Written ~ 09-11-2023
Ezekiel 34:31
“You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture. You are My people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken.”
A few times, in the New Testament Jesus is referred to as the Good Shepherd. Believers are the sheep who hear the voice of the Shepherd and follow Him. John chapter 10 has the best description of how Jesus is the Good Shepherd, verses 10:11, 14-16, 27 say,
“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd sacrifices His life for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd; I know My own sheep, and they know Me, just as My Father knows Me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to My voice, and there will be one flock with one Shepherd. My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.”
So, what do we know about sheep? Sheep are intelligent creatures, they have a wide range of emotions such as anger, boredom, and happiness. They do, however, scare very easily, sudden loud noises, unfamiliar voices could cause them to scatter and become quite unmanageable. They can share very strong bonds with one another and recognize their human friends and become bonded to them without much effort.
Let’s think about how this relates to us as being the sheep to our Good Shepherd Jesus. God gave us intelligence, free will to use our minds and learn. But we do have the tendency to go our own way without much guidance. We get distracted easily and soon we can be led down a scary path far from our shepherd’s voice. In Luke 15:3-7 Jesus tells a story about a lost sheep,
“Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”
Jesus does not want any of His sheep to stray away, He does not want those who won’t listen to His voice to be harmed. He will guard His flock and tend to them, if any should stray, He will look for them and find them, bring them back to His flock and rejoice when even one is saved. We need to keep in mind just how much our Lord and Savior loves us. He gave up everything and sacrificed His life for us. Jesus is called the Lamb of God. He is the Son of God, the precious, innocent Lamb of God. He died for you and for me, so we might be saved, and it was this precious Lamb who became our Good Shepherd.
John the Baptist was the first to reference Jesus as the Lamb of God, look here at John 1:29-37,
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for He existed long before me.’ I did not recognize Him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that He might be revealed to Israel.” Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon Him. I didn’t know He was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, He told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that He is the Chosen One of God. The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at Him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.”
In a matter of moments Jesus is the Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd at the same time. And here it begins, Jesus is gathering His flock. So awesome!
In John chapter 10 Jesus tells us not only that He is the Good Shepherd but that He also will be the ultimate sacrifice for His sheep.
John 10:11,
“…The Good Shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep…”
John 10:15,
“…So I sacrifice My life for the sheep…”
1 Peter 1:18-19,
“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”
How do you respond knowing Jesus sacrificed everything for us. He didn’t have to; God could’ve provided another way. But that’s not how it happened. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, became the sacrificial Lamb.
Will you hear the voice of the Good Shepherd calling after you? Will you enter into His sheepfold and become one of His beloved sheep? Will you follow His directions? Will you listen to His guidance? Jesus died so we would have eternal life, free from the penalty of sin and death.
I pray for those who don’t yet know His voice. I pray they will hear His call. I pray that the lost ones will be found and carried on the Good Shepherd’s shoulders very soon.
Revelation 7:17…
“For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
~AMEN~