God's Work with Planet Earth

One of the things that symbolically represents Jesus and His followers in the Bible is a Shepherd and sheep. Jesus used parables about sheep, but He also said:

“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27

Let’s pull out the main points:

• If Jesus Christ is the “good shepherd”, does that suggest there are bad shepherds? Yes, and we’ll get to that.
• Jesus knows who His sheep (people) are, and they know Him, trust Him, and follow Him.
• People who do not belong to Christ cannot hear His voice because of all the noise and confusion in the world, which distracts and deceives them.

King David used this spiritual expression in the well-known 23rd Psalm:

“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.” Psalm 23:1-3

• “I shall not want” has two applicable meanings. 1. I won’t be missing anything I really need, and 2. I won’t be desiring and lusting after temporary things that don’t bring fulfillment.
• “green pastures” and “still waters” can be related to Jesus saying “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27)
• Having my soul restored and being led into paths of righteousness goes well beyond simply being forgiven. It changes me and brings me back into harmony with God.

Contrast with False Shepherds

The apostle Peter also used this analogy:

“For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:25

In chapter 5, Peter started with instructions for ministers and church leaders. They are supposed to be shepherds of the flock of God as “overseers”. But then he clarified more specifically how and how not:

• Church leaders are to serve “willingly”, “eagerly”, and “as examples”
• NOT out of “compulsion”, or “for dishonest gain”, “nor as being lords over those entrusted to you”

“and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.” 1 Peter 5:4

But there are church leaders in this world who hold their positions for dishonest gain, or to be admired and honored, or to wield power and control over others. All of these motivations are selfish and un-Christlike. Jesus recognized this:

“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” Matthew 9:36

But the Jews of Jesus’ time had leaders, didn’t they? Yet Matthew says Jesus saw that they were “weary and scattered” as if they had none. Could this relate to the state of Christianity today? So many churches and interpretations, in spite of the fact that there’s only one God (1 Corinthians 8:6).

The whole chapter of Ezekiel 34 is dedicated to this, because as King Solomon wrote, “there is nothing new under the sun”. The leaders of God’s people then and now experience the same challenges and temptations. And really, this chapter spans from the time of the Judges to the End of Time, and it is prophetic.

False Shepherds:

• Shepherds of Israel “fed themselves” and did not feed the flocks entrusted to them
• They did not strengthen the weak, heal the sick, or bind up the broken
• They “did not bring back what was driven away”, or “seek what was lost”
• Instead, they ruled over the sheep “with force and cruelty”, and took advantage of them

What was the result of how the shepherds (leaders, priests, kings) treated the sheep (people)?

“So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.” Ezekiel 34:5-6

By the time Ezekiel wrote this, it had already happened. Because Israel had given themselves over to pagan idolatry (practiced on “high hills”), they lost justice and peace in their society, and God allowed Assyria to come conquer the ten tribes. Then Assyria resettled these ten tribes in other countries in their empire, with the goal to weaken their national identity. They were “scattered over the whole face of the earth”.

“Yes, they are greedy dogs which never have enough. And they are shepherds who cannot understand; They all look to their own way, every one for his own gain, from his own territory.” Isaiah 56:11

“My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; They have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; They have forgotten their resting place.” Jeremiah 50:6

“Wail, shepherds, and cry! Roll about in the ashes, you leaders of the flock! For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions are fulfilled; You shall fall like a precious vessel. And the shepherds will have no way to flee, nor the leaders of the flock to escape.
A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a wailing of the leaders to the flock will be heard. For the LORD has plundered their pasture,” Jeremiah 25:34-36

But the prophecy comes in the second half of Ezekiel 34 where Christ described through the prophet what He will do to make this horrible tragedy right again:

The Good Shepherd

‘For thus says the Lord GOD: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.” Ezekiel 34:11

• “so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day” (verse 12)
• “I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land” (verse 13)
• He describes a secure fold (enclosure) on high mountains and rich pastures (restoring what was lost)
• “I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord GOD.” (Feeding the flock with “life more abundant” (John 10:10). And “lie down” means peace and rest from the evil and temptation of sin this world.)
• God promises to seek the lost and bring back “what was driven away”, and bind up the broken and strengthen the sick (verse 16)

We need to understand that while Israel as a nation had rebelled against God and chased after false gods and did everything the false gods demanded, there was a “remnant” in their time, as there is today. Elijah thought he was the last one of his generation but God corrected his mistaken perception, and told him there were still 7,000 who “have not bowed the knee to Baal” (1 Kings 19:18)

When a nation as a whole rejects God, there can still be individuals who are part of that nation who still trust and worship Him and are faithful to Him. God is coming to save His people, but Jesus will replace all earthly rulers and kingdoms. (Daniel 2:44)

The Hired Hands

In John chapter 10, Jesus had a lot to say about Himself as a Shepherd, and He compared “hirelings” to a real shepherd:

“But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
“The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.” John 10:12-13

Jesus is using an analogy from human nature to represent how He cares about His people enough to die for them. A real shepherd truly cares for his sheep and will stand between them and a dangerous predator. By contrast, the hired hands preserve their own lives and leave the sheep to be scattered and devoured.

God’s Plan for His People

Listen to these words of God, describing what He will do:

“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them.” Ezekiel 34:25-27

• After Jesus comes again, there will be no more predatory behavior from humans or animals
• God wants to use people to bless people, and He delights in sending blessings
• The curse in Genesis 3:17-18 will be reversed, and humans will be able to find good wholesome fruit on trees without having to work so hard to grow it
• God will free His people from being trapped in a sinful world
• When He does these things, His people will know Him more intimately

The last 4 verses describe no more fear because the environment will be safe, not dangerous like this world we live in. Living in paradise with no hunger or shame.

From Ezekiel and other prophets, we get a picture of Christ (Jesus) being our shepherd and leading us into peaceful, safe, and good places, spiritually when He came as the Lamb of God, and as a physical reality in the future New Earth described in Revelation 21 and 22.