WEDNESDAY June 17, 2026
The Great Shepherd of the Sheep
Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21
Paul gave his final benediction which began with God of peace, which is one of God’s attributes. His peace is shared with us. The Bible states:
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3). We also have peace with God because of Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead: Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:1-2).
What an amazing title is Jesus given in this passage of Scripture? He is called the great Shepherd of the sheep. I love that! Jesus is above all other shepherds––pastors. In the Old Testament, Jewish leaders were called to be shepherds to God’s people. Many failed in their duties (Ezekiel 34), while others had the right heart of a shepherd (Jeremiah 3:15). King David had the heart of a shepherd. He wrote Psalm 23, acknowledging that the Lord was his Shepherd: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm 23:1). Is the Lord your Shepherd?
Notice the reference to the blood of Christ. It is through His blood that we receive a new covenant of grace. When partaking of communion, we are to remember the cup is symbolic of His shed blood of this new covenant: “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28).
Through Christ, we are made complete, which means “perfect.” We are enabled by His grace to do God’s will and the good works that are well pleasing to Him. All praise and glory belong to Him––it is nothing of us.
Jesus, Great Shepherd of the sheep, to thee for help we fly;
Thy little flock in safety keep; For O! the wolf is nigh.
~Charles Wesley~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
