It Starts Small

My Shepherd.

We all need a shepherd in our lives. We can not go through life without one. We need guidence, protection, provision, nourishment in our mind, body, and spirit. If anyone understood shepherding, we know David did. The early years he spend shepherding sheep and his later years, God chose him to become king and shepherd of Israel (1 Chron 11:2; Psalm 78:70)

Throu his own spiritual experience, David make a bold declaration and loud testiment: The LORD is my Shepherd.

The meaning of the name LORD is very important. This is God’s personal name. The Hebrew word YHWH is often translated Jehovah or Yahweh and occurs over 6,800 times in the Old Testament.

God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.”

Exodus 3:14

The Lord defined the meaning of His name to Moses by declaring, “I AM THAT I AM”. In other words, He is the self-existing God. His existence depends on no one else. Rather everyone else depends on Him for their existence. Remarkably, in John 8:58, Jesus used this same sacred name to refer to Himself.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”

John 8:58

Jesus affirmed that He is the Lord of the Old Testament. He also identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). So it is appropriate for Christians to say, “Jesus is my Shepherd.”

To say “The Lord is my shepherd” does not mean that I own Him but that He owns me. The shepherd owns the sheep; they are his property. They are not wild animals like wolves. He purchases them at a price and cares for them with love.

What does it mean for Jesus to own us?

First, as our Good Shepherd, Jesus paid the price of His own life for His sheep. He said, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). He laid down His life in death on a cross to purchase us from sin. This means we belong to Him: “Know ye not that … ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:19–20).

Second, as our Good Shepherd, Christ has taken responsibility to care for us forever. Jacob testified to God’s faithful ministry as his Shepherd: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day” (Gen. 48:15).

We can be just as confident because Christ explained, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27–28).

Jesus is our Shepherd right now and for eternity!