Follow Jesus as Your Shepherd

Everyone follows someone.

Even the leaders we most admire walk in someone else’s footsteps. It’s not a matter of if we’ll follow someone, because we all do. The question is whom?

We long to follow someone who will lead us the right way. We’re like sheep, looking for a shepherd who truly cares and knows what’s best for us. But voices claiming to have all the answers call us from all directions. Which one do we follow?

When Israel followed spiritual leaders who mistreated them, the Lord’s heart broke. “They have lost their way,” He grieved, “and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold” (Jeremiah 50:6).

So God offered Himself as “Shepherd of Israel” (Psalm 80:1). “Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming,” prophesied Isaiah.

He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. (Isaiah 40:10–11)

Jesus fulfilled that promise.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd,” Jesus declared (John 10:11). Jesus was doing more than merely drawing an analogy. He was claiming to be the “Shepherd of Israel,” the long-awaited One who would gently lead His people and carry them in His arms.

The spiritual leaders of Jesus’ day were not good shepherds. They were more like “hired hands,” Jesus said. At the first flash of a wolf’s bared teeth, hired hands run away because they work “only for the money” and don’t “really care about the sheep,” Jesus said (10:13).

In his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Phillip Keller describes the trouble an uncaring shepherd can cause.

The tenant sheepman on the farm next to my first ranch was the most indifferent manager I had ever met. He was not concerned about the condition of his sheep. His land was neglected. He gave little or no time to his flock, letting them pretty well forage for themselves as best they could, both summer and winter. They fell prey to dogs, cougars, and rustlers. . . .

To all their distress, the heartless, selfish owner seemed utterly callous and indifferent. He simply did not care.¹

Why should he care? His sheep were headed for the slaughterhouse.

Jesus, however, loves each sheep. “I know them by name, and they know me,” He said (10:14). He seeks us when we stray. Through our storms, He stands resolute and untiring as He watches over us. When wolves snarl, He fights them off. So great is His love that He willingly “lays down his life for the sheep” (10:11 NASB).

When humanity was destined for the slaughterhouse, the goodness of our Shepherd was on full display. On the cross, the Shepherd Himself became our sacrificial lamb.

Your Good Shepherd truly cares about you. He knows your name! He loves you enough to go after you when you lose your way and to give His life for yours.

Jesus, the Great Shepherd

But our Shepherd did more than give His life for us.

The God of peace . . .
brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood. (Hebrews 13:20)

Jesus rose from the grave! The Good Shepherd became the Great Shepherd. Only a great shepherd can defeat our greatest foe, death.

Are you facing the unknown, not certain what the future holds? If your Shepherd can overpower the grave, He can lead you through any difficulty. No one is greater than Him!

Jesus, the Chief Shepherd

The love of Jesus as the Good Shepherd and the power of Jesus as the Great Shepherd qualify Jesus to be the Chief Shepherd.

Chief means “highest rank.” Jesus occupies the top place. He is superior. No one stands taller, and all other shepherds look up to Him.

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told Peter, “‘Take care of my sheep’” (John 21:16). From then on, Peter would shepherd the early church just as Jesus shepherded him, and he taught his fellow shepherds how to do the same.

Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not with greed but with eagerness; nor yet as domineering over those assigned to your care, but by proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:2–4)

Your Shepherd sees the work you do for Him in His name and has a reward awaiting you. There is only one Chief Shepherd. Jesus is the best leadership model and the only shepherd worth following.

Follow Jesus as Your Shepherd

So many voices call out, “Come follow me!” Which voice will you follow? Remember . . .

1. No one is as good as Jesus. He alone knows your name and cares enough to give Himself for you.
2. No one is as great as Jesus. He defeated death, your greatest enemy, and can lead you through any dark time.
3. No one can be the chief like Jesus. He is the head of the church, the leader of leaders, and the only one worthy of your devotion.

Follow Jesus as your shepherd. You’ll never get lost as long as you follow Him.

Following Jesus as Your Shepherd: A 30–Day Bible-Reading Plan to Stay Close with Jesus

Meditate on these thirty Bible passages, one per day, to help you follow Jesus. Listen to Jesus’ voice and follow Him as . . .