Names of Christ: Good Shepherd

Jesus has many names. One that gives me a real sense of peace is the Good Shepherd. Don’t you love that? The Good Shepherd. I think of Psalm 23 (that was my grandmother’s favorite 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. (Psalm 23:1-2 NKJV)

That gives you an image in your mind of what a shepherd is. A shepherd knows his sheep. A shepherd is the provider for his sheep. He provides whatever they need to be healthy and whole—to feed them, to protect his sheep, and then to pursue his sheep.

When I think of pursuing the sheep, I think of that Scripture that says there was a shepherd who had 100 sheep. And if one of them was missing, what would he do? He would leave the 99 to go after the one that was lost. It makes me think of the picture that we’ve all seen—of Jesus carrying the sheep on His shoulder back to the flock, back to His flock, back to the place of green pastures and fresh water. Back to belonging.

That’s so encouraging to us, isn’t it? Whether we are straying or we have someone that we love that’s straying, the Good Shepherd is pursuing us. He’s not just the lover of our soul—He’s also the shepherd of our heart. When we walk over here or over there and stray off the main path, Jesus comes to us saying, “Come this way, come this way. I’m going to let you lie down in green pastures. And I’m going to lead you beside still waters. And I’m going to be the shepherd of your soul.”

He is the Good Shepherd.