Jesus Is The Good Shepherd Series

Introduction

We are continuing our short series in the book of Psalms that I am calling “Jesus in the Psalms.”

Today I would like to look at Psalm 23.

One commentator said of Psalm 23:

“It is the most-prominent, the most-loved, the most-used, the most-preached on and the most-written-upon, of all psalms. Ten thousands of people have memorized this psalm” (Roy E. Gingrich, The Book of Psalms [Book One] [Memphis, TN: Riverside Printing, 2005], 34).

Perhaps you too have memorized Psalm 23.

The superscription of Psalm 23 says that it is “A Psalm of David.”

Many think that David wrote this psalm as a young teenager when he was a shepherd. As he was taking care of his father’s sheep, lying on his back in a lush, green field beside a gently flowing stream, he penned the words of this memorable psalm.

However, it is far more likely that David wrote this psalm late in his life, possibly during the rebellion of his son Absalom (2 Samuel 13-19). As David looked back over his very difficult and tumultuous life, while facing a current crisis, he wrote the words of Psalm 23.

This psalm is often used at funerals. While it is appropriate at such a time, it is really a psalm about the Lord’s provision for his people, especially during times of great difficulty.

In 1970, W. Phillip Keller wrote a book titled, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. I highly commend this book to you. It is a rich study from the perspective of a shepherd on Psalm 23. His writing has informed much of my message today.

Scripture

Let us read Psalm 23:1-6:

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.

Lesson

Psalm 23:1-6 teaches us that Jesus is the good shepherd.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. Because Jesus is the good shepherd, he is my Lord (23:1a)

2. Because Jesus is the good shepherd, he provides for me (23:1b-6)

I. Because Jesus Is the Good Shepherd, He Is My Lord (23:1a)

First, because Jesus is the good shepherd, he is my Lord.

David writes in verse 1a, “The Lord is my shepherd.”

Who is “the Lord”? Who is this one who is “my shepherd”? What credentials does he have to be my shepherd, my owner, and my manager?

David was of course referring to Jehovah, the supreme, sovereign, almighty, all-powerful, omniscient, creator God of Israel.

It was this Lord whom David called “my shepherd.” James Montgomery Boice writes:

In Israel, as in other ancient societies, a shepherd’s work was considered the lowest of all works. If a family needed a shepherd, it was always the youngest son, like David, who got this unpleasant assignment. Shepherds had to live with the sheep twenty-four hours a day, and the task of caring for them was unending. Day and night, summer and winter, in fair weather and foul, they labored to nourish, guide, and protect the sheep. Who in his right mind would choose to be a shepherd?

Yet Jehovah has chosen to be our shepherd, David says. The great God of the universe has stooped to take just such care of you and me (James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005], 207–208).

Furthermore, when Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, was ministering on earth, he said of himself, “I am the good shepherd.” Listen to how Jesus put it in John 10:

1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.... 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (10:1-5; 11-16).