Dr. J. P. MacBeth points out three distinct themes in Psalm 23. In verses 1 – 4 our God is the Shepherd. The scene is a pasture, and we are his sheep. In verse 5 the scene is a banquet, and God is the Host and his people are the guests. In verse 6 the scene is our eternal home, and God is the Father and we are his children. The Shepherd becomes the Host, and the Host becomes the Father. The pasture becomes the table, or the banquet room, and the banquet room becomes the eternal home of the heavenly Father. The sheep become the guests, and the guests become the children. It is wonderful for our Savior to be pictured as a Shepherd. It is better to think of our God as a Host. It is even more wonderful to think of him as being our eternal, loving, heavenly Father. The pasture scene is beautiful, the banquet room is even more beautiful, but the eternal home of the redeemed is beyond compare. It is very fruitful and productive to think of ourselves in terms of the sheep, and it is a greater privilege to be a guest, but it is even more wonderful to be a child in the home of the heavenly Father.

In the New Testament we read about the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, and the Chief Shepherd. As the Good Shepherd in Psalm 22, Jesus gives his life for the sheep. As the Great Shepherd in Psalm 23, he lives to guide, nourish, protect, and help the sheep. In Psalm 24, as the Chief Shepherd, he comes to receive unto himself those who have trusted him, those who love him and have followed him.
Psalm 23 is in some respects a theological treatise, for it talks about God. It gives us a man’s experience of God. This psalm is not about man. It is not man-centered; it is God-centered. You can discover much about the greatness, the goodness, the character, the nature, and the purpose of God in the psalm.

In this beautiful psalm we find that there is progression or advance from one scene to the other. The psalmist is trying to get across to us the same thought that our Savior labored to plant in the hearts of his disciples when he taught them to think of God in terms of a loving, devoted, merciful heavenly Father. Only in one recorded instance did Jesus ever address God in a different manner. That was when he was on the cross with the sin of a needy world bearing down on his soul. When he was dying under the penalty of our guilt, he cried, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

In every other instance, Jesus addressed the Creator, the Eternal One, as Father. He is a Father who is infinitely wise, bountifully good, and perfectly kind. He sees the end from the beginning, and his purposes toward us are always purposes of love. The psalmist was trying to get across in prophetic symbolism that which Jesus was to teach explicitly during his earthly ministry.
Evidently Jesus was using Psalm 23 as a text for his comments recorded in John 10.
I. The Good Shepherd and his sheep.                                                                                                      A. The Good Shepherd leads his sheep. He is not a driver. He is a leader. He is always out in front.
B.  The Good Shepherd feeds his sheep.
C.  The Good Shepherd protects his sheep. One day when David was a shepherd boy, a bear came out of the wilderness to attack the sheep. With his club, David stood between the sheep and the bear and finally was able to slay the bear. On another occasion, a lion came out of the thicket to attack the sheep. Instantly, David, with his club, was between the sheep and the lion and was able to slay the lion.
Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, took his club, the cross, and stood between his sheep and sin, Satan, death, and the grave. He literally died for the salvation of his sheep. The Good Shepherd gave his life

completely for his sheep. Oh, how he loves us! How he wants to protect us! How grateful we should be that though he had the power to lay down his life for us, he also had the power to take it up again.
The Good Shepherd understands his sheep. He died for his sheep and rose again to lead his sheep.
II. The sheep of the Good Shepherd.
In the Good Shepherd chapter, John 10, Jesus makes seven remarks about sheep.
      A.  The sheep know their Shepherd.
      B.  They know his voice.
      C.  They hear his voice.
      D.  The good sheep follow the Shepherd.
      E. They love the Shepherd.
      F. They trust the Shepherd.
      G.  They obey the Shepherd.
Each of us who names the name of Christ should pray that we might be good sheep, even as he is a Good Shepherd.
III. Do you know the Good Shepherd?
There is a tremendous difference in the way people read Psalm 23. Some read it and say, “The Lord is a shepherd.” Others read it and say, “The Lord is the Shepherd.” Some can read it and say, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” There is a great deal of difference in saying, “There is a car,” “There is the car,” and “This is my car.” And it makes all the difference in time and all the difference in eternity if you can read this psalm and from the heart say, “The Lord is my Shepherd.”

A.  I shall not want for forgiveness.
B.  I shall not want for spiritual vitality. I shall not want for spiritual restoration. I shall not want for guidance.
C.  I shall not want for courage.
D.  I shall not want for sustenance.
E.   I shall not want for a home at the end of the way, for the Lord is my Shepherd.
Conclusion
Jesus Christ has a shepherd’s heart, and he loves you. He has a shepherd’s eye; he sees your needs. He has a shepherd’s strength; he is able to deliver you. He has a shepherd’s faithfulness; he will never leave you nor forsake you. He has a shepherd’s tenderness; he will give you personal attention if you will trust him in your heart. If you have not yet trusted him, give your heart to Christ today. Jesus said, “Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.” So come to him today.

Phase Two...