Scripture Reading: John 10:10-11, 15-17; 21:15-17; Psa. 23
Ⅰ
Christ is the good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep so that, in the divine life, there will be one flock and one Shepherd—John 10:16:
A
As the good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus came that we may have life and may have it abundantly—vv. 10-11.
B
The good Shepherd laid down His human life to accomplish redemption for His sheep that they may share His divine life—vv. 11, 15, 17.
C
As the good Shepherd, the Lord shepherds us by feeding us with Himself and in Himself as the pasture—v. 9:
１
The pasture signifies Christ as the feeding place of the sheep—v. 9.
２
Today our pasture is the resurrected Christ as the life-giving Spirit, and in our daily life we may enjoy His rich supply—11:25; 1 Cor. 15:45b.
D
As the good Shepherd, the Lord is leading, guiding, and directing us in the divine life—John 10:14, 27-30:
１
Christ shepherds us by being life to us—v. 10; 11:25.
２
Christ shepherds us by living in us; His living within us is actually His shep-herding—14:20.
E
Under the shepherding of Christ as the good Shepherd, "there shall be one flock, one Shepherd"—10:16:
１
The one flock signifies the one church, the one Body of Christ, brought forth by the Lord's eternal, divine life, which He imparted into His members through His death—vv. 16-18; Eph. 2:14-16; 3:6.
２
The Lord has formed the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers into one flock, the one church, under His shepherding—John 10:10-18; Eph. 2:14-16.
３
The Lord's sheep have received the divine life, and by the divine life the sheep live together as one flock.
４
To enjoy Christ's shepherding, we need to be in the one flock, the church.
F
John 21, a chapter on shepherding, is the completion and consummation of the Gospel of John; shepherding is the key to the Gospel of John—vv. 15-17:
１
In order to know the Gospel of John, we need to know what shepherding is.
２
The Gospel of John is a book on Christ coming to be our life by cherishing and nourishing us—10:10; 11:25; 13:1.
３
After His resurrection the Lord incorporated the apostolic ministry with His heavenly ministry to take care of God's flock, the church—21:15-17.
Ⅱ
The shepherding of Christ in the Gospel of John is the fulfillment and the reality of the shepherding of the pneumatic Christ described in Psalm 23— v. 1; John 10:10-11:
A
"He makes me lie down in green pastures"—Psa. 23:2a:
１
Green signifies the riches of life; the green pastures are Christ Himself as our nourishment—John 10:9.
２
Christ can be our green pasture, our feeding place, through His incarnation, death, and resurrection.
B
"He leads me beside waters of rest"—Psa. 23:2b:
１
The waters of rest signify the Spirit, the consummated Spirit after Christ's resurrection—John 7:37-39.
２
Both the green pastures and the restful waters are the resurrected, pneumatic Christ as the life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45b; John 14:16-18.
C
"He restores my soul"—Psa. 23:3a:
１
Restoring includes reviving, renewing, and transforming—Rom. 12:2.
２
Our Lord, as the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls, shepherds us by caring for the welfare of our inner being and by exercising His oversight over the condition of our real person—1 Pet. 2:25.
D
"He guides me on the paths of righteousness / For His name's sake"—Psa. 23:3b:
１
Christ guides us to walk on the paths of righteousness for the fulfillment of God's righteous requirements—Rom. 8:4.
２
Christ restores our soul so that we may walk on the paths of righteousness.
E
"Even though I walk / Through the valley of the shadow of death, / I do not fear evil, / For You are with me; / Your rod and Your staff, / They comfort me"— Psa. 23:4:
１
We enjoy His invisible, personal presence—Matt. 28:20b.
２
The Lord's rod, a symbol of His authority, is for our protection, and His staff is for guidance, instruction, training, direction, and sustenance.
３
In this valley we experience God as the God of resurrection—2 Cor. 1:8-9.
F
"You spread a table before me / In the presence of my adversaries; / You anoint my head with oil; / My cup runs over"—Psa. 23:5:
１
If we fight the spiritual battle and defeat the adversaries, we will have a rich enjoyment of the Lord as our feast at His table.
２
The Lord anoints our head with oil (as at a festal banquet), and our cup (the cup of blessing) runs over—v. 5b; Heb. 1:9; 1 Cor. 10:16a, 21.
G
"Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me / All the days of my life, / And I will dwell in the house of Jehovah / For the length of my days"—Psa. 23:6:
１
Goodness refers to the grace of Christ, lovingkindness refers to the love of the Father, and follow refers to the fellowship of the Spirit; thus, the grace of the Son, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit are with us—2 Cor. 13:14.
２
The enjoyment of the processed and consummated Triune God ushers us into the enjoyment of God in the house of God—Psa. 23:6; Eph. 1:3-23.
３
The goal of Christ's shepherding is to bring us into the house of God—the Father's house as a divine and human incorporation—John 14:2-3, 20.