Jesus Christ, The Shepherd King

Well, good morning, everyone. I just wanted to keep singing — I don't know about you, but that was wonderful. Wonderful to worship with you all this morning. Go ahead and grab your Bibles as we continue in our worship now through the preaching of God's Word. We're going to be in Psalm 23, verses 1–6. As you make your way there, let me just say that I love your pastor. I really do. I'm glad you guys do, too. I really value my partnership with him. I want to thank Grace Fellowship Church for your involvement and participation with the Redwood Empire Baptist Association. Your heart of partnership and cooperation is helping churches, and for that I am deeply, deeply grateful and thankful. It is my delight to pray for you. I pray for this church. I pray for your pastor. I pray for you all to be in the good fight of faith, to do it well, and to flourish in gospel ministry.

Again, we're in Psalm chapter 23. I'm going to read verses 1–6. I'll pray, and we'll launch right into this text. Starting in verse one: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." May God bless the reading of His Word. Let's pray.

Lord, we come to you now and we ask that you would bless this time as your Word is preached, as we sit here and listen. I ask that your Word would reside in each and every one of us, that it would settle there. As we hear from you now, I pray that your Spirit would be moving in a mighty way to sanctify and transform your people, that we would be more and more the bride of Christ you call us to be — sanctified, being transformed, and becoming more like our Savior. Lord, I pray that we would leave here different than when we came in, because we met with you. Bless this time, Father, we ask and pray, now in Jesus' name. Amen.

The title of our sermon is "Jesus Christ Is the Shepherd King." This is a marvelous text. This text is about the shepherd. It is a text ultimately about the Lord. "The Lord is my shepherd." It means that the one who leads him is his king. The psalmist wrote this psalm between two other psalms that highlight something about the Lord as king. In Psalm 22, He is the king who suffers. It says there, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Here in Psalm 23, He is the king who shepherds: "The Lord is my shepherd." And then in Psalm 24, He is the king who is sovereign. It says there, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers." Verse 8 goes on to say, "Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle." And verse 10: "Who is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts — he is the King of glory."

That is where we find ourselves here in the book of Psalms, in chapter 23. "The Lord is my shepherd." This Lord who suffers for my sake, who is the sovereign Lord, is personalized here in Psalm 23. He says, "The Lord is my shepherd." I believe that David is talking about Christ when he calls Him "Lord." He is making a reference to the Messiah. Before we launch into this text, I want to show you three reasons why I firmly believe that this is Jesus.

In John 10:11, Jesus is called the good shepherd: "I am the good shepherd." It says, "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." We see that in Psalm 22. We see that in Psalm 40. Jesus suffers and dies for the sake of His people. That is what we remembered when we partook of communion. He's not a hired hand — He is the good shepherd. In John 10:12, there is a hired hand. When the hired hand sees the wolf coming for the sheep, you know what he does? It says he leaves the sheep and runs away. Why does the hired hand leave so quickly? In John 10:13, it says he flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. But Jesus is the good shepherd. He does not run from the wolf. He does something about the wolf. He protects the sheep. He goes so far as to die for the sheep, because Jesus is the good shepherd.

Secondly, the reason I believe that David is talking about Jesus when he says "the Lord is my shepherd" is because in Hebrews 13:20, Jesus is described as the great shepherd: "Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you." The great shepherd shed his blood for you — a real death. But He is also alive today because He has a real resurrection. By His death and resurrection, we have real peace with God. We have peace with a holy God. Can you imagine that? We sinners can stand before a holy God and have peace with Him despite our sins, because of what Jesus has done. Our sins have been washed away through faith in Him. He is the great shepherd because He is the only one — the only one — who can lead you into His presence so that you can still stand and have peace. No one, not even you, can do that for yourself. No amount of money can bring about the peace that Jesus brings. Only He can. He is the great shepherd.

