If Mike Rowe’s Dirty Jobs had been filmed in ancient times, the tough and time-consuming job of shepherding would have certainly gotten its own episode. Every day, all day, they were herding sheep and preventing them from getting separated from each other. Sheep also had to eat, and since they weren’t hunters or predatory, shepherds had to find and furnish food for their flocks. Shepherds were also tasked with warding off hungry predators that prowled the area, as sheep could not defend themselves against such dangers. Sheep are also incredibly naive and dangerously curious, making it perplexing that, “Curiosity kills the cat,” is a more popular saying than, “Curiosity has killed many sheep”! Thus, a shepherd’s hardest assignment was leading the stubborn flock.

And this is the job Jesus willingly signed up for as the Good Shepherd. Christ tends to His own sheep through leading and feeding, just like earthly shepherds. But unlike human shepherds, Jesus leads His flock all the days of their life, both beside tranquil waters and dark valleys (Psalm 23:2b-4). Moreover, He feeds His sheep with the green pasture of His nourishing and sanctifying word (Psalm 23:1-2; Matt. 4:4; John 17:17; 1 Peter 2:1;). And without this soul-nurturing food, the Lord’s sheep will collapse from deprivation while climbing life’s hills and valleys.

Furthermore, while most earthly shepherds are unable to distinguish one sheep from another, the Good Shepherd knows all of His sheep by name and everything there is to know about them: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me” (John 10:14). None of the Lord’s sheep blend into the fold, resulting in being forgotten. Rather, every member of His flock is known, loved, and cared for, as though they were the only one.

The Good Shepherd is also superior to human shepherds because He will never lose one sheep among His fold. He promised, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). Nothing can ever sever or separate you from the Lord’s flock. But most of all, Jesus is greater than earthly shepherds because He was willing to die for His sheep: “and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:15b). The Good Shepherd died as a spotless Lamb to obtain the flock of God with His own blood (Acts 20:28).

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The devotional column above is from my newest book, 40 Days with Jesus, which is a forty-day daily devotional focusing on the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus. This book is available in hardcover and paperback on Amazon: