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Introduction
Laniak (2007) tells the story of a Bedouin Arab and an American scholar sitting under a tent discussing what it takes to be a true shepherd. The Jordanian shepherd insisted that the heart is the most important thing. He lamented, "My sons don't have the heart for this work, so they don't deserve the business. I'll sell the flocks to someone else before I let my sheep go to those who don't care for them" (p. 30). The passion and force behind this shepherd's words reveal the depth of his genuine concern for the animals in his care. Such commitment to the well-being of a flock is the mark of a true shepherd, both in 21st-century Jordan and in the pages of Scripture. Long before this Jordanian man questioned his sons' heart to care for his sheep, God Himself lamented the heartless actions of the shepherds leading His people:
Thus says the Lord: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they became scattered, because there was no shepherd. . . . My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. (Ezek. 34:2-6)'
These words set a tone consistent with the messages of other prophets of Israel (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah), criticizing the careless actions of God's appointed leaders and promising that God Himself will send One who will model faithful, loving leadership for the Lord's flock. In his book Shepherds After My Own Heart, Laniak (2006) thoroughly develops the shepherd motif in the Old Testament prophets' messages.
Following the prophets' declarations concerning the need for right-hearted shepherds, the four Gospels portray Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promise to send a Shepherd to save Israel (Ezek. 34:23). John's Gospel extends the pastoral imagery of the Old Testament, most notably in the Good...