Explaining Jesus to Muslims
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18. Jesus, the Good Shepherd

The Lord is my Shepherd
The relationship of a shepherd to his sheep is one of loving care. The shepherd is always with his sheep, he feeds them, protects them, gives them rest and looks after their every need. One of the favourite Psalms of David is Psalm 23 where he compares God's love and care for his people to a shepherd looking after his sheep:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides 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 will follow me all the day of my life,and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.'

Sinners are like lost sheep
"We all, like sheep, have gone astray,each of us has turned to his own way;and the Lord has laid on him(Jesus)the iniquity of us all."       (Isaiah 53:6)

Sheep don't have much initiative, they need someone to follow. We human beings are very much like sheep in this respect. The prophet tells us that we have all gone astray, we have strayed away from God's path, we have neglected the advice that God has given us in his Word and chosen to go the way of the godless world.

Jesus helps us in two ways. Firstly, the prophet says that the Lord laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. That means that when Jesus died on the cross, he suffered the punishment of all the sin and evil that we have done, making it possible for God to forgive us. So the Shepherd of our souls leads us back to God. Secondly he looks for us so that he might rescue us and give us health and strength as described by the prophet Ezekiel:

"For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David (that is David's descendant, Jesus), and he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them." (Ezekiel 34:11-12,16,23)

Jesus' love for his sheep
"When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36)

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command.  (John 15:12-14)

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just as the Father knows me and I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life - only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."  (John 10:11-12,14-15,17-18, 25-29)

God is love
God rejoices over the repentant sinner.

"What do you think? If a man owns 100 sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the 99 on the hills and go back to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the 99 who did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost."            (Matthew 18:12-14)

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." (1 John 4:7-12)

God's love for us is illustrated by the story of Abraham and Isaac, recorded by the prophet Moses in Genesis chapter 21. God had promised Abraham that he would give him and his descendants the land of Canaan. But Abraham's wife Sarah was barren. Abraham was 100 years old and his wife 90 years old, normally too old for bearing children. But God performed a miracle and Sarah bore a son who was named Isaac. Abraham was very proud of his son, and although he had another son, Ishmael, by Sarah's maid, he knew that God's promises to him were to be fulfilled through his unique son Isaac.

So, imagine Abraham's surprise when God tells him to take his son Isaac and sacrifice him on a certain mountain as an act of worship. Abraham obeyed, and it was only at the last moment, when he was about to cut Isaac's throat, that an angel told him to stop. He was then able to sacrifice a sheep in Isaac's place. Isaac was very special to Abraham, Abraham loved him very much. But Abraham was willing to give him up. This is a picture of God's love for us.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

The Shepherd's Protection
Jesus said to his disciples:

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.I do not give to you as the world gives.Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27)

Jesus’ followers don't pray for him, he prays for them - continually. Jesus is the perfect High Priest. "Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to make intercession for them, one who is holy, blameless, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens."               (Hebrews 7:25-26)

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "he is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your right side ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you make the Most High your dwelling even the Lord, who is my refuge,
then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me and I will answer him,
I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him.
With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation."                
(Psalm 91)