Psalm
23:1-6
We also saw that Jehovah will
come with his reward in order recompense every person for what s/he has earned:
“Behold, the Lord GOD will
come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is
with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a
shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his
bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” Isaiah 40:10-11
In relation to this aspect of
Jehovah being the Shepherd-King who comes to judge, the Scriptures proclaim
that Jehovah personally searches for his scattered flock in order to gather
them, as well as to save them from wicked and oppressive leaders who have used
and abused God’s flock for their own gain and benefit.
Moreover, God swears to not
only bring into judgment all those who have preyed upon his people, but to also
raise up a shepherd after his own heart, namely, a Davidic king who will
protect and care for his pasture:
“And the word of the LORD
came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,
prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be
to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds
feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them
that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened,
neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which
was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither
have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye
ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they
became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. MY
sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill:
yea, MY flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth,
and none did search or seek after them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word
of the LORD; As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because MY flock became
a prey, and MY flock became meat to every beast of the field,
because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock,
but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not MY flock; Therefore,
O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I
am against the shepherds; and I will require MY flock at their
hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the
shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver MY flock from
their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold,
I, even I, will both search MY sheep, and seek them out. As a
shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are
scattered; so will I seek out MY sheep, and will deliver them
out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries,
and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of
Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will
feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their
fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they
feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed MY flock, and I will
cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. I will seek that which was
lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that
which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will
destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. And as
for you, O MY flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between
cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. Seemeth it
a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread
down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep
waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for MY
flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink
that which ye have fouled with your feet. Therefore thus saith the Lord
GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and
between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust with side and with
shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered
them abroad; Therefore will I save MY flock, and they shall no
more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I
will set up ONE shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my
servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I
the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them;
I the LORD have spoken it.” Ezekiel 34:1-24
And:
“And David my servant
shall be king over them; and they all shall have ONE shepherd:
they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And
they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein
your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their
children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant
David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant
of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will
place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the
midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea,
I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know
that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in
the midst of them for evermore.” Ezekiel 37:24-28
What these passages indicate
is that Jehovah is not the only Shepherd that Israel has, but rather is
Israel’s chief Shepherd, the Shepherd of all Shepherds, the One before whom all
shepherds must bow down and give an account to.
As such, being called a
shepherd doesn’t make one divine. It is only when one is described as the chief
Shepherd, the Shepherd who rules over all other shepherds, does the title then
imply divinity.
In the second part of our
discussion, we are going to examine the NT documents to see the sense in which
the title shepherd is applied to the risen Lord, i.e., is he simply one
shepherd among many, with the Father being the chief Shepherd? Or does the NT
identify Christ as the divine Shepherd who rules over all the rest of God’s shepherds?
The arrival of the Davidic
Ruler
According to the inspired
Christian Scriptures, Jesus is the physical descendant of David,
“And when he heard that it
was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son
of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold
his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David,
have mercy on me.” Mark 10:47-48 – cf. Matthew 1:1
“Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the
seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God
with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the
dead:” Romans 1:3-4
“Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was
raised from the dead according to my gospel:” 2 Timothy 2:8
“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the
bright and morning star.” Revelation 22:16 – cf. 5:5
Who has come to rule forever
from God’s own throne as the sovereign Lord of all creation:
“And in the sixth month the
angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a
virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of
David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her,
and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed
art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and
cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said
unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name
JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest:
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there
shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I
know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall
come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
Luke 1:26-35
“Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he
is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that
of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to
sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of
Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see
corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of
the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now
see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith
himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have
crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:29-36
The NT further describes
Christ as the great Shepherd of the sheep,
“Now the God of peace, that
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that GREAT shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,” Hebrews 13:20
Who was smitten to death,
“And Jesus saith unto them,
All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I
will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But
after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.” Mark 14:27-28
In order to offer his life as
a ransom so as to procure forgiveness of sins and everlasting redemption for
his flock,
“For even hereunto were ye
called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye
should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in
his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he
suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that
judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body
on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto
righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were
as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and
Bishop of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:21-25
And thereby grant them the
authority to dwell in the presence of God where they will lie down in green
pastures and drink from living waters forever:
“Verily, verily, I say unto
you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some
other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by
the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter
openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep
by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he
goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a
stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice
of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what
things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not
hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he
shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I
am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life
for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose
own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and
fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling
fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I
am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life
for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this
fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there
shall be one fold, and ONE shepherd.” John 10:1-16
“After this I beheld, and,
lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations,
and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud
voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and
unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and
about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their
faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and
thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and
ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these
which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him,
Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of
God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the
throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any
more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the
Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them
unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes.” Revelation 7:9-17
To say that these NT
assertions are remarkable would be a wild understatement, since Christ is
described as carrying out specific functions which no creature is capable of
performing, and which the God-breathed Scriptures ascribe to God alone. Note,
for instance, what the following passage says concerning a person’s inability
to redeem the life or soul of a single individual, let alone saving an
innumerable host of people:
“No one can ever redeem his
brother or give God a ransom for him, because the price for him is too high
(leave the idea completely alone!) to have him live on eternally and never see
the pit… But God will redeem me from Sh’ol’s control, because he will receive
me. (Selah)” Psalm 49:7-9, 15 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
The Divine Shepherd-King
That’s not all the Holy Bible
says regarding Jesus that is simply amazing.