In 1 Peter 5:4, He is also the chief shepherd: "And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." Peter there is talking about Jesus, and in this text he is addressing elders as shepherds to oversee the people of God with dignity, knowing that the chief shepherd is coming back. Elders in the churches are under-shepherds. Jesus is the chief shepherd, and He is coming back. We elders who serve in the church are to do so in faithfulness to the chief shepherd, to Jesus. In other words, elders are not supposed to be like the hired hand. They are supposed to be just like their chief shepherd — serving and sacrificing, giving themselves for the sake of the sheep. The hired hand doesn't care for the sheep, but elders are supposed to love the sheep just like the chief shepherd loves the sheep. As under-shepherds, they are supposed to be like Him.

Because Jesus has been identified as the good shepherd, the great shepherd, and the chief shepherd, I firmly believe that David in Psalm 23, when he says "the Lord is my shepherd," is talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. As David describes the Lord as his shepherd, I want us to appreciate Jesus Christ as our shepherd. Jesus is our shepherd. So if Jesus is this good, great, and chief shepherd, what does that actually look like in the grit and grime of our daily lives? David doesn't just give us a theological lecture. He gives us a personal testimony. The first thing he wants us to see is that when the Lord is your shepherd, the rat race for more and more — the endless dissatisfaction of this world — finally ends. Jesus Christ satisfies me. That is the first thing we see here. The Lord Jesus Christ satisfies me as my shepherd.

The inscription of this psalm says, "A Psalm of David." Because it is a shepherd psalm, some say that David may have written it from the fields as he shepherded and meditated on God. On the other hand, some say it could not have been written in his younger years as a boy shepherd, because in verse five he has enemies and in verse four he is in danger of death. I tend to think you cannot necessarily pin this on any particular point of David's life. David is likely the author, and it is clear that he writes as a man happy in the Lord. He lacks nothing. He has no fear. God has been merciful, and he is going to be with God forever.

Again, verse one: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." In these first three verses, David is giving a testimony. He is looking at the Lord objectively and simply states, "He is my shepherd." And because the Lord is his shepherd, he shall not want. He shall be satisfied. The word for "want" means lacking. Wanting means to be deprived, to be empty. So to not want is to be satisfied, to have what you need, to not lack.

About a year and a half ago, I was helping my son Ricky get settled in San Diego. After a long day of driving and moving, I took him to — I don't know if you've ever heard of this kind of restaurant — it's called a Brazilian churrascaria. You've heard of that? I'm seeing some people with smiles and shiny teeth. Well, in that restaurant you can eat all the meat you want — that's why you heard "Praise the Lord," because that is true. In this restaurant there was sirloin steak, and not just one kind. There was top sirloin, spicy top sirloin, garlic sirloin, and because you have top sirloin, guess what else you have? Bottom sirloin — I didn't even know there was such a thing. There was ribeye, there was filet mignon, filet mignon wrapped in bacon, beef ribs, and then some seafood, some pork, chicken, and lamb, along with one of my personal favorites — grilled pineapple. It is delicious.

In this restaurant, they give you a card. This card has two sides: a green side and a red side. As long as your card is on the green side, attendants come to your table with skewers of all the different kinds of meat I described. But once you flip that card to red, they stop coming — until they see green again. Well, my son said, "Dad, I'm going to keep it green the whole night." I laughed. Wave after wave, the attendants came with the different meats until it was too much. My son said, "I can't do it," and flipped to red immediately.

The reason for David's satisfaction is that the Lord is his shepherd and He meets every need. To him, the card is always green. "I am here for you." What David means to tell us is that he gets from his shepherd more than he needs. His shepherd does several things for him that bring satisfaction. "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." He leads me. He leads me. He leads me. Wave after wave, He is there for me to satisfy me, so that I am not in want, so that all my needs are met, so that in Him I am satisfied, so that in Christ I have all that I need. David is satisfied because he is lying down. He is satisfied because he is restored. He is not broken. He is not empty. He is right with God. The card has been flipped to red, so to speak, because in Christ he has so much. He is satisfied beyond measure. But Christ keeps coming. We receive from Christ, as John says, grace upon grace — grace heaped upon grace. He floods us with goodness.

