He Will Carry Them

Old Testament prophecy fulfilled by Jesus

He would be like a shepherd.

“Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.” Isaiah 40:11.

The imagery of sheep and shepherd are sprinkled throughout scripture. One of the most familiar passages in the Bible is Psalm 23. David wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want . . .”

Hundreds of years after David wrote that Psalm, Isaiah wrote Isaiah 40:11 about THE shepherd who would come. This verse is found in Isaiah 40, a chapter where God is described in various ways. It is interesting that it comes right after Isaiah 39 where King Hezekiah shows a delegation from Babylon all the treasures of his kingdom. The Babylonians never forget the riches they saw in Jerusalem. And in the future, they would return and take all of the treasure -and most of the people into captivity.

Jesus explains point blank that He is that shepherd-the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy:

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” John 10:11.

“I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me.” John 10:14.

The shepherd who cared for sheep was powerful imagery for Jesus and His followers. Those who heard Jesus that day that day knew exactly what He meant. Sheep and shepherd were part of their culture.

In John 10:1-18 Jesus explains exactly how He was the Good Shepherd in contrast to a thief. 

The Good Shepherd enters the sheepfold by the door. Anyone who comes over the fence is a thief. He reminds them that the shepherd is the one who lay down at the door of the fold to protect the sheep. The shepherd calls his sheep and leads them out. The sheep respond because they know the shepherd’s voice.

A hired hand would not fight to keep his sheep safe. But a good shepherd would lay down his life for the sheep.

In these verses, Jesus is showing Himself as the fulfillment of the Good Shepherd. And He is preparing His sheep that the day would come when He would lay down His life for His sheep.

In John 10:17-18 Jesus wants them to understand that no one would take His life from Him. Jesus is clear that He would lay down His life of His own initiative. He had the authority to lay down His life, and He had the authority to take His life back again.

I suspect His followers didn’t understand it that day. But I wonder if John remembered these words as he watched Jesus willingly give His life on the cross. And when John realized that the tomb was empty—that Jesus had taken His life back again.

Jesus lay down His life for you and for me that day. That is what a good shepherd does.

Carla Killough McClafferty