Smite the Shepherd

Christ describes His loved ones as a "little flock," but He warned His disciples that He would soon be smitten and the sheep of His flock scattered.

There are three uses of this metaphor in Scripture of Christ being smitten, and of His people being scattered. Christ's usage is a literal application of the metaphor which foreshadows the fulfillment of the other two applications. In each application, the Shepherd is the Savior, but the flocks differ.

In Zechariah's usage, Christ is rejected by Israel, and smitten by the sword of God, and Israel is scattered and judged. This is the flock that Christ lamented over at Jerusalem. He was the only One who could have rescued Israel as a people, and yet the leaders would not. The result was a devastating destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of Israel over the whole world.

Christ's usage of the metaphor, the night He was betrayed, spoke of His being taken, and tried, and murdered on the cross, and His disciples scattering in fear, just like sheep do. But in this application, the sheep are not harmed in any way, for Christ protects them, even as He is smitten! The Lord Jesus was careful not to lose a single one!

Our Lord Jesus was able to save His people physically even while He was dead! Indeed, that was when His ultimate salvation was perfected for us as well!

The third application of the metaphor, found in Isaiah, is stunning, because the cause and effect are reversed.

"All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

Our Lord Jesus was smitten by God BECAUSE His people had gone astray and were scattered by sin!