The Shepherd and the Sheep
John 10:1-18
"May the God of peace... that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ..."
(HEBREWS 13:20-21)
"The Lord is my shepherd" begins the most famous psalm in all Scripture. Shepherding was a common occupation in the Ancient Near East. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses all spent time tending sheep. The future King David was a shepherd but also a shadow of the coming Messiah, pointing to the Lord being our shepherd, too.
As Scripture moves along into the New Testament books, Jesus identifies Himself as the divine "I am" who is also the "Good Shepherd" who lays down His life for the sheep (see John 10). Peter, in his first letter, reveals that Jesus is the "chief shepherd." Driving south from Jerusalem towards the Dead Sea, I couldn't help but notice how, just like in ancient times, Bedouins today still make their living as shepherds. Flocks are mingled where green grass grows, following the life-giving winter rains. When it comes time to return to the sheepfold, the sheep know their master's voice, and they answer his call. Likewise, the Shepherd knows His sheep - every one of us - by name.
INSIGHT
PRAISE GOD FOR THE LAMB AT THE CENTER OF THE THRONE WHO IS ALSO OUR GOOD SHEPHERD. (SEE REVELATION 7:17)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Deuteronomy 5-6
Psalm 82
Acts 3-4
John 10:1-18
New International Version (NIV)
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
10 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 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. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Footnotes:
a. John 10:9 Or kept safe
LEARNING TO LINGER
with Scotty Smith
It is easy to treat prayer as a way to get what we want. But there is a deeper meaning to prayer that is motivated by the Gospel. When we understand this, prayer turns into fellowship with the Father.
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