First, there are many good Christians who know Jesus as their Lord and King. They know that the Bible is God’s Word and is to be obeyed, and they know about the seriousness of God’s judgement. They know that God is the Lord and King who commands – and they are to obey. And when they read ‘Do not be afraid!’ they hear this as a stern rebuke. So they grit their teeth and go and try to do what God has commanded - in their own human strength.
Second, there are many other good Christians today who revel in God’s love for them, feel his personal touch, His loving caress (as it were), they know his voice, and are familiar with him saying “Do not be afraid for I am with you” and they know these are the words of the Good Shepherd and lover of their soul. They enjoy being in his presence, loving and adoring him. But they may miss his command to obedience, to strike out beyond their comfort zone and be obedient to his command.
The first group know Jesus as Lord and King, but may know much less of Jesus the Shepherd and about staying in His presence as He comes alongside them to put His arms around them; they may have little experience of His presence close to them and His touch deep in their lives and how He can work in and through those who rely entirely on Him.
The second group know Jesus as the loving Shepherd, but they know much less about Jesus’ as the Lord and King who expects to rule in their lives and commands obedience.
What does a King do? He commands and rules, and expects to be followed, to be obeyed; he is a judge, and is all-powerful, and is to be feared …
What does a Shepherd do? Guides, leads, feeds, protects, gathers together, holds close, goes looking for the one loved, lost sheep …
If you just know Jesus as Lord and King, you don’t know him fully. If you just know him as Loving Shepherd, I’m sorry to say you don’t know him fully either. He is both! You cannot separate these characteristics or choose the facet that happens to suit your inclination or preference. If we hold to one facet without the other, we are worshipping nothing more than a man-made creation, not Jesus of the Bible; one without the other is unbiblical(1). Jesus is the Shepherd-King!
For those who do know Jesus as their Shepherd-King, when he calls them to do something quite outside their normal experience, in obedience to their calling they may move well outside what is comfortable, but all the time they remain in the familiar arms of their loving Saviour who says: "I have commanded you to do this, but do not be afraid, for I am right here beside you; I can accomplish this through you even though you cannot do it yourself!”.
However, even when we are submitted to God's will, this does not mean that we are immune from difficulty, for he leads us through, not around such experience. But we can pray that most difficult of prayers, “I put myself into your hands, with no preconditions, trusting that wherever you lead, and whatever happens, you will be there with me.”
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(1) If you are unsure about the Biblical basis for this, here are some references to get you started:
- Isaiah, prophesying of Jesus, said: "‘Here is your God!’ See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. … He tends his flock like a shepherd: he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart...” (Isaiah 40 v9-11)
- David is the prime ‘type' of Jesus in the OT, and he was a shepherd-king. In 2 Samuel 5v2 it says: "All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, ‘We are your own flesh and blood. … And the Lord said to you, “You shall shepherd my people Israel, and you shall become their ruler.”’
- Matthew and Luke tell us about the birth of Jesus. There were only two groups of people who came to see the baby Jesus: they were shepherds from the hillside and the Kings (or Magi). Is that just a coincidence? (Matt 2 & Luke 2)
- Jesus, who made it clear in many places that he had come to bring in the Kingdom of God, also said “I am the good Shepherd” (John 10v11).
- Jesus is described in many places as Lord or King, but he is also described as the ‘Chief Shepherd’ (1 Peter 5v4)
If you are a person who knows Jesus primarily as Lord and King, go and do a study on all the references to Jesus as Shepherd. And if you are a person who knows Jesus as your Shepherd, go and do a study on Jesus as Lord and King. See how often the two appear, and how often they appear together, side by side!
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I am grateful for hearing a talk on this subject from Ellel Ministries, and acknowledge their input into this post.
