Jesus Christ: The Great God, King & Shepherd

The Hebrew Bible proclaims that YHWH is the great God and great King over all other gods, being the One who made and sustains the earth. YHWH is further described as the Shepherd who holds his sheep in his and whose voice they must hear: 

“For Yahweh is a great God And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before Yahweh our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you hear His voice,” Psalm 95:6-7

The New Testament, however, teaches that Jesus is the eternal Word of God who is God in essence, being the One who brought all creation into existence and who gives life and illumination to everyone:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men… There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-4, 9-10, 14 

Christ is also the Shepherd of the flock who has them all in his hand and whose voice they all hear and obey:

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep… I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, which are not from this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.… My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish—ever; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” John 10:11, 14-16, 27-28 

Even more remarkable is the fact that Jesus is said to be the Great God whom believers are to honor as their Lord God and Savior:

“Then He said to Thomas, ‘Bring your finger here, and see My hands; and bring your hand here and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God (ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou)!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are those who did not see, and yet believed.’” John 20:27-29

“as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his,^[d] who are eager to do good.” Titus 2:13-14  

tn The terms “God and Savior” both refer to the same person, Jesus Christ. This is one of the clearest statements in the NT concerning the deity of Christ. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. The only issue is whether terms such as “God” and “Savior” could be considered common nouns as opposed to proper names. Sharp and others who followed (such as T. F. Middleton in his masterful The Doctrine of the Greek Article) demonstrated that a proper name in Greek was one that could not be pluralized. Since both “God” (θεός, theos) and “savior” (σωτήρ, sōtēr) were occasionally found in the plural, they did not constitute proper names, and hence, do fit Sharp’s rule. Although there have been 200 years of attempts to dislodge Sharp’s rule, all attempts have been futile. Sharp’s rule stands vindicated after all the dust has settled. For more information on Sharp’s rule see ExSyn 270-78, esp. 276. See also 2 Pet 1:1 and Jude 4. New English Translation (NET)

Now compare this with how the English rendering of the Greek versions (called the Septuagint [LXX]) translates the words of the Psalm cited previously:

“For the Lord is a great God (theos megas), and a great king over all gods: for the Lord will not cast off his people… For he is our God (ho theos hemon); and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” Psalm 94:3, 7 LXX 

It is obvious to any unbiased and honest reader that the NT describes Jesus as YHWH God Almighty that became a human being, while also distinguishing him from both the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Further Reading

Christ: The Great God Jehovah Has Come!

GRANVILLE SHARP & CHRIST'S DEITY

Ephesians 5:5: Another Example of Granville Sharp’s First Rule?

2 Thessalonians 1:12 and Christ’s Deity

Biblical Verses That Call Jesus God

Jesus Christ: The God Who Saved & Punished During the Exodus