Meditation

Hi there,

As we noted yesterday, the idea of the Lord as my shepherd is one of the most prevalent metaphors in the Old Testament.

Appearing in Genesis, the Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Micah as an explicit reference, and of course, shepherds feature heavily throughout, none more so than David, the "man after God's own heart."

We also saw that the metaphor works in two ways, both as a comfort in describing God's relationship to His people and as a clarifier in describing our need for Him.

In today's verses, Jesus makes a stark claim and steps out from behind the metaphor and stands in front of the people, not like a shepherd, not acting as a shepherd, but by stating he is the shepherd, the Lord of Psalm 23 in the flesh. And he repeats this claim twice, stating, "I am the Good Shepherd."

In making this claim, he goes further than David's portrait. David wrote of a shepherd who guides and protects. Jesus describes a shepherd who dies for the sheep.​

We're so used to seeing these verses that they lose much of their power, but their weight and gravity were not lost on his audience. Jesus is making a direct claim to Godhead.

Jesus is Jehovah-Rohi.

Today's text is John 10:11-18

I Am The Good Shepherd

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.”

Encouragement

¹⁵ I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁶ I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

Ezekiel 34:15-16Andy

God’s Word In Your Hand

This study is inspired by a remarkable artwork I found on godsfingerprints.com. You can learn more about the background and purchase it here.

(Links are not affiliate links, and I am not compensated for any purchases.)

​Andy

God's Word In Your Hand

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