David is satisfied because the Lord makes him lie down in green pastures. The green pastures are the lush land that the sheep can feed on, and the still waters provide the fluids to drink. The shepherd makes sure they have what they need in order to live. The lying down shows satisfaction — that the needs have been met completely. That is exactly the kind of shepherd Jesus is. In John 6:35, it says, "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'" He satisfies our hungering and our thirsting because life in Christ means all your spiritual needs are met in Him. In Him you can lie down. In Him you do not need to earn God's favor, because in Christ you already have it.

John 4:14 — and this is Jesus speaking to the woman at the well — "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The spiritual thirst for eternal life is quenched by Him. In Him we have life. In Him is true life. In Him is eternal life. John 7:38: "Whoever believes in me," Jesus says, "as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." What does that mean except that true satisfaction is found in Christ in such an exceedingly overabundant way that it cannot even be contained — it is overflowing from you once you have Him. That is how much He satisfies you.

Back in Psalm 23, the reason David is also satisfied is that the Lord restores his soul. The word "restore" can mean renew or recover. The Lord can revive you when you need strength, because the leading here is in paths of righteousness for the sake of God's name, and I believe this is talking about living for God. That is not easy. It is not easy to live for God in a world of sin. Isn't it hard? Don't you find yourself worn down a little trying to do the right thing, trying to do it God's way — whether in parenting, in trying to be an honorable worker in the workplace, in trying to study hard for the glory of Jesus at school? It is hard to live for God, to honor God, to do these things faithfully. "He restores my soul" means He puts you back on your feet, because sometimes it gets so hard you will mess up. But you can never mess up so badly that He cannot lift you back up again, because His grace is that great and His shepherding is that wonderful.

He is your shepherd. He is such a great shepherd that when you are down, you never have to stay down. You never have to wallow in your sin and say, "What is the point of repentance?" No — turn, get back up, because Jesus is so satisfying, so sufficient, and the grace He provides is so abundant, you can do that. You are not out for the count. When you blow it as a mom or as a dad, as a husband or a wife, as a neighbor, a friend, a classmate, or a colleague — whether it is your words or your actions, whether it is depression, anger, or sadness — there are so many ways to mess up, so many roles you fill in which you could fail. How good it is to know that Jesus restores our soul. We can never be so far gone that we cannot be revived by our shepherd, that we cannot be restored by Jesus. Because of Him, I do not have to stay down. He revives me. How many of you need to be revived today?

When David says, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want," it means that in Christ you have everything you need to keep going today. You have everything you need in Christ to get back up and fight another day. Philippians 4:13, a very famous verse, is written in the present tense: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" — present tense, today, right now.

It is easy to worship the shepherd when we are lying in green pastures and the sun is shining — green pastures, streams of water, everything is good. But we all know life is not just rolling hills and still waters. Eventually the path leads downward. The shadows grow long. The air gets cold. But notice: the shepherd does not leave us at the edge of the ravine. He goes in with us. When the scenery changes from green pastures to the shadow of death, Jesus doesn't just satisfy our hunger — even in the shadows, He supports us. There is nothing too scary, too dark, or too far gone that He will not go into with us. Jesus Christ not only satisfies me; in this psalm, Jesus Christ supports me.

Verse four: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death" — even there — "I will fear no evil. Why? For you are with me." That is the wonderful news for the Christian who is supposed to be on mission. We are all supposed to be on mission. We are all supposed to have the gospel on our lips. We are all supposed to have the kinds of feet that carry us to places where we give people the good news. The presence of Jesus Christ is good news for those who deliver good news, because in the Great Commission, what does Jesus say at the end? "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Being with you is so special when you consider that there are dark places you must go.

