Welcome Again,

As PathSeekers of Jesus Christ we are traveling the path to be like Jesus, be like minded and allow Jesus to be the primary characteristic of our lives. Acquiring the mind of Christ is a part of our ongoing daily path to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, which is the second part of our key scripture reference of this study.

Romans 12:2: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We have already discussed joining Jesus in crucifixion and resurrection. And I also discussed connecting to the true vine and allowing the vinedresser to trim away all that is unfruitful. This week I want to discuss the characteristic of Jesus as the Good Shepherd

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

Here in this passage of scripture (John 10:1-18) Jesus is giving Himself a title that goes back to an Old Testament reference. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God spoke of the mistreatment of the shepherds (religious leaders) towards the offerings offered and of how they deceived the people. God also spoke of how someday He would send a new shepherd who would use his life as a sacrifice for all the sheep (people) who were within his flock.

Ezekiel 34:1: And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them. 7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 as I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock -- 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD!" 10 Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them."

God was angry; He had mercy for His people because they were taken advantage of and led astray. The people did not have proper leadership or guidance they were truly like sheep without a shepherd. But God did have a plan that would take the power of leadership from the selfish, self- righteous and self-centered religious leadership that was in power. God knew there would need to be a way for His people to have the leadership and to be cared for through sacrifice. God placed this plan into motion trough the life of Jesus.

Ezekiel 34:11 For thus says the Lord GOD: "Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down," says the Lord GOD. 16 "I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment."

Jesus came and made His declaration of Ezekiel 34 in John 10

John 10:1 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." 6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. 7 Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

Jesus rephrased what He had originally said here in order that those listening might begin to understand what He was intending to say. He went on further to say:

John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. 17 Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."

When Jesus made this statement, "I am the good shepherd”, you can understand why He received the reactions from all who were there when He had said this. From the context of this line of scripture (John 10) there were both average people and religious leaders present. You can also understand both the joy of the people and the fear of the religious select by this statement of Jesus. All who were present had read and heard the writings from God through the prophet Ezekiel. From this Old Testament text you can also see as to why Jesus said and had the harsh feelings toward the religious leadership.

This woe, against the Pharisees and Sadducees (the religious leaders of the time) was also voiced from the man who was sent as the forerunner of the Christ. John the Baptist was just this man, he was in the desert preaching "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! People would come from cities all around to hear him and repent of their sins and be baptized by him in the Jordan River

Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

John the Baptist was warning them of the same fate and judgment from which they had all been warned of from Ezekiel. Yet He still offered them same chance of repentance and baptism. He spoke of how their elite blood line of decedents from Abraham did not amount for their own self-righteousness. God would take whomever He chooses to be His people through repentance not just because of family bloodline. John also warned them that even now they were about to be punished and replaced by a better priest for all of Gods people.

Jesus faced several confrontations from the Pharisees and Sadducees, Himself. Besides the declaration of John 10, Jesus also at another time addressed them. He spoke of their wrongs and gave a small list of woes that did await them.

Matthew 23:1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi."WOES

• 13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
• 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
• 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte [convert], and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
• 16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.
• 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
• 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
• 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
• 29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

Does this not sound familiar? Does this not sound like the way Ezekiel spoke of the shepherds in the scriptures 1-10 above mentioned? Still in John 10, Jesus said "I am the good shepherd.” Jesus was about to fulfill what God was describing through Ezekiel in verses 11-16.

There is still even more to this original message from God in Ezekiel. Not only did God mention He would replace the shepherds of that time with His own true shepherd and enable His flock to safe and well fed. But He had things to say to His flock as well.

Ezekiel 34:17 And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.18 Is it too little for you to have eaten up the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture -- and to have drunk of the clear waters, that you must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for My flock, they eat what you have trampled with your feet, and they drink what you have fouled with your feet." 20 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD to them: "Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. 21 Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, 22 therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them -- My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken."

This is the part of what Jesus was meaning in John 10:14-18. Jesus gave an even more in-depth description of what God was saying here in Mathew 25:31-46. This is a line of scripture I have discussed previously in one of these studies titled “Are the Signs of the End Times a Reason To Worry?” Like God (in Ezekiel 34), Jesus was explaining as how He would be with God at time for judgment and separate the goats from the sheep. A time when those who are truly children (sheep) are separated from the hypocrites (defines as: play actors) (goats).

Also in John 10, Jesus mentioned something else in verse 16. What other sheep? How does He plan to gather them? Until now (in the context of scripture) it was the Jewish people decedents of Abraham who were thought of to be “Gods people”. But with Jesus in His declaration, Jesus said there was other sheep and He must bring them in. The gentile people (considered all who were not Jewish) were the new sheep Jesus was inviting into His sheepfold. Like God, had desired for Jonah the prophet, to do and go to the people of Nineveh and offer them forgiveness and redemption. Jesus had chosen to send His Gospel message throughout the world through His apostles and disciples. The desire of Jesus here is for sheep from throughout the world to come and join the flock He has established. To all be as “one” with Jesus as shepherd o lead over all.

What of this covenant with Abraham and his decedents?

Romans 4:13For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed -- God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah"s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

Abraham indeed was to become the Father of many nations. Not just the one Jewish nation as the way the religious leaders of the time were proclaiming. Many nations throughout the world God had created. God did not create just one small corner of the world He created an entire world and the entire universe. Through “Faith” Abraham became the father of many nations. Through “Faith” we all can become children of God. This is why we, through “Faith” as Christians need to take the command of Jesus:

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Psalm 23: A Psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

Thank you and God Bless,
Tommy Harmon

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*All scripture quotes are from the The New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible unless otherwise noted

© 2006, 2007 Tommy Harmon www.thepathseeker.com