Protection…by Jesus
Today we will look at the second powerful “P” in our short series of the three Ps in the book of Psalms. The three powerful Ps are: Provision, Protection, and Promotion. Last week we looked at provision, so now let us look at those of protection.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads 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 You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Psalms 23:1-4
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In looking at our theme of protection in this message, we will concentrate on the role of the shepherd, which is what our opening verse begins with..."The Lord is my shepherd." A shepherd is someone who looks after sheep. Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations in the world, with the earliest documented instances of shepherding appearing in Asia. But let me clue you in on something…shepherding started when God created the heavens and the earth. Since then, Jesus has been shepherding mankind from the dawn of time. But back to the worldly shepherds who at one time, these nomadic loners were a critical part of the agricultural economy, although changes in the way sheep are raised have made shepherds more obsolete. In particularly rugged, dangerous regions of the world, shepherds can sometimes still be found at work. And it is for this region that Jesus remains the shepherd of the world, because it is a dangerous region.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
John 10:11
In this Jesus details the extent the shepherd goes through to protect his sheep. In the area of protection, He puts His life on the line for the sheep under His care. In our opening verses David thought about God, the God of Israel; as he thought about his relationship with God, he made the analogy of a shepherd and his sheep. God was like a shepherd to David, and David was like a sheep to God.
In John 10:11 and 10:14, Jesus clearly spoke of Himself as the good shepherd, who gives His life for the sheep and who can say, “I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” Hebrews 13:20 speaks of Jesus as that great Shepherd of the sheep, 1 Peter 2:25 calls Jesus the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls, and 1 Peter 5:4 calls Jesus the Chief Shepherd. The idea of Jesus as the Good Shepherd was precious to early Christians. One of the more common motifs in catacomb paintings was Jesus as a shepherd, with a lamb carried across His shoulders.
It’s remarkable that the LORD would call Himself our shepherd. 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...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. Here is how that protection works.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
A sheep is an object of property, not a wild animal; its owner sets great store by it, and frequently it is bought at a great price. In our case that price was the cost of a life, that of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It is well known, as certainly David did, that we belong to the Lord. There is a noble tone of confidence about this sentence. There is no ‘if,’ there is no ‘but,’ not even an ‘I hope so;’ but he says, ‘The Lord is my shepherd,’ emphasis on the word "is." We too as believers can take that same confidence that the Lord is your personal shepherd, who would lay down His life for you.
For David, the fact of God’s shepherd-like care was the end of dissatisfied need. He said, “I shall not want” both as a declaration and as a decision.
- “I shall not want” means, “All my needs are supplied by the LORD, my shepherd.”
- “I shall not want” means, “I decide to not desire more than what the LORD, my shepherd gives.
It is the nature of sheep to stray and get in harm’s way, whether from hungry wolves or steep canyons. For centuries, shepherds have used various methods — from staff to dog — to keep sheep from straying from the safety of their care.
In recent times shepherds have tried more sophisticated methods. One is a metal, hoof-proof grid that is built into the ground around the sheep’s territory. The animals cannot walk over the grid, which is eight feet wide. This works well in keeping sheep in the protection of the pen.
But in 2006, shepherds in Yorkshire, England, found that their sheep were not only stubbornly prone to stray but also crafty. One of the sheep laid down and rolled over the grid. The other sheep in the herd followed the first, and soon the entire flock had spread over the countryside to neighborhood gardens, where they ate the food and flowers of residents.
The shepherds eventually gathered up the troublesome sheep and returned them to their pen. But they escaped again and got into trouble. While the escape of this flock of “black” sheep may have seemed like an exciting adventure, it placed the animals in harm’s way from cars and unfriendly dogs.
Thankfully, our Good Shepherd found another way to deal with stubborn, straying sheep. As Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all.”
As we can see, although the shepherd provides protection for the sheep, there are some sheep who are not content with that protection, and want to go after other things. It is a strange thing because the sheep are given a plentiful food search and an abundance of water. As Jesus’ sheep we too should strive for that contentment, knowing that we really have all that we need, so we too shall not want. In this the protection by Jesus keeps us from the envy, jealousy, and covetousness that overwhelms those that are not content with what they have.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
The LORD as a shepherd knew how to make David rest when he needed it, just as a literal shepherd would care for his sheep. The implication is that a sheep doesn’t always know what it needs and what is best for itself, and so needs help from the shepherd. Jesus calls to us in this way when He said:
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
In this we have the loveliest image that of the natural world, is here represented to the imagination; that of a flock of sheep, feeding in lush meadows, and resting, in quietness, by the still water, all laid out before them. The idea here is a picture of lowcut green grass, tall enough and plentiful enough for the flock to eat, but not tall enough for the enemy to hide in. As it stretches out it gives the shepherd an extended view of the would-be enemy’s approach, giving ample time to formulate a plan of defense. Protection by Jesus gives us that same feeling because He has already planned for our defense before we even knew, and in most cases never knew we were in danger. The image of still waters is rich with the sense of comfort, care, and rest.