The inspired authors teach
that Christ is the Chief Shepherd who oversees all other shepherds,
“The elders which are among
you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ,
and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock
of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint,
but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being
lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And
when the CHIEF Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory
that fadeth not away.” 1 Peter 5:1-4
And the Son of Man who not
only searches and saves the lost,
“For the Son of man is
come to save that which was lost.” Matthew 18:11
“For the Son of man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10
But who also gathers all the
nations in order to judge them on the basis of how they have treated his flock!
“When the Son of
man shall come in HIS glory, and all the holy angels with
HIM, then shall HE sit upon the throne of HIS glory: And
before HIM shall be gathered all nations: and HE shall separate them one from
another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And HE shall set the sheep on HIS right hand, but
the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto
them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of MY Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I
was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was
a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye
visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous
answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and
fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and
took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in
prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and
say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto
one of the least of these MY brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed,
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an
hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick,
and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him,
saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then
shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not
to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go
away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Matthew
25:31-46
Now this introduces a major
dilemma for all those who deny the essential Deity of Christ since, if Jesus is
not God in the flesh, then he could not be the chief Shepherd who oversees all
other shepherds from heaven itself. As we saw in the first part of our
discussion, it is Jehovah God who is the chief Shepherd that comes to search
for his flock and judge all those who have oppressed his sheep. As such, one
cannot have a created being reigning as the chief shepherd alongside Jehovah,
especially in heaven itself, since that is the one place where Jehovah reigns
supreme over the entire creation.
Hence, Jesus is not simply
one shepherd among many. Rather, he is the divine Shepherd who, in perfect
union with the Father and the Spirit, reigns supreme as King of kings and Lord
of lords:
“I give thee charge in the
sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ
Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; that
thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until
the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: which
in HIS times HE shall shew, WHO is
the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; WHO only
hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; WHOM no
man hath seen, nor can see: to WHOM be honour and power everlasting.
Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:13-16
“and from Jesus Christ, who
is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler
of the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our
sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and
Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Revelation 1:5-6 Modern English Version (MEV)
“These shall make war with
the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords,
and King of kings: and they that are with him are called,
and chosen, and faithful.” Revelation 17:14 – cf. 19:11-16
This explains why Christ is
described as the omniscient Lord,
“This is now the third time
that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the
dead. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that
I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed MY lambs. He saith to
him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto
him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed
MY sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou
me? And he said unto him, Lord, THOU KNOWEST ALL THINGS; thou
knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed MY sheep.”
John 21:14-17
And as the God who appoints
elders by the Holy Spirit to watch over his flock, which is the Church that he
redeemed by his very own blood!
“Take heed therefore unto
yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath
made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he
hath purchased with his own blood.” Acts 20:28
“as we await the blessed hope
and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus
Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem
us from all lawlessness and purify for Himself a special people, zealous of
good works.” Titus 2:13-14 MEV
Since only One who is truly
God in the fullest sense can perform the deeds that Jesus performs, and be
described as the Chief Shepherd of the sheep whom all the other shepherds must
bow down and answer to.
Hence, Jesus is not merely a
shepherd like his ancestor David was. Rather, Christ is a shepherd in the exact
same sense that Jehovah is, simply because he happens to be Jehovah God in the flesh
(even though he is not the Father or the Holy Spirit).
Unless noted otherwise, all
Scriptural references taken from the Authorized King James Version (AV) of the
Holy Bible
Source: https://www.answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/chief_shepherd.html
IHS
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