Skip to main content

203. "I Am the Good Shepherd"

Micah 2:12-13, Ezekiel 34:1-16, Psalm 23, John 10:11-21,
Key Verse: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
John 10:11

In our reading from Ezekiel, written during the exile, between 500 and 600 years before Christ, we learn what God Himself defines as a bad shepherd. Throughout the prophesies of the Old Testament, as in Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Isaiah, God referred to the priests as shepherds. The Priests have always been the shepherds, or leaders of Israel, entrusted with the responsibility of keeping the people on the safe path of following God. In Ezekiel, however, God accuses the priests, "shepherds," of "only taking care of themselves." (Ezek. 34:2) "You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the week or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally." (Ezek. 34:3-4)

If you were to read further in chapter 34, you would see that Ezekiel goes on to describe "the good shepherd." Now, Jesus calls Himself the good shepherd, inditing the leadership of His own day, who were very familiar with Ezekiel, and thus letting the people know just what manner of shepherd He is in contrast to them.

The Prophet Micah, who was also a shepherd by the way, and who lived more than 700 years before Jesus, also prophesied along with Ezekiel that the good shepherd would gather His own. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know Me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." (John 10:15-16) There is a hint here already that Jesus will also be shepherd of the Gentiles who hear his voice.  But just by calling himself the good shepherd the leadership understood what Jesus was saying. That's why they were so angry. He was saying, "I am the one who was foretold." I am the good shepherd that was prophesied about and promised from God to Israel.

Then He says: "I lay down my life for the sheep. I have authority to lay down my life and authority to take it up again." (John 10:18B) It is true that a shepherd will sacrifice himself for his flock. David became a skilled warrior by fighting off bears and lions. (1 Sam. 17:34-36) A hireling may be more apt to run from danger, but the shepherd regards his sheep as children. As a parent would lay down their life to protect a child, so a shepherd protects a sheep, and Jesus laid down His life for us. Yet, He does not lay down His life as a desperate victim, but as one who is in control, control to lay it down and control to take it up again, as he proved at the resurrection.

To the leadership, who were already skeptical, this was only further blasphemy. Only God could have that kind of control. Only Messiah could be "The Good Shepherd." His words brought confusion on the leadership once again, but instill confidence in those who believe that Jesus, our Good Shepherd, is in control of His life, and of ours too. Though it is hard, we must trust where He is leading for our ultimate good.

Hymn: "The Lord’s My Shepherd a Keith Green piece
The Lord’s My Shepherd
I am the Good Shepherd, by Fernando Ortega

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

These Boots are Made for Walking

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-15 These Boots are Made for Walking. Of course, I picked that title because it has a reference to popular culture, and it connects with our text today about “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” I was tempted to play the video of that song, but it’s really not amenable to worship. If you remember that old song, it was quite confrontational. The singer had a righteous complaint against a boyfriend or spouse who was cheating on her. She’s not going to put up with that, and the song goes on to say, “One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!” And that “take a stand” bravado made her a hero! It was a #1 hit in 1966. I mention it because it has one interesting parallel and one major contrast with the message of grace and forgiveness. That parallel is this. God has a righteous complaint against the entire human race for cheating Him out of the loving relationship He desires with us. As the God who created us, he h...
Post a Comment
Read more

186. Ten Healed, Or One?

Luke 17:11-19 Key Verse: Then He said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." Luke 17:19 At last, Jesus has left the crowd behind and again is continuing His journey toward Jerusalem. His path takes Him and His disciples along the border of Judea and Samaria, between the pure Jews, and the hated half breeds of the day. On His way, Jesus encounters an interesting group of people. We only learn the nationality of one of them and, though we don't know the nationality of the others, because Jesus sends them to the priests in Jerusalem we can probably assume that at least some of them are Jews. Isn't it interesting that through leprosy, a disease that causes much suffering, the dividing wall of hatred has come down for the sake of companionship? We encountered one leper earlier on our Journey. Lepers were the dreaded untouchables of the day. Their disease cut them off from all they loved. It was a very lonely life. No wonder these people had ...
Post a Comment
Read more