In 1939, J.R. Tolkin took Robert Dickman’s hypothesis one step further in a lecture he delivered titled, “On Fairy Stories.” In his lecture, Tolkin said the following about fairytales and those who create them:
Probably every writer making a secondary world, a fantasy, every sub-creator, wishes in some measure to be a real maker, or hopes that he is drawing on reality: hopes that the peculiar quality of this secondary world (if not all the details) are derived from reality, or are flowing into it…. The peculiar quality of the “joy” in successful Fantasy can thus be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying reality or truth.
The Gospels contain a fairy-story, or a story of a larger kind, which embraces all the essence of fairy-stories…. But this story is supreme, and it is true. Art has been verified. God is the Lord, of angels, and of men—and of elves. Legend and History have met and fused.[1]
In the Bible, the three great antagonists that we face in our story include the great serpent, the problem of sin, and death (in that order). Satan entered into the Garden as a serpent where the first man and woman enjoyed true love with both God and each other, they were tempted to sin against God by the Serpent. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit that God commanded them not to eat and a curse was pronounced upon all of creation, and ever since that fateful day, sin and death have vandalized the peace we were created to enjoy with God. In the wake of Adam and Eve’s rebellion and under the shadow of evil and death, God gifted Adam and Eve a promise: The great serpent would one day be destroyed: “And I will make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
So who or what is the serpent? In The Lord of the Rings, he is the Dark Lord Sauron. In The Wizard of Oz, he is the Wicked Witch of the West. In The Matrix, he is Agent Smith. In The Chronicles of Narnia, he is the White Witch. In Superman, He is Lex Luther. In Star Wars, he is Darth Vader and every evil Sith Lord before and after him. The serpent is Lucifer, the devil, the father of lies, the accuser, and the great dragon. There is another antagonist that is the consequence of our sin and rebellion, and that is “death.”
The word “gospel” simply means good news, and oh is there good news my dear brothers and sisters! The apostle Paul spoke of it in his epistle to the Romans: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). The gospel of Jesus Christ from Genesis through the last chapter of Revelation has everything that every great story requires, and it is a story that has the power to not only transform, but to save! The gospel of Jesus Christ is supreme because it is indeed true, and it is seen and heard throughout the 23rd Psalm!
The Good Shepherd Guides His Sheep through the Valley of Deep Darkness
On resurrection Sunday, we looked at the first part of verse 4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me...” Even if your first Sunday at Meadowbrooke was on that day, you should know by now that the Lord of the 23rd Psalm is the Good Shepherd, and His name is Jesus! He is my shepherd; therefore I will not be in need. Why will I not be in need? Well... because He is my bread of life who satisfies my hunger and quenches my thirst (John 6:35)! Why will I not be in need? Well... because He is the Light of the world who lights up the darkness that surrounds me (John 8:12)! Why again will I never ever be in need so long as Jesus is my shepherd? Well... let me tell you: He for me is the resurrection and the life who has promised that not even death can take from me what I already have in Him (John 11:25-26)!
Now, just because Jesus is my Shepherd, that does not mean that I am exempt from walking through the valley of the shadow of death. As I said on Easter Sunday, we all must experience the valley of utter darkness that includes suffering, sickness, a broken world, and even death; however, those whose shepherd is Jesus only must walk through it while everyone else must walk in it. For the one who does not know Jesus as the bread of life, the light of the world, and the resurrection of life will never know the kind of hope that transcends the grave. For the one whose shepherd is not Jesus, the grave is death’s victory dance over you, and the news only gets worse beyond the grave. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). Again, to all who would refuse Jesus as the good shepherd, He warned: “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt. 7:13–14). Jesus is the narrow gate!
For those whose shepherd is Jesus, then the valley of the shadow of death is a temporary experience that you are only passing through. Do you know what that means? It means that there is life at the end of the valley! There is a table, and there is oil, and there is a cup placed into your hand dear Christian that is overflowing with His goodness and faithfulness all the days of your life! At that table, we will hold high that cup and toast: “Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:55-57).
The Good Shepherd Comforts His Sheep with His Rod and Staff
What is the significance of Jesus’ rod and staff? For starters, He is the one leading us through the deep dark valleys on this side of eternity; while in the valley, we have no reason to fear evil because He is with us, and while with us... He is armed with His rod and staff. In their commentary on the Psalms, Josh Smith and Daniel Akin comment: “We are going through the deep, dark valleys because our good shepherd is leading us! The dark valley is part of the path of righteousness.”[2] Not to belabor the point I made previously, but what does the dark valley include? It includes pain, it includes suffering, it includes disease, it includes achy joints, it includes persecution, and it even includes death! After all, Jesus did say: “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b). You may be saying in response to this: “Pastor Keith, what about what Jesus said in John 10:10?” Here is what Jesus said: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.” The thief is anything or anyone that promises to give you what only Jesus is able to give, and the abundant life is a life with Jesus.
