The Ultimate Shepherd.

[darrenjpollock]

Was I reflecting a modern trend in Christian scholarship and devotional writing or, most likely, just my own bias and ignorance? I wondered how I had missed this theme of Christ being the ultimate shepherd who fulfilled the Old Testament's prophecies, themes and typologies of shepherd.

Laniak provided the moving image of Moses being the shepherd described in Psalm 77.20: “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” I realised my error as I saw Moses praying for a new leader for the people, that they would not be shepherdless and, ultimately, he would not enter the promised land (p207). I overlooked Moses’ exclusion from the promised land as a foreshadowing of Christ’s separation from his father.

These connections ignited a desire to revisit familiar Biblical narratives through the lens of shepherding, uncovering new layers of meaning as my thinking was mainly in the domains of prophets, priests and kings and how Christ fulfilled these offices.

Laniak helped me appreciate the shepherd's complete picture in our scripture tour. From the wilderness shepherd Moses, who would lead his people through the desert, to the Davidic shepherd King, who foreshadowed the true Shepherd with characteristics of good leadership, protection and justice, to the prophecies of a good shepherd when God would appoint "shepherds after his own heart" who would lead with knowledge, understanding, and compassion in contrast to the wicked shepherding of exploitation and neglect in Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah to the suffering servant shepherd contained in Isaiah that is so strongly echoed in the coming of the ultimate shepherd who fulfils all of these concepts of a leader willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the well-being and salvation of those entrusted to him (p.207).

I am glad to champion this arrow of biblical theology in my theological quiver, and I have a new appreciation of the depths and treasure of Christ as my Shepherd, which I hope to communicate as eloquently to my people.

While many of these themes of shepherding are echoed in other ancient texts and faiths, Laniak showed me why the uniqueness of the Shepherd of the bible is so attractive. This shepherd is there, this shepherd we know, who tabernacles and travels with his people and in Christ, the shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.