The Good Shepherd
Posted on Apr 21, 2026 by Shari Van Baale
This Sunday is sometimes called “Good Shepherd Sunday.” The Gospel is John 10:1-10, which uses the imagery of sheep and shepherd. The Psalm is Psalm 23, which starts with the familiar text, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
In the Gospel Jesus says he is the gate. He is the way to the Father. Anyone who enters through the gate will be saved. And once the sheep are in the pasture and the gate is closed, they cannot easily get out. Sheep learn to recognize the voice of their shepherd just as we can learn to recognize the voice of God. The sheep trust the shepherd and do what he says.
I wrote about Psalm 23 last month. It is sometimes known as “the funeral psalm” because it is read at so many funerals. It starts out with the shepherd imagery. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” This portrays God as a shepherd who provides all our needs, much like the shepherd does for his sheep. They have food, shelter, and a herd to belong to, much like we belong to the family of God.
Shari Van Baale
Salem Communications Coordinator