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1. He Sacrifices Himself
Lots of folks have been and still are shepherds. The prophets and other leaders shepherded God’s people before Jesus came. The apostles, pastors, and teachers have been doing so ever since. But not in the way Jesus did. What makes Jesus the “Most Excellent” Shepherd is His selfless, self-sacrificing love for His sheep, His believers.
Sheep are helpless, hapless creatures – totally dependent on their shepherd for their existence. If a sheep stumbles, falls, and rolls onto its back, the poor critter is helpless to right itself and stand up again. If a sheep gets caught in the brambles, it is unable to free itself. If it tumbles into a ravine, it can’t get back out. If it’s attacked by a predator, it’s unable to defend itself. We are very much like those sheep. We, too, are totally dependent on the Shepherd. If we fall, we need Him to lift us and set us on our way again. If we get caught in the brambles of sin, we need our Shepherd to extricate us. If we are attacked by a predator, our Good Shepherd must rescue us and protect us.
Many have given their lives for others. History and legend record many heroic sacrifices. Some are particularly noble and inspiring. Texans will always “Remember the Alamo,” where a relatively small band of volunteers held off a far superior Mexican army at the cost of their own lives. Many among the passengers of the Titanic gave up their places in the lifeboats so that the women and children might be saved. Lives have been risked and lost to save victims of fires, drowning, and similar tragedies. Many have sacrificed their wealth and their health, aiding the poor, the homeless, the hungry, and the oppressed people of this world.
But no sacrifice, no matter how great, even begins to approach that of the Most Excellent Shepherd, who laid down His life for His sheep. No other sacrifice cost as much as His (He suffered hell on earth for us!) No other sacrifice accomplished as much as His (He won heaven for damned sinners). By some heroics, we may tack a few years on to someone’s life, maybe as many as 70 or 80, but Jesus tacked an eternity onto the life of His believers. Yes, our Most Excellent Shepherd Sacrifices Himself, but also…
2. He Knows His Sheep
No matter how close two friends are, no matter how close a husband and wife are, there will always be a part of that other person that is a stranger. There will always be a part that the other person will never know. We can accompany another person only so far and no further.
A good shepherd knows his sheep personally. He knows which ones are feeble and need extra help and prodding. He knows which ones tend to stray and need closer watching. He knows which ones are sick or are about to give birth. But he can never hope to know everything about every sheep.
There is one Shepherd who does know everything about His sheep. The Most Excellent Shepherd. He knows us inside and out, through and through. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our needs, our wants, our desires, our pain. 2 Timothy 2:19 says: “The Lord knows those who are his.” He knows us so perfectly that He keeps every hair on our heads numbered.
He can share every experience that we have. He can feel our every feeling. Whatever step we take, He has stepped there before us. Whatever path we walk, He has walked it. Whatever dark room we enter, He has already entered it. He can hold onto our hand when others must let go. Hebrews 4:15-16 says: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin.”
Jesus, our Most Excellent Shepherd, knows us. We, in turn, can “know” and trust our Good Shepherd. We know Him because He has revealed Himself to us in the Holy Scriptures. There we can find all that we need for our soul’s salvation. We also know Him from His dealings in our lives. We know His grace, His love, His care, and His mercy firsthand, as He has led and fed us through life.
His love stands firm. His protection is sure. He is the Shepherd that we can depend on always. He is the Good Shepherd, the Most Excellent One. He knows us, and we know Him. He is the Most Excellent Shepherd. Not only does He know those sheep in the fold, but also…
3. He Seeks Lost Sheep
One of the most amazing things about God is that He visited this planet. He left His home on high to seek and to save us. St. Paul exclaims in awe: “Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body.” If we are impressed to hear of uncommon people doing common things, then think about this one. The almighty God in heaven came to earth to be our brother! The mighty King of the universe took on the form of a servant! And He did it for only one reason: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” This awesome and amazing fact separates the Gospel from all other sources of hope and faith. Others may encourage us to seek after God. The Gospel tells us that God came down to seek after us and invite us into His kingdom.
Jesus is the Most Excellent Shepherd because He is not content if 99% of His sheep are safe in the fold. He goes out to seek the one lost lamb. And when He has found the little lost one, He lovingly gathers it into His arms and carries it home rejoicing. You might hear the new Christian happily say: “I have finally found God.” Not exactly. No Christian has ever found God. Rather, God found each of us when we were lost and straying.
Today, He uses His servants to do the seeking, deploying the Gospel as a beaming beacon to light up our lives. Wherever the Gospel is proclaimed, the Lord accompanies that preaching with power as through it He searches for the lost and brings them into the fold where there is one flock and one Shepherd. As we share the Gospel with family, friends, and other folks near and dear to us, the Lord accompanies us, seeking and saving the lost. He is the Most Excellent Shepherd because He seeks the Lost. Finally…
4. He Represents The Father
Jesus is the Most Excellent Shepherd. He has Father’s endorsement: “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life -- only to take it up again . . . This command I received from my Father.” Jesus is the Christ. Christ is not His last name. It’s His commission. It means He has been anointed and appointed by the Father to represent Him and to redeem us by offering the perfect sacrifice of His own precious life on the cross. Perhaps the best-loved and best-known passage in the Bible clearly states Jesus’ commission: “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
On two occasions, the Father’s own voice was heard, endorsing the words and works of His Son -- at Jesus’ Baptism and at His Transfiguration. Again, when Jesus’ precious life ebbed out on the cross, the Father let it be known that this was an unnatural and undeserved death, when He darkened and shook the earth, causing a bystander to conclude: “Truly this was the Son of God.” The Father’s final endorsement of the Son’s saving work came conclusively and explosively when He raised Jesus from the grave, and the risen Savior appeared before the Church in triumph. Yes, Jesus is the Most Excellent Shepherd. He carried the Father’s endorsement. He represented the Father.
Saints, we can be confident that our salvation is assured and complete. We can be confident that the Gospel is guaranteed. We can be confident that we stand free as sons and daughters of the King and heirs of the Kingdom. We can be confident that our Good Shepherd loves us and will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death into green pastures and still waters.
Yes, our Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Not just a good Shepherd. Not just THE Good Shepherd. Jesus is the Most Excellent Shepherd. Follow Him. Amen.
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