JESUS, OUR GREAT SHEPHERD — HEALER, DELIVERER, PROTECTOR
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The anointed prophet Ezekiel prophesied during the time of the Babylonian exile. Judah had been defeated by the Babylonians and many of its people had been taken captive into this foreign country. Ezekiel is to speak God’s words of denouncement to the shepherds of Israel, calling them to account for the oppression and ill-treatment of His chosen ones.
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?… You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured.’” – Ezekiel 34:1-2, 4
Who are the shepherds of Israel? Both the political and religious leaders who rule over God’s people… who are charged to take care of His sheep. For shepherds are to be servants of the Lord… sheep among the flock… called to lead fellow sheep with heavenly guidance. Yet these shepherds have forsaken their duty. They have abandoned their calling.
“You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.” – Ezekiel 34:4-5
These shepherds of Israel have no compassion for the welfare of the sheep. They care only to advance their power and wealth at the expense of those in their charge. They feed themselves instead of the ones who look to them to be fed. Heartless and indifferent, they fail in their role to heal the sick and strengthen the flock.
When the flock is forced to scatter, no one searches for the lost sheep of Israel. In the homeland and the foreign land, the sheep are forgotten. They wander from their God, falling prey to the prevailing evils of idolatrous beliefs and false shepherds.
“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after My sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.’” – Ezekiel 34:11-12
God announces His deep compassion for His flock who are oppressed and lost, shepherdless and scattered. Jesus shared this same compassion when He looked upon the crowds, seeing them as “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). With His heart of mercy, God comforts His people with these promises… to rescue them from captivity and return them to their homeland.
“I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.” – Ezekiel 34:16
God searches out every lost and straying sheep. He gathers His flock together once again under His loving care. He strengthens, binds and heals. Yet the shepherds who have become “sleek and strong” feeding off God’s sheep face His perfect justice.
“Bethlehem… out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel — One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity… He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord.” – Micah 5:2, 4
“I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David… He will tend them and be their shepherd. I the Lord will be their God. I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts.” – Ezekiel 34:23-25
Here God promises and prophesies of the coming Messiah from the line of David. The Lamb of God, the One who will be the great Shepherd of God’s flock. Jesus is the One through whom all who believe gain peace with the Father. He tends to His sheep like no other shepherd. For He has conquered the “savage beasts” of sin and evil. He has triumphed over the enemy. He has brought salvation to His flock so they may serve Him without fear (Luke 1:74).
“You are My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, and I am your God… I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.” – Ezekiel 34:31, 26
“The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” – Luke 7:22
The promised “showers of blessing” for the flock of God are the love, comfort, mercy and peace of our Shepherd that shower our lives daily. We are “the poor” whose spirits have been reborn and renewed by the gospel’s good news. Jesus is our Healer, Deliverer, Protector. By His wounds we are healed… by His power we are delivered… by His blood we are redeemed and protected.
“For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water.” – Revelation 7:17
Jesus will reign forever as King above all kings, throne above all thrones, Name above all names. He is the one Shepherd who rules over all shepherds of the sheep. All believers are members of the flock of God… treasured and precious to Him… and living in the fulfillment of His promises.
“For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” – 1 Peter 2:25
Salvation is through the greatest Shepherd alone. We all were wanderers… lost and scattered… before we met Jesus. He searched for us and drew us to Himself. He gathered us into the sheepfold of His kingdom family. Jesus is our Shepherd, for both now and all eternity. We can rest in His promise to never lose any whom God has entrusted to His care (John 6:39).