In this reference to the valley of the shadow of death, David stops speaking about the shepherd. He stops talking about his personal testimony and now, instead of referring to the shepherd as "he" — as if describing Him to an audience — he speaks directly to the shepherd. He shifts from third person to second person: "For you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table for me. You anoint my head with oil." Whatever this valley of the shadow of death represents, it highlights an aspect of our relationship with the shepherd in which we not only follow Him from behind as He leads us from the front, but He is also near us and right beside us. What we begin to understand is that as wonderful as the green pastures and the still waters are — and they truly are wonderful — the deep relationship the psalmist has with his shepherd is forged here in the valley. And it is far better to have the shepherd by your side than to be lying alone in the green pastures. You have something greater, Christian: to know that Jesus is with you to the end of the age.

The valley of the shadow of death represents the necessary places in this world that we must pass through — places that are not so nice, not so friendly, not so holy, not so righteous, not so good. In this world of death, grassy hillsides are attended by ravines and dark valleys that the shepherd must lead us through. He has a rod, which provides protection and safety. It guards and keeps us. There are dangers about, and He has a rod. But He also has a staff, which provides comfort and support. It guides and encourages us in the valley moments of life. We are all going to go through them — those dark, tumultuous, agonizingly difficult, and even downright scary valley moments. But you have the one you need. He is right beside you. The one with the staff, the one with the rod, the one who is the Lord. You have your shepherd, who has your best interest in mind — the one who is not going to run away when the wolf shows up, the one who loves you and will tend to you and take care of you.

Danny Akin says, "We may lack many things in life if we follow our good shepherd." What he means is that if you look out into the world, you will see people with many things — the big home, the cars, the clothes, the jewelry. We may lack many things in life if we follow our good shepherd. Do you find that to be true? That because you follow Jesus, there are many things in this world you have forsaken — things you decided to do without because following Jesus is more important, because that thing would only distract you and pull you away? That is what he is saying. We may lack many things in life if we follow our good shepherd — things that could include friendships, job opportunities, and other worldly comforts. But we will never lack anything the good shepherd knows is good for us. Whatever the good thing is that you need, your good shepherd will give it to you. You will not lack that. Psalm 84:11 says, "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly." He will give you exactly what you need.

The shepherd not only leads but also feeds. The sheep are fed not only in the green pastures but, if you look closely, also in the dark valley — surrounded by enemies. We can gain a greater appreciation of this picture when we think of the Exodus account, where Israel was rescued from Egypt. You know this story. Wandering through the desert on the way to the promised land, surrounded and threatened by enemies, God took care of them. Even though it was scary, even though there were enemies all about, God provided. But when Israel wandered through the desert, they doubted God — even though they had God leading them. Psalm 78:19 says they spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?" They were doubting God's provision. They were looking at their situation, contemplating the desert land, counting the enemies. "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?" In other words, can God really take care of us in the dark valley we find ourselves in, surrounded by enemies?

Psalm 78:15 recounts how God split rocks in the wilderness to provide abundant drink. Can you imagine being in a desert, thirsty? I drove through the desert once. It was amazing to me how the cacti looked just like the cartoon drawings — very cartoony. Then you look past the cactus and you see the horizon shimmering because of the heat. Even though I was in an air-conditioned car driving through the desert, it still made me thirsty. It was that hot. But in that desert land where Israel found themselves, God provided abundant drink. Then in Psalm 78:23–24, it describes how God opened up the skies: "Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven, and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven." In the desert they had manna — bread-like food in abundance. They had water. And then in verses 26–27, you get something of a Brazilian churrascaria feel, because God caused the wind to blow, and meat rained down on them like dust. "He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he let out the south wind. He rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas."

Dear friends, dear church, can God spread a table in the wilderness? Can He do that in your wilderness — in your parched land, in the dryness of your life, in the struggles you find yourself in? Is the Lord really your shepherd? Can He really provide? Can He really satisfy you even when things are tough? Is He that kind of Savior? Is He that kind of Lord? Is He that kind of shepherd? Is the shepherd who supported David the shepherd who supports you today? When you think of Christ — the good shepherd, the great shepherd, the chief shepherd — He can be all these things for you and even more, if you would just follow. If you would just trust Him, bow the knee, believe in Jesus, know Him as your Savior — He can feed you and take care of you in the easy times, and yes, in the hard times as well. Believing in Jesus does not mean the hard things go away, but it does mean that when those hard times come, He is right beside you — in safe places and dangerous places, in green pastures and dark valleys.

