I want to use this note to help make today’s sermon more edifying. In John 10, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” But what does that mean? What is the significance? He has referenced bread, light, door, and now—Shepherd! If we did not have Ezekiel 34, we might conclude that Jesus gives us another descriptor of all the different ways He ministers to us. He is the bread satisfying our needs for something more than food. He is the light illuminating our way and the light in contrast to the darkness. He is the door; we enter through Him and only Him. But the shepherd is so much more. Read Ezekiel 34.
Yahweh tells the son of man, Ezekiel, to prophecy against the shepherds of Israel. Verses 1 through 10 are a polemic (fancy word for a written attack against someone or something) against the corrupt political and religious leadership in Israel. The leaders are called shepherds because Yahweh wants His sheep to be cared for, as a good shepherd cares for his sheep. And they are not shepherding His sheep. They are exploiting them for the shepherds’ personal gain. Lots of the text in Ezekiel is metaphoric. The humans are sheep. The leaders are shepherds. When we read, “Shouldn’t the shepherds feed the flock?” This is not meant to be interpreted literally. The historical-grammatical-literal method of interpretation will NOT work in Ezekiel 34 (and many other chapters). Yahweh is not judging them for the lack of soup kitchens in Israel. The shepherds have abandoned any concern for social justice. They are the elite upper class of society “doing quite well” at the expense of the sheep. This must stop.
In verse 10, Yahweh will “take matters into his own hands.” He will rescue His flock from ENT (ethnic, national, and territorial) Israeli leadership. Verse 11, “I myself will search for my flock…” Verse 16, “I will see the lost, bring back the strays, …” Verse 22, “I will save my flock.” Then, we get to a verse you want to underline. In verse 23, Yahweh promises to establish over Israel one shepherd, his servant David. But David is dead. Who is this prince who will shepherd Yahweh’s flock? It is not David—it is the greater son of David (see Mat 1:1, 2:42, Mar 10:47-48, and many more). Jesus is the “Son of David” 11 times in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Jesus, the good shepherd in John 10:11, is Yahweh in the flesh. He, the prince, has come to fulfill Yahweh’s (their) promises in Ezekiel 34.
In verse 25, Yahweh says, “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.” Is this an isolated new covenant where people can sleep in the woods without fear? Of course not. We use Scripture to interpret Scripture. This is the everlasting covenant of peace in Ezekiel 37:26. But you say, how do we know that? The writer of Hebrews makes that clear. In his benediction, he writes, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant” (13:20). In this one verse, we see him pulling “peace, shepherd, blood, and eternal covenant” together with our Lord Jesus.
Finally, Jesus, our Savior, saves us from the penalty, power, and presence of sin and death. Yet, Yahweh’s sheep, who were alive when Jesus rose from the grave, were also delivered from the corrupt leadership of Pharisees and Sadducees to the Apostles of the Chief Shepherd through faith in Christ. Let’s not miss this point. In Ezekiel 34, Yahweh said He was rescuing his sheep from these immoral, unethical, greedy, and selfish shepherds. Yahweh’s sheep are now shepherded through the Spirit of Christ in them and through the leadership of a local church in an entirely New Covenant relationship with the Creator. Our English word for pastor is shepherd. Elders are shepherds (Acts 20:17, 28). And shepherding is the job of the church. Feeding the sheep can be physical, emotional, and spiritual. Today, we see how Ezekiel 34 was fulfilled through Christ, the Chief Shepherd, and we read the chapter from a self-examination perspective. If pastors in a local church are behaving like the shepherds in Israel, Yahweh is against them as well. May we all use Ezekiel 34 to ensure it isn’t a polemic against us.
