good shepherd

A title of Jesus, based on a passage in the Gospel of John, where he says, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep,” and “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” The metaphor of God as a shepherd is also found in the Old Testament. The Twenty-third Psalm begins, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” and a passage in the Book of Isaiah says that God “shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm.”

Note: The use of the title “pastor” (shepherd) for certain Christian clergymen carries on the idea.