You and I know stories about David before he became Israel’s king—how he herded sheep and killed the giant Goliath. And you may also know something about him after he became king. But do you know the story that’s often skipped in Sunday school—the account of how David came to be king?

The king before David was Saul. Saul noticed David’s popularity, and determined to protect his throne in the typical way: by using force and intimidation. Saul’s troops tried to capture and kill David. He even ordered the slaughter of an entire town suspected of supporting David.

David was different. Not power-hungry, but patient. Years earlier, God’s prophet had secretly anointed David to be the future king. But David resisted opportunities to take the kingdom by force. He said, “Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed!” (1 Samuel 26:10-11).

Even after Saul did die in battle, David waited. There was no power grab. When supporters brought David the severed head of his chief political rival, he punished those supporters with death. Israel’s elders finally had to come, en masse, and ask him to be king. David agreed when they reminded him of his calling: “The Lord told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel’ ” (2 Samuel 5:2).

The Shepherd King

We’re so used to the word “shepherd” describing a leader that we may miss the significance of what the elders were saying. They were asking David to rule because they wanted a new kind of king. The Bible uses “shepherd” this way only once before David’s time (to describe Joshua in Numbers 27:17), but after this point it speaks of shepherd leaders often. David is the model. Like a shepherd, he used his power to protect his people while genuinely caring for them. He became the standard for what a godly leader should be. Even today, we still use this language when we call our church leaders “pastor,” which comes from the Latin word for herdsman.

Centuries after David, the prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah complained that Israel’s shepherds had grown selfish and failed God’s people. But Ezekiel delivered a message from God about a new David to come: “I will rescue my flock, and they will no longer be abused. I will judge between one animal of the flock and another. And I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them” (Ezekiel 34:22-23). This new David is Jesus.

The Good Shepherd

When the blind called to Jesus they cried, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” (Matthew 20:31) They understood. They knew that the great Savior from God must echo his ancestor, the shepherd king. Surely his power would flow with kindness! But Jesus took it to a level they had never imagined. He said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

Yes, I know a lot of David and Jesus stories. But the best is the one where this Good Shepherd becomes my own King. How has he won the throne of my heart? Oh, he could have taken it by force. He might have threatened me and demanded my worship. But he has chosen instead the calling of the cross. With hands that traded the grip of power for the grit of nails, he has brought me to the point of simply, eagerly asking.

There is no other way to come to God—indeed, there could be none better. No finer path to the King of kings, and no surer hope that my knee will bow humbly, thankfully before him.