God as Shepherd
Written for New Testament Interpretation II at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Underscoring scriptures gently is the soft hum, the beckoning call to know our God as our shepherd. While many allusions to God’s character are more metaphysical, such as “light” or our “alpha and omega”, the role of God as Shepherd encompasses not only the lived character of God, but our role as “sheep” in his flock. Unlike metaphysical elements, a shepherd is a real occupation, lived by real Biblical figures like David. One of the earlier mentions of this is Genesis 48:15: "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day.” The practices that began in the Old Testament beautifully cross the gap into metaphors in the New Testament, bridging the gap into the new covenant with foundational lived experiences, oh so familiar to the layman. I imagine that it must have been humbling for David to write “The Lord is my Shepherd” in Psalm 23, knowing that this would reduce him to the status of a sheep. I find that this is one of the more transformational aspects of recognizing God as Shepherd is understanding our sheepish nature, realizing our need for guidance and protection. In 1 Peter 5, we as leaders are empowered to embody this role of Shepherd, but how was this metaphor shaped throughout the scriptures?
Embedded in Psalm 23 is the role of God as Shepherd, and embedded in Isaiah 53 is the role of us as sheep. Psalm 23 begins with the line, “The Lord is my shepherd.” Nancy L. deClaisse-Walford’s commentary states; “As many commentators have noted, within Israel and throughout the ancient Near East, the shepherd was a royal metaphor. Kings were portrayed as shepherds (cf. 1 Kgs. 22:17; Jer. 23:1-4; Ezek. 34:1-10), and to portray God as shepherd is to portray God as a royal figure (cf. Ezek. 34:10-16).” (deClaisse-Walford, Nancy L.) So first, we must expand our perceptions of this “shepherd” metaphor, knowing that culturally, it is used to describe royals, not just lowly men. David is acknowledging God as his protector, guidance-giver, and king, all embedded within this professional profile. This is elaborated further in the commentary, “Theologically, it is important to note that the use of the shepherd metaphor contains within it a powerfully subversive element — subversive of both human kings and of misguided human appropriations of the divine sovereignty.” (deClaisse-Walford, Nancy L.) This means that the term of “shepherd” is a cultural critique towards royalty, it is used to subvert the idea that royals exist to protect themselves, and reinstates the idea that the role of a leader is to defend and protect their flock, not their own selves. Carrying further into the concept of a “flock” is Isaiah 53, specifically referencing verse 6, which states, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Here represents the allusion to groups of believers as sheep, representing the alternate side of leadership as shepherds.
The similarity between the Old Testament use of the term “shepherd” and the New Testament use of the term, is the meaning of the word itself. I would assume that the difference between the Old Testament and New Testament use of the word is to whom it is applied. In the both Testaments, we see the term “shepherd” used as one to dynamically encapsulate the protective, attentive, and non-self-seeking nature of a servant leader. The profile of what this term means remains the same throughout the scriptures. The difference, as mentioned earlier, is that in the Old Testament, it is the adjective that defines the direct object of God. In the New, this term is translated to the “undershepherds” as the leadership baton is handed to the overseers. This is seen in 1 Peter 5:1-4, where “Peter sees the formation of the Christian community as a fulfillment of God’s promise to seek out the scattered sheep and to oversee (episkepsomai) them (Ezek. 34:11 LXX). They are to follow the footsteps of Christ even as sheep follow their shepherd.” (H. Jobes, Karen, 200) Earlier in the scriptures, Jesus evokes Peter by saying that if he loves Him, to “feed His sheep.” There is a high probability that this conversation was formative in the writing of this scripture. Further, the metaphors reach to the widely known parable of the shepherd that left 99 sheep to go after one. This makes the shepherd role highly impactful when referencing early church leaders. One commentary states, “The concept that the leaders of God’s people are themselves undershepherds of God the Great Shepherd is already present in OT tradition based on Jer. 23:1–4, where God indicts the leaders of his people for being poor shepherds, who scattered the flock and drove them away…In the time of stress and persecution in which Peter writes, the leaders of the Lord’s people must oversee the flock in a way that gathers, pastures, and defends it, if the Christian community is to survive and thrive in the face of social pressures.” (H. Jobes, Karen, 201) While “shepherd” may seem like it is a noun, it is a verb. An action. In 1 Peter 5, Peter is speaking from a place of deep experience when he encourages church leaders towards tri-fold action. Using the context above, we proceed into reading this scripture with the understanding that it is a term meant to correct and edify, to paint a centuries-old mind picture that prepares church leaders to act with tact and care. All we like sheep have surely gone astray. But the Lord is our shepherd, and we have nothing to lack.
Works Cited
Jobes, Karen H. 1 Peter. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2005. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=2470924&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
deClaisse-Walford, Nancy L., Rolf A. Jacobson, and Beth LaNeel Tanner. The Book of Psalms. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2014. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1058530&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