We have seen the shepherd feed us in the pastures and protect us in the valleys. But what happens when the valley ends? What happens when our strength finally fails for the last time? David ends this psalm not looking at the ground beneath his feet, but at the horizon ahead of him. He realizes that this shepherd is not just a temporary guide for the difficult years — He is a forever king. Jesus doesn't just support me for a season. Jesus sustains me for eternity. That is this last point: Jesus Christ sustains me.

Verse six: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." This psalm bookends with the Lord. "The Lord is my shepherd" in verse one; "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever" in verse six. The green pastures, the still waters, the valley of the shadow of death, and the tables surrounded by enemies are all places where our Lord is with us. Verse four says, "You are with me." He is the one who leads and satisfies you. He is the one who comes alongside and supports you. And here in verse six, He is the one who holds you up and sustains you.

In this verse, David's confidence overflows. He is no longer merely observing facts about the shepherd in verses 1–3. He is no longer talking to the shepherd about those facts in verses 4–5. He is simply celebrating in verse six. His life shall be filled with goodness and mercy. The Hebrew word tov for "good" and hesed for "mercy" indicate that we have in this life an abundant goodness marked by a merciful, steadfast love with Christ as our Lord. No matter where you are, no matter what you are going through, no matter what is going on around you, your life will be filled with abundant goodness marked by a merciful, steadfast love — and that follows you into eternity.

"I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." The point is simply this: he is sure he will be with the Lord forever. In his present state — whatever that valley might be — he does not question the Lord's goodness in his life. He does not say, "Oh, the Lord must be judging me." No. This is a world of sin. You will go through hard things. Know that in those valleys, God is with you. David has this confidence: "I am going to be with Him forever," because he sees how good God has been to him. Even in the midst of hard things, it is not his location that brings about his confidence, not the state of his finances, not the size of the house he lives in. It is the person he gets to be with forever. I am not primarily looking forward to golden streets — as glorious as that is — or the glassy sea ahead of us. I am looking forward to being with my shepherd, my Lord, my Savior forever. And for David, nothing can convince him otherwise.

Church, we live in a world that is constantly in want. We are told we need more money, more status, more security. When in reality, we need what David has. We need the Lord as our shepherd — the one who satisfies. "I shall not want." If you are here today and you feel empty, remember: Jesus satisfies you. If you are walking through a valley of grief or fear right now, remember: Jesus supports you. If you are worried about what tomorrow holds or what eternity will bring, remember: Jesus sustains you. He is the king who suffered in Psalm 22. He is the king who is my shepherd in Psalm 23. He is the king who is sovereign in Psalm 24. You do not have to navigate the wilderness alone. You do not have to fear the wolf. You just have to follow the shepherd.

Let us pray that we would leave here today not merely knowing about the shepherd but truly being led by Him. If you do not know Him today, stop running from Him. The shepherd is the Savior. When He saves you, He will lead you into eternal life. You can have that today by believing in Him. Let's pray.

Father, thank you for sending your Son to die for us. You sent your own Son — He is our shepherd, He is our Lord, and we follow Him. Because of faith, a faith that connects us to your Son, we have been made right, and we have a right relationship with you. So let us live out the free gift of salvation by following our Savior, trusting Him despite what is going on around us, truly believing and trusting that He is with us. I pray for the one who is struggling — Lord, minister your mercy. Let them not only know it but feel it. Thank you, Lord, that you do not leave us to ourselves, that when you saved us, you continued to be with us. We are so grateful. We have so much to celebrate, so much to worship you for, such an abundance of love that you give us. We know that we love because you first loved us. Father, we love you. Lord Jesus, we love you. Holy Spirit, we love you. Thank you. We give you all the praise now. We pray this in the most precious name of Jesus. Amen.