“…that great Shepherd of the sheep…” (Hebrews 13:20).
Good. Great. Chief. These three descriptors are significant adjectives in reference to Jesus as our spiritual shepherd.
He is the good shepherd. As used in John 10:11, the adjective kalos is used to describe Jesus’ valor and selfless courage: “The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” In John 10:14, the adjective kalos is used to describe the incredible knowledge, concern, and care He has: “I know My sheep.”
He is the great shepherd. The adjective here is megas, and it denotes the idea of superiority in quality and ability. He is better than any shepherd you can compare Him with. He is the superior shepherd.
He is the chief shepherd. The first half of this compound word found in 1 Peter 5:4 seeks to communicate a superiority of rank. God’s flock has many shepherds when each local congregation is formed and functioning as God would have them to be. There are many shepherds/pastors/elders, but none of those shepherds have an equal or superior rank to Christ’s.
Jesus is the good shepherd, the great shepherd, the chief shepherd.
What a blessing when “the Lord is my shepherd” is true about you.
Note: Starting next Monday, July 29th, I will be suspending the practice of emailing you a notice of the posting of each day’s blog. There will continue to be a blog posted each day on the website ReadtheWordToday.com, so I hope you will continue reading each day’s offering. Thank you for your interest in spiritual things.
Valor and selfless courage: the giving of one life for another.