For Jesus, it just came naturally. He was and is our Good Shepherd!
By Dean Collins
This morning as I read John 6 I saw a connection I had never made before.
While we don’t want to overreach and try to force Scripture to say what we prefer, I suspect there are many hints in various passages that naturally draw our minds to consider how God is truly the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. One of those connections came to me as I read the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000, recorded in John 6.
‘All I need’
It isn’t until chapter 10 that Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd, but here in the feeding of the 5,000, it strikes me he is already acting as a Shepherd who provides for the needs of his sheep.
I often pray Psalm 23. It reminds me that God is all I need and that through his care he always provides for every need.
As John 6 opens, we read that Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee known as the Sea of Tiberius. The sea is actually a large lake. The large crowd followed him on the shoreline. Jesus had a conversation with his disciples about the large crowd and questioned them about how they might feed the masses. Jesus already knew the solution and was helping the disciples discover how they would find adequate resources to feed the hungry crowd. When Andrew brings one boy’s lunch to Jesus, he told his disciples to have everyone sit down.
The psalmist said the shepherd makes him lie down in green pastures. Jesus had his disciples seat thousands on the grassy shoreline. David declared that his shepherd was all he needed; “I shall not want” can also be translated, “I have everything I need” or, ‘I am lacking nothing.”Jesus by the Sea of Galilee demonstrated to his disciples and sent a clear message to the masses that he was indeed sufficient to meet everyone’s need.
‘In the presence of my enemies’
By chapter 5 the enemies of Jesus were visible. John tells us there were already plans to kill Jesus. In Psalm 23 David makes a point that his shepherd prepares a feast for him in the presence of his enemies and that there he is anointed and cleansed with oil. Every need is met. While there would have certainly been enemies of Christ present, they did not stop Jesus, our Good Shepherd, from providing food and continuing his ministry of healing and blessing others ahead of his later journey to the cross to redeem all things.
The Lord was, is, and will always be our Shepherd. His great desire is that we turn away from striving and sit down in his presence so he might meet our needs. He will deliver us from our enemies, nourish us with daily bread, and heal us with the oil of his kindness, mercy, and grace.
Lord, today we see you as our Good Shepherd. Increase our faith so we might fully realize that in you every need is met. Forgive us when we grow anxious and think that you have abandoned us. Revive us by your Spirit that we might rest in the hands of Jesus our Shepherd today and every day until you return. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your time with God’s Word
John 6:10-13; Psalm 23:1-6; John 5:18 ESV
Photo by mahyar motebassem on Unsplash
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