The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
7 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may 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 I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
If you were out hiring people, and you wanted to hire somebody to take care of your sheep, what kind of person would you hire?
Would you hire somebody that was jumpy and skittish? Would you hire the kid that was allergic to sheep or all dressed in bling from all of the money he made at his last job? “How much does it pay?” might be his first question when you make your offer.
What about the kid that everyone talked about. The one that faced down a bear and brought the owner a leg of the sheep he pulled from the bear’s claws? That’s the dude I want watching my sheep!
Jesus emphasized that He doesn’t love us and care for us for some pragmatic reason. It’s not because He wants to make a profit off of the chief shepherd or off the sheep. He sticks around because He loves us.
When evil days come, when difficulty bears down upon us, Jesus won’t leave us behind. He put His own life on the line for us to save us from harm. He did it once and for all time, spiritually, and He sends the people of His church to do it for us in our day to day struggles.
The Good Shepherd has good sheep. He loves and needs every one of us.
##
You can get the Daily Bible Readings to your inbox via email every day by subscribing here. Join the discussion online on Facebook or Twitter.