What the Shepherd Provides
Scripture: Psalm 23
I. Jesus the Shepherd provides what I need.
A. There is a personal pronoun used four times in vs. 2 and 3. What does He provide? He makes me lie down. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths. The LORD is doing all this work to provide for your needs. We see a picture of Jesus the shepherd taking care of the needs of His sheep in Mark 6:34-44. He has compassion on his needy sheep. Jesus feeds the sheep spiritually from the Word of God. And he feeds 5,000 of them physically as they sat down on the pastures of green grass. Jesus was their good shepherd.
B. We need to let God decide what we need. The paths of righteousness in vs. 3 means the right path that God leads me on to get me where I need to go. I must not argue with God about what He wisely knows is the right path for me. This statement that we lack for nothing because the Lord is our shepherd is an echo of Deuteronomy 2:7: “For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.”
II. Jesus is the shepherd of Psalm 23.
A. What kind of a home does a sheep want? “He makes me like down in green pastures” (vs. 2). The shepherd will give his sheep a home of rich and verdant pastures. If Jesus is your shepherd, you will be led home. You will be led to the green pastures where all of God’s promises are realized, all needs will be met, and all your fears will be gone. David might have been inspired to write his song in Psalm 23 by the song Moses wrote in Exodus 15:13 about what God had done for Israel: “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.”
B. How can I honestly sing and pray Psalm 23? I must remember that I’m not home yet. I’m on a pilgrimage toward my home with Jesus my shepherd leading me, but I’m not home yet. Moses and David and Jesus all were on a pilgrimage through the wilderness before they made it home to heaven. Remember who is leading you home. Revelation 7:17: “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Application:
Keep your eyes on Jesus as you make your pilgrimage home to heaven.
Sources:
The Bible
Commentaries by David Gibson, Christopher Ash, Willem VanGemeren, Gerald Wilson,
and Bruce Waltke.
Sermon Discussion Questions
1) Because Jesus is our shepherd, what do we lack? What work does our shepherd do for us? How did we see Jesus do this work in His life on earth?
2) If Jesus leads you on paths of righteousness, what should you do when it feels like He is leading you on the wrong path? Where is Jesus ultimately leading you as your shepherd?
3) Can we lie down on green pastures even when it seems like we are walking in the wilderness? What do we need to remember in the wilderness?