He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
The tender care of the shepherd described in the previous verse had its intended effect. David’s soul was restored by the figurative green pastures and still waters the shepherd brought him to. The word "restores" has the idea of the rescue of a lost one. It may picture the straying sheep brought back. In Hebrew the words ‘restores my soul’ can mean ‘brings me to repentance.' Protection by Jesus desires to keep His sheep for eternal death in the lake of fire. Protection by Jesus calls to us to come under His care so that we are restored. Jesus is the guide because He leads me. The sheep didn’t need to know where the green pastures or still waters were; all it needed to know was where the shepherd was. Likewise, the LORD would guide David to what he needed. Likewise, Jesus will guide you and I to what we need.
The leadership of the shepherd not only comforts and restores us; He also guides His sheep into righteousness. God’s guidance of us has a moral aspect. We are then led in ‘the path of righteousness’, in the way of holy obedience. Obstructions are removed; we are strengthened, to walk and run in the paths of God’s commandments. This is all done because it glorifies the shepherd, for His name’s sake. The shepherd is responsible for the sheep in His care, and He must do the utmost to care for them, otherwise His name will be mud.
Yea, 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.
This is the first dark note in this beautiful psalm. Previously David wrote of green pastures and still waters and paths of righteousness. Yet when following the LORD as shepherd, one may still walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
It is a valley, not a mountaintop or broad meadow. A valley suggests being hedged in and surrounded. It gives the idea that there is no other way to go around it, one must go through it.
It is a valley of the shadow of death – not facing the substance of death itself, but the shadow of death, the actual fear of something that will take your life, casting its dark, fearful outline across one’s path.
David recognized that under the shepherd’s leading, he may walk through the valley of the shadow of death. It isn’t his destination or dwelling place. Like the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, David might say that all of life is lived under the shadow of death, and it is the conscious presence of the LORD as shepherd that makes it bearable and safe.
Some of us miss the idea of a shadow, it of itself is not tangible but is cast by something that is. One can rightly say that we face only the shadow of death because Jesus took the full reality of death in our place. sometimes that shadow of death is: our anxieties, our worries, our past, our own sense of worth, and what others think about us. But our Good Shepherd says that we should cast all that upon Him because He cares for us. Shining the light on something removes its shadow, as long as the light comes from above the object...Jesus is that light that shines from above, and His light has removed that shadow.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
This line from the psalm – and the psalm as a whole – has proven itself precious to many a dying saint through the ages. They have been comforted, strengthened, and warmed by the thought that the LORD would shepherd them through the valley of the shadow of death. Near death, the saint still calmly walks – he does not need to quicken his pace in alarm or panic. Near death, the saint does not walk in the valley, but through the valley. Death in its substance has been removed, and only the shadow of it remains.... Nobody is afraid of a shadow, for a shadow cannot stop a man’s pathway even for a moment. The shadow of a dog cannot bite; the shadow of a sword cannot kill; the shadow of death cannot destroy us.
I will fear no evil: Despite every dark association with the idea of the valley of the shadow of death, we can resolutely say this because we are under the care of the LORD our shepherd. Even in a fearful place, the presence of the shepherd banished the fear of evil. We might say that the shepherd’s presence did not eliminate the presence of evil, but certainly the fear of evil. evil may abound around us, but protection by Jesus causes us to not fear it.
As we put our trust in Jesus we too can say, for you are with me, and for that reason, I will fear no evil.
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
The rod and the staff were instruments used by a shepherd. The idea is of a sturdy walking stick, used to gently (as much as possible) guide the sheep and protect them from potential predators. While the rod was basically a club that the shepherd used to deal with wild animals. These instruments of guidance were a comfort to David. It helped him – even in the valley of the shadow of death – to know that God guided him, even with correction. It is a great comfort to know that God will correct us when we need it. Spare the rod, spoil the child...we as children of God need that correction, both by the staff for direction, and the rod for correction. Sometimes the protection by Jesus demands that we be corrected, but it is through that correction that we can still say I will fear no evil because you care enough to correct me.
