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Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd and are worthy of following all the time. I praise You!
Read John 10:11-21
[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.” [19] The Jews who heard these words were again divided. [20] Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?” [21] But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What is the role that Christ describes for the shepherd?I love the image that Jesus gives here of himself as the “good shepherd,” but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shepherd out in the fields. They were viewed with disdain in first-century Palestine, and the prophet Ezekiel showed no more respect for Israel’s shepherds (ch. 4), the leaders who were supposed to look after God’s flock. So there’s an irony in Jesus’ term “good shepherd” as there is in the phrase “good Samaritan.” People didn’t expect shepherds or Samaritans to be good. In today’s parlance, it’s like saying, “I am the good politician/banker/attorney.” Jesus emphasizes what we read yesterday, that, unlike the mercenary hired hand, he won’t abandon us when the wolf comes after us (15). He is the fulfillment of Psalm 72–all that you could ever want from a leader and king. How many leaders and kings around the world would be prepared to die for their people? And yet, John makes painful to see that “though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him” (1:10). Like the sheep in the village sheepfold mentioned yesterday, we are all penned in together, but only those who recognize his voice trot after him when he calls.
Apply
Savor this image. What is distinctive about Jesus’ voice?
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