“He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” Isaiah 40:11
Roughly 700 years later:
“To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice….I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may 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 I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:3-4, 14-18 ESV
It caught my interest that Jesus called Himself the “Good Shepard”. He only called Himself a few names in the Gospel accounts (Bridegroom, Gate, Good Shepard, Light of the World, Lord/Teacher, Messiah/Christ, Vine, etc). Notice that only one of those names contains the word good. And also note how Jesus responded to the rich ruler when called Good Teacher,”Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” (Luke 18:19) I’d like to address this before moving forward, and state why this is not a contradiction.
The rich ruler came to Jesus expecting an easy answer on how to receive eternal life (18:18). I have a good guess that he was hoping to give Jesus some money, burn some incense, maybe offer a sacrifice, and move on with his life. After being told that it would actually cost him everything, he decided against it. He walked away sad and discouraged, and instead of seeing the beauty of Christ and the heavenly treasure we receive from Him so graciously, the ruler saw only the loss of fleeting pleasures. And so the ruler continued his pursuit of chasing wind.
See, friends, the ruler wasn't seeking a relationship with the Father, he was looking for a quick way to heaven that wouldn't cost him. He wasn't seeing the face of Christ right in front of him because he didn't want to. The ruler didn't understand the reality of who Jesus was, and he certainly didn't see how laying everything down for Christ is the best decision we could ever make.
Since Jesus knew that the ruler didn't see Him as God, he had no right using a sacred name to describe a random guy from Nazareth. But obviously, Jesus knew full well who He was, and so He chose to use the word "good". Simply put, Christ is not just any Shepard, but a good one, a divine one.
Other ways the word "good" has been translated throughout Scripture is noble, honorable, or beautiful.
Jesus, following in the footsteps of His ancestor David, is a Shepard among sheep. But He isn't just any Shepard, He's a Good Shepard. Through His grace He freely laid down His life in order to save His us. Christ knows that His flock can offer Him nothing, yet through an act of divine love He gave them everything.
The young ruler didn't recognize Jesus as the Good, Divine, Noble, Beautiful Shepard because he wasn't one of Christ's own. He didn't know the sound of His voice. The ruler had never stopped for a moment long enough to hear his Shepard call out his name. Because if the ruler had paused for a second, I am certain that he would have had no hesitation about giving everything up in exchange for Life.
"When he saw the multitude, he had compassion upon them, for they were as sheep having no shepherd. Here is the good Shepherd: he healed their sicknesses and wept over their sins — here is goodness indeed. When it was time for him to die, he crossed the brook Kedron, and suffered till he sweat great drops in the garden; he went to trial and condemnation, and then to the mount of doom, to suffer, bleed, and die. Here is the good Shepherd— the good Shepherd bleeding for the sheep. Can you tell me how good a Shepherd Jesus was? Can you measure the height and depth of the extraordinary goodness that dwelt in him? — so good that he saved others, himself he could not save— so good that when he rendered in his account, he could say, “I have lost none.” He had kept them all safely, though he himself had bowed his head and given up the ghost." -Charles Spurgeon
If only the rich ruler had seen the Man before him for what He truly is- our Good Shepard, Jesus Christ. It wasn't the ruler that had to sacrifice it all, it was Jesus. It wasn't the ruler's blood that would cover a multitude of sins across eternity, it was Jesus. It wasn't the ruler that had to wash the feet of his betrayers, it was Jesus. It wasn't the ruler who was the King of kings and the Lord of lords who came to this earth not to be served but to serve His sheep, it was Jesus. It wasn't the ruler who had to die for people that would never know Him, it was Jesus. It wasn't the ruler who healed strayed sheep, it was Jesus. It wasn't the ruler who would need to die on the cross, it was Jesus. It was Jesus. It was Jesus. If only the rich ruler could have looked into the eyes of my Christ Jesus and seen how poor he was without Him.
If only the ruler could have seen the goodness of the Good Shepard in front of him, and realized that without Christ he had nothing.
If only the ruler could have called Christ good...and meant it.
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