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The Good Shepherd:

The Identity of Jesus in Light of an Old Testament Tradition
Dr. Tim Laniak, Dean of the Charlotte Campus and
Curator of the Robert C. Cooley Collection

The perennial questions in Jesus studies are the same ones the Lord posed to his disciples in
Caesarea Philippi: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” and “Who do you say I am?” (Matt.
16:13, 15). These identity questions have been answered in a variety of ways discussed in the
Cooley lectures and in this newsletter. In this brief article, I will look to the First Testament for
one of several prototypical or archetypal categories that shaped the anticipations of those who
listened carefully to the sacred scriptures. The question of “Christ in the Old Testament,” as odd
as it sounds, is, for both historical and theological reasons, an appropriate place to begin
understanding the biblical portrait of the incarnate Son of God.

Not surprisingly, God is introduced first as a Divine Shepherd in the account of the Exodus and
Wilderness sojourn. Here, in a desert setting, this image becomes fundamental to understanding
YHWH‟s leadership as provider, protector, and guide. In the song of Moses and Miriam, God is
praised for his pastoral commitment to take his people to their new home. “In your unfailing love
you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy
dwelling (lit., “pasture.” Exod. 15: 13; cf. Deut. 32:10-12).i The prophet Hosea quotes the Divine
Shepherd: “I led them with cords of human kindness…and bent down to feed them” (Hos. 11:4).
The psalmist employs the pastoral metaphor in an extended summary of Israel‟s history: “But he
brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the desert. He guided them
safely, so they were unafraid” (Ps. 78:52-53). The familiar but less common image in Ps. 23:1 of
the Lord as “my shepherd” is balanced by more frequent references to God as the shepherd of his
collective flock. “We are the sheep of his pasture” (Ps. 100:3).

Most biblical representations of God as shepherd are connected to the story line or “meta-
narrative” of God‟s leadership of his people out of bondage, through the wilderness, and to the
Promised Land. In fact, the prophets likened captivity in Assyria, Babylon and Egypt to the
community‟s earlier experiences in Egypt. In Isaiah‟s messianic fortieth chapter, the voice
calling in the desert prepares the way for the one who will “tend his flock like a shepherd…
gather the lambs in his arms and carry them close to his heart; gently leading those that have
young” (Isa. 40:11). Jeremiah blames a community for not asking, “Where is the Lord, who
brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts
and rifts, a land of drought and darkness?” (Jer. 2:5-6). God describes an alarming irony in this:
“My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam
on the mountains… [they] forgot their own resting place. Whoever found them devoured them;
their enemies said, „We are not guilty, for they sinned against the Lord, their true pasture’” (Jer.
50:6-7).

Ezekiel shares Jeremiah‟s perspective on the exile. In an extended parable this prophet describes
a community left for prey by negligent and self-serving leaders – even insinuating that they were
behaving like the Egyptian task-masters. God promises personally to “search for my sheep and
look after them…I will rescue them… I will bring them out from the nations…I will bring them
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to their own land…I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel…I will tend my sheep and
make them lie down…I will shepherd the flock with justice” (Ezek. 34:11-16). After this series
of passionate personal promises is stated, the Sovereign Lord declares that he will place over his
flock “one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them…and be their shepherd” (Ezek.
34:23).

Ezekiel simultaneously predicts God‟s personal intervention to rescue and lead his flock and his
appointment of “David” to be their shepherd. Here is a beautiful “both-and” in messianic
expectation. God had once before led his flock directly and also “chose David his servant and
took him from the sheep pens, from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his
people Jacob…So David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led
them” (Ps. 78:70-71; cf. 2 Sam. 7:5-10).ii The Divine Shepherd and his ideal, appointed
shepherd-ruler both form prototypes for the coming Messiah.

The gospels are full of evidence that Jews expected a Davidic king to come and save them from
their oppression.iii What they didn‟t realize was that the Divine Shepherd would come himself to
save them and lead them out of bondage. Jesus was both God and “David.”

Matthew presents Jesus as a Davidic shepherd, emphasizing his roots in Bethlehem, and his
compassion for the “harassed and helpless crowds” whom he viewed as “sheep without a
shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). This description of Jesus is embedded in a summary statement of his
ministry of preaching and healing. It is followed by his charge to the disciples to serve the “lost
sheep of Israel” (10:5-6). The parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 balances the
portrait of the Messianic shepherd as both healer and judge.

Mark‟s presentation of Christ emphasize his ministry to needy people (especially feeding them)
in the “desert” and “deserted” places, clearly echoing God‟s pastoral provision in the wilderness
sojourn. These terms (along with “bread”) are disproportionately prevalent in the first section of
Mark (6:30-8:26).iv This segment begins with Jesus viewing a large crowd with compassion,
“because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). As in Matthew, this phrase
suggests both prophetic criticism over poor leadership and the promised arrival of the Divine
Shepherd.

Luke has his own perspective on Jesus as shepherd. The lost sheep parable (which also appears
in Matthew) is situated in the large middle section that climaxes with the story of Zacchaeus.
These two stories share a similar setting: Jesus is criticized for dining with “sinners.” His
explanation goes to the heart of his pastoral identity: “The Son of Man came to seek and to save
what was lost” (Luke 19:10). After this episode, Jesus faces Jerusalem for his Passion.

John‟s presentation of Jesus orients his readers to the deliberate choice of the good shepherd to
become the paschal sacrifice. This is explained explicitly in the well known parable in chapter
10, but it begins in chapter 1 when John the Baptizer announces that Jesus is “the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The sequence of events in the Lord‟s three
year ministry is then organized around three Passover occasions. As with the other gospels, the
death of Christ takes place during this festival which commemorates God‟s liberation of His
people from “captivity.” Other gospels writers also turn their readers‟ attention during the
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crucifixion to Zechariah‟s prediction of a struck shepherd and scattered flock (Zech. 13:7; cf.
Matt. 26:31; Mark 14:27; John 16:32). John adds the three-fold charge to Peter to “feed my
sheep” (John 21:15-17).

The image of Jesus as the Divine Shepherd climaxes in the New Testament with the visions of
the Apocalypse (Revelation). There the slain Lamb who sits on the throne will “spread his tent”
over his people... “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd” (Rev. 7:15,
17). Here is a beautiful vision of pastoral care with Jesus leading his own to springs of living
water in a world without suffering.

Who is Jesus? Among many answers the Bible provides, one of the richest is, “The Shepherd of
Israel ” (Ps. 80:1).

(For a thorough treatment of the biblical use of shepherd imagery in the Bible and an extensive
supplementary bibliography, see Dr. Laniak‟s Shepherds After My Own Heart: Pastoral
Traditions and Leadership in the Bible, InterVarsity Press, 2006).
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i
All citations are taken from the NIV unless otherwise specified.
ii
Compare the reference to God leading his people “like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” in Ps. 77:20.
iii
In the Synoptic Gospels David‟s name appears 15 times in Matthew, 7 times in Mark, and 12 times in Luke. Ten
of the occurrences in Matthew use the phrase “Son of David.”
iv
The word artos (bread) is used 15 times in these three chapters. Eremos (desert), appearing 3 times in this section,
is used 6 times in Mark‟s prologue to set the stage for Jesus‟ ministry.