Where does the Bible talk about the Good Shepherd? 

The Bible passages below can be used in sermons, prayers, pastoral care, or worship planning focused on the Good Shepherd. 

• Psalm 23, "the Shepherd's Psalm" (the Lord is my shepherd)
• Psalm 78:52-53, guiding the people like a flock (the shepherd leads his sheep)
• Isaiah 40:11, feeding like a shepherd (God will feed his flock like a shepherd and will carry the lambs and will gently lead the mother sheep)
• Isaiah 53:6-7, we are like sheep (we have all acted like sheep, going astray, yet a redeemer will come to act as a sheep at the slaughter)
• Ezekiel 34:11-13, searching like a shepherd (shepherds seek out their scattered sheep and feed them; so will the Lord)
• Matthew 18:12-14, parable of the lost sheep (a shepherd searches for every sheep that goes astray)
• John 10:3-14, Jesus the good shepherd (the good shepherd knows his sheep and lays down his life for them) 

Sermon ideas about the Good Shepherd 

A sermon on the Good Shepherd could point out that in the pastoral ancient Near East, the shepherd was a completely familiar figure, a steward of valuable animals. He fed sheep, watered them, sheared them, and enfolded them in a protective enclosure. Sheep need protection. They are basically defenseless. If attacked, they run, but not as fast as most predators and thieves. They need somebody who has a rod and staff to comfort them. 

They also tend to scatter, which is why they need someone to herd them. 

In John 10 Jesus says he knows his sheep. In his commentary on the fourth gospel, Raymond Brown remarks that Near Eastern shepherds have long had pet names for some of their sheep: Long-Ears or White-Nose, for example. Seen in this context, Jesus' claim that he knows his sheep acquires a kind of beauty and intimacy. 

Jesus also says that his sheep know his voice. A sermon on the Good Shepherd can note that this too is a familiar Middle Eastern phenomenon. If three or four flocks occupy a sheepfold and the shepherd of one of them calls out his sheep, they will disentangle themselves from the other sheep and flock to their guardian. His voice alone — with its peculiar pitch, timbre, and cadence — will do the trick. His sheep know his voice, and their ears itch to hear it. 

Jesus says the "good shepherd" is willing to die for his sheep. The sheep are more than an investment to him. They belong to him, but they also belong to God and so have worth beyond the shepherd's ownership. The Greek kalos ("good") has enough weight that Brown suggests it might be translated as something like "noble" or "model." Jesus is the Noble Shepherd, a martyr beyond any expectation.  

As Frederick Dale Bruner comments, Jesus' willingness to lay down his life for his followers is "the center of the center" of the gospel. (Frederick Dale Bruner, The Gospel of John: A Commentary, Eerdmans, 2012, p. 623.) 

Excerpts about the Good Shepherd 

Following are sample excerpts from Zeteosearch.org sermon resources about the Good Shepherd: 

• "But although the imagery seems outdated, has humanity in the modern world really outgrown its need for someone to love us fiercely and forever the way only a truly good shepherd can? In our quiet and secret moments, we yearn for someone stronger and wiser to take care of us." Sermon Illustration, Sermon Preparation by Scott Hoezee from Center for Excellence in Preaching  

Worship ideas about the Good Shepherd 

Following are sample excerpts from Zeteosearch.org worship resources about the Good Shepherd: 

• "Good Shepherd, we are not alone,
  For you protect and love your own.
  And we, responding, know your voice;
  We hear you calling and rejoice."
  Song or Hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette from Global Christian Worship  

• "Good Shepherd, we hear the cries and joys of your people and lift them up to you. Receive our prayers for our world." Prayer of Intercession by Ana Gobledale from Worship Words