The Bible tells us a single story, weaving together threads from the Old and New Testaments. Discover how the Old Testament points to Jesus from our study of John’s Gospel: The Truth.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing” (Psalm 23:1).
These ancient words reach across the centuries to touch our hearts, revealing God’s shepherd heart long before His Son proclaimed, “I am the good shepherd,” in John’s gospel. Throughout generations of war and peace, famine and prosperity, pain and comfort, the surprisingly tender words of Psalm 23 have offered security and rest to God’s people no matter their circumstances.
But humans have always struggled to respond to the voice of their Shepherd.
Through the Old Testament, Israel’s history was filled with darkness: sin, rebellion, and exile. Using the image of a shepherd and his sheep, God expressed His sorrow as He longed for His people to repent.
In Jeremiah 23, God rebuked the people’s leaders using shepherd imagery to express his care and concern.
“Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: ‘Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,’ declares the Lord. ‘I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture.’” (Jeremiah 23:2-3a)
Again, in Ezekiel, God judged the shepherds of Israel who did not care for the vulnerable among them. And in an incredible moment, He declared, “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them” (Ezekiel 34:11b).
Jesus, the Good Shepherd
Yet these words were followed by more than 400 years of silence from God. Israel was left occupied by Rome under the care of misguided Pharisees.
And then, in a lowly stable, the silence ended. God Himself came down to earth to seek the lost and redeem His people.
“I am the good shepherd,” Jesus proclaimed, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15).
Jesus didn’t simply claim to be like a shepherd, He claimed to be the Good Shepherd. This is the same Shepherd of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, who gathers the remnant of His flock, searches for His sheep, and promises to protect and care for those He calls His own.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).
In Jesus, the promises of Israel’s prophets were fulfilled.
Jesus, Your Shepherd
But God did not come to save Israel alone. Jesus said, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16).
Through these promises in John, the words of Psalm 23 come back to us. Jesus is our Good Shepherd, our source of hope and eternal life.
Through Jesus, we lack nothing in a world that leaves us longing for more and cannot satisfy our deepest longings. Amid an anxious news cycle, we find rest and contentment. When circumstances change, the Good Shepherd holds us fast. How will the promise of Christ as your Shepherd change your heart and shape your mind today?