BBCC Bible Study Notes

HOW SHEPHERDS BRING PEACE - Psalm 23

December 15th, 2024

Introduction:  Shepherds exist because peace doesn't

Shepherds in the Christmas Story

1. Significance of shepherds in Bethlehem, the city of David
   
   B. David, the shepherd-king, and his origin story (1 Samuel 17:34-36)

"But David said to Saul, 'Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear...'" (1 Samuel 17:34-36, NIV)

God as Our Shepherd (Psalm 23)

1. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want
2. He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters
3. He restores my soul and leads me in the paths of righteousness
4. Walking through the valley of the shadow of death without fear
5. God's presence and comfort in the presence of enemies
6. Goodness and mercy following all the days of life

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalm 23:1-6, NIV)

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

1. Jesus' connection to being the good shepherd
   B. The presence of the shepherd brings peace and security to the sheep

Conclusion: Finding Peace in Jesus

1. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, saves his sheep.
2. Through faith in Jesus, we find security, provision, and ultimately, peace

BBCC Verse of the Week: Psalm 23:6 (NIV) Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Study Guide

The first step toward peace with God is to recognize that there has been a conflict. One way to do that is to say: “Not only have I done bad things, but even the good things I have done have been done to be my own savior, to assert my independence from my Creator and Redeemer. So I need to be saved by sheer grace, because even the right things I do have been done for the wrong reasons. I need to rest wholly on Jesus’ saving work on my behalf.” When you say that, you have finally admitted the full extent of your resistance to the Lord’s sovereignty. You have confessed that you can’t save yourself. You rest in what the Lord Jesus Christ has done, and you turn away from your old way of living. That is making peace with God. Does that mean, then, that Christmas brings only peace for Christian believers? No. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that all his disciples can be “peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). Peacemakers are people who, through making peace with God, have finally learned how to admit flaws and weakness, how to surrender their pride, how to love without the need to control every situation. These new skills have enormous power to defuse conflicts, to facilitate forgiveness and reconciliation between people. Christians should be fanning out into the world being peacemakers, agents of reconciliation among the races and classes, among the members of families, and between neighbor and neighbor. Christmas means that, through the grace of God and the incarnation, peace with God is available; and if you make peace with God, then you can go out and make peace with everybody else. And the more people who embrace the Gospel and do that, the better off the world is. Christmas, therefore, means the increase of peace—both with God and between people—across the face of the world. – Tim Keller

That Yahweh is “shepherd” is consistent with claims elsewhere that he is “king,” since ancient Near Eastern monarchs also described themselves as shepherding their people and understood their gods as fulfilling this role as well. As shepherds, such kings understood their responsibility to provide protective order for their people and to administer just and effective laws. It is especially significant within the continuing context of the consecutive Psalms 18–23 that the singular voice of the psalmist is associated—whether in reality or imagination—with the model king, David, who is particularly known for his shepherd experiences. That David, who understood himself to be the shepherd of Israel and who was acknowledged by the people as such, should speak of Yahweh as “my shepherd” (23:1) is a way of acknowledging that Yahweh is indeed the power behind the throne of David (and all the kings of Israel and Judah), and that in reality Yahweh is the true king of Israel. This theme finds its way throughout the remote corners of the Psalter, but it is especially prevalent in the final two books and concentrated in the Yahweh malak psalms in Book 4. I shall not be in want. The focus of the word “want” is not so much on the idea of “desiring” something as on “lacking” something needed. The psalmist does not mean that Yahweh shepherds us by giving us everything we desire. Rather, those who trust in Yahweh as sheep do in a shepherd will never lack for whatever they need. The NIV’s translation “I shall not be in want” succeeds in clarifying the true meaning of the phrase. In the verses that follow, the psalmist illustrates how the shepherd-God supplies abundantly all that his trusting people need. - Gerald Wilson

                          Pastor Samuel Sutter //  sam@BBCCOnline.org

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