Now, what about the rod and staff? Why not just the rod or only the staff? Why both? The rod was typically used as offensive weapon against any predator that would threaten the sheep from the outside while the staff was used to direct, round up, and pull in the sheep. While the rod is used to protect the sheep from enemies, the staff is used to protect the sheep from themselves. Jesus guides me with His staff, and as He does, He leads me through the valley to the table where He has prepared a feast for me. Because it is Jesus who carries the rod and the staff, I can be confident that Jesus will lead me to where I need to go, or as the apostle Paul put it: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6), and He will use His rod and staff to do it. Or as one person wrote: “Jesus Christ, our Shepherd, is no emaciated weakling. Our Shepherd is a warrior, as shepherds had to be. No one can snatch his sheep out of his hand (John 10:28). The muscles of his arm are flexed to defend his flock; he doesn’t carry a club for nothing. He is obviously enough for whatever the valley throws at us.”[3]
What is the point of verse 4? Here is the point: If Jesus is my shepherd, then even in the darkest moments of life I have all that I need because I have Him. Or, as the modern hymn, Yet Not I but Through Christ in Me, so adequately and helpfully states:
The night is dark, but I am not forsaken
For by my side, the Savior, He will stay
I labor on in weakness and rejoicing
For in my need, His power is displayed
To this I hold, my Shepherd will defend me
Through the deepest valley, He will lead
Oh, the night has been won, and I shall overcome
Yet not I, but through Christ in me
The Good Shepherd Prepares a Feast for His Sheep in the Presence of Their Enemies
So, where is He leading me? Where is He leading you dear Christian? What is waiting for me, and what is waiting for all who are being led by the Good Shepherd? A table that has been prepared by Jesus is what is waiting for His sheep. What is on that table? A feast is what is on that table! What is the meaning of this feast that He has prepared? It is a testament, it is proof, and it is a witness to God’s favor upon His sheep. This, my friend, is the “abundant life” Jesus provides! Again, another set of verses from Yet Not I but Through Christ in Me rings true!
No fate I dread, I know I am forgiven
The future's sure, the price, it has been paid
For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon
And He was raised to overthrow the grave
To this I hold, my sin has been defeated
Jesus, now and ever is my plea
Oh, the chains are released, I can sing, "I am free"
Yet not I, but through Christ in me
Where is the table set for His redeemed to feast? It is set in the place that my enemies are made to watch and not permitted to touch, take, or taunt because of the One who has prepared the table for me. But do not miss that before my enemies and yours, He has anointed us with oil and placed a cup in each of our hands! Besides the fact that in the dry and hot climate of the valley, oil would be used to sooth the skin and wine would be consumed to clear the throat. However, there is more to the oil and the cup! The imagery of oil and wine in the Bible speak of joy and prosperity.
Conclusion
When I think of the table in Psalm 23:5, I cannot help but think of three feasts mentioned in the Bible. The first happened while the Hebrew people were surrounded by Egypt under the bondage of Pharoh. On the eve of their deliverance they marked their doorposts with the blood of a lamb with no defects and feasted on that lamb. After they feasted, God delivered the Hebrews from the bondage of slavery and defeated Pharoh and his army, and then they sang a song known as, “The Song of Moses” that included this verse: “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him...” (Exod. 15:2), and concludes with these words: “The Lord shall reign forever and ever” (15:18).
The second feast is the one Jesus celebrated with His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion and death. Like Moses and the Hebrews before, Jesus and His disciples sat at a table to the feast of the Passover. During the meal, Jesus and his disciples no doubt recited or even sang the Song of Moses: “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation...” There were four cups that the disciples drank from during the Passover which were,
- The cup of sanctification (holiness) to start the celebration and a reminder of the holiness of God.
- The cup of salvation (deliverance) symbolizing God’s deliverance which was drunk after the retelling of the Exodus story.
- The cup of redemption (blessing), which was drunk after the meal which represented God’s act of redeeming Israel.
- The cup of glory (praise) which was drunk at the very end representing the future redemption and coming of the Messiah. It was this cup that Jesus said, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.... I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it with you, new, in My Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:26-29).
After that feast, Jesus atoned for sin on the cross and then defeated the curse of sin and death by rising on the third day. Just before He died on the cross, He declared: “It is finished” (John 19:30)!
The third feast has not happened yet, and we learn of it in Revelation 19:7-10; it is the Marriage feast we will celebrate with Jesus as His Bride. I believe that at this coming feast Jesus will pick up the fourth cup and drink it with us. Do you know what will come after that feast? The defeat of the nations gathered against Jesus and the final defeat of Satan. According to Revelation 15, do you know what song all of heaven will sing on that day? Here is what we are told:
And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! “Who will not fear You, Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For all the nations will come and worship before You, For Your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Rev. 15:3–4)
So, can you guess what comes after the banquet prepared before His people in the presence of our enemies in Psalm 23:5? You guessed it! What comes after is the triumph of the Lamb of God over all that stands against those whom He has redeemed!
