I Am the Good Shepherd (2)

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd.”  John 10:11

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

Read the story here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2010,%20Psalm%2023&version=NIV

Listen to story here:  http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/John.10 and http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/Ps.23

 

Jesus told his followers “I am the Good Shepherd,” and they immediately understood he was referring them to a description of GOD.

The LORD is my Shepherd.

The Hebrews understood that the LORD, the God of the Universe, is a loving Creator; not a thunderbolt-throwing, maniacal Zeus.

          I shall not lack anything.

By making this connection between himself as shepherd and God as shepherd, Jesus is telling people that HE IS GOD, and he is highlighting the wonderfully appealing aspect of God’s nature as caregiver, nurturer and protector.

Has Jesus made good on this claim?

Centuries later Phillip Keller*, a shepherd himself, gives this testimony of Jesus:

I am completely satisfied with His management of my life. Why? Because He is the sheepman to whom no trouble is too great as He cares for His flock. He … loves them for their own sake as well as His personal pleasure in them. He will … be on the job twenty-four hours a day to see that they are properly provided for…

Personally, I am still not convinced!  How can Keller, or anyone else, say all their needs are taken care of.  I HAVE A LOT OF NEEDS!

Keller says we can learn a lot about God’s provision for our needs by looking at sheep and shepherds.  

It is almost impossible for them to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met:

·        They refuse to lie down unless they are free of all fear.

·        Sheep will not lie down unless they are free from friction with others of their kind.

·        Only when free of … pests can they relax.

·        They must be free from hunger.

And since sheep are basically helpless creatures, “only the sheepman himself can provide release from these anxieties.”

I hate to be compared to a helpless sheep, but can I really argue with God’s opinion?

I am a sheep.

And Jesus really has made good on his claim to be my Good Shepherd:

·        Whenever I pray to Jesus, he calms my fears. 

·        When I ask for help in difficult relationships with others, he gives me great wisdom. 

·        When I seek him for protection because illnesses and other circumstances are attacking me, he gives it. 

·        When I’ve prayed for clothes, a job, food, or a car, I’ve gotten it.

My story is the same as Phillip Keller’s:

Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

Is he yours?

*Keller, W. Phillip, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1970.

John 10 -- I Am the Good Shepherd (1)

“I am the good shepherd.”  John 10:11

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

Read the story here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2010,%20Psalm%2023&version=NIV

Listen to story here:  http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/John.10 and http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/Ps.23

Jesus gives us another great comparison: “I am the good shepherd.” 

A comparison is supposed to help us understand something, but I don’t know any shepherds and I’ve only held a baby lamb once.  How am I supposed to get it?

I don’t personally know any shepherds, but I do know a lot of people with pets.  I myself have a cat.  We run up our grocery bill feeding them, we really go into debt on vet bills when they get sick, we inoculate them against diseases they might get in the future, we even buy them toys!  Pet owners work hard to make sure their animals are healthy, safe, and full-of-life.  We delight in their delight.

On the other hand, you may have seen the ads on TV that beseech us to help the animal victims of cruelty and neglect.  Picture after picture of emaciated, bedraggled, sad-faced pets call out to us from the screen.

It is very obvious to us who are the bad pet owners and who are the good pet owners.  It’s the same with sheep and shepherds.  Jesus chose a shepherd comparison because these were familiar to his audience at the time.

But unless you live on a ranch, this analogy may need some explanation.  A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 was a book published by a shepherd, Phillip Keller, in 1970.  It is a rich-textured description of Jesus as a good, versus a bad, shepherd:

He is the owner who delights in His flock. For Him there is no greater reward, no deeper satisfaction, than that of seeing His sheep contented, well fed, safe and flourishing under His care. This is indeed His very 'life.' He gives all He has to it. He literally lays Himself out for those who are His.

He will go to no end of trouble and labor to supply them with the finest grazing, the richest pasturage, ample winter feed, and clean water. He will spare Himself no pains to provide shelter from storms, protection from ruthless enemies and the diseases and parasites to which sheep are so susceptible.*

So it is with our Good Shepherd.

Would you like that kind of care?

*Keller, W.Phillip, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1970.

WHERE ARE WE GOING? – (4)

“Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”  John 14:9

Read the story here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014:1-31&version=NIV

Listen to story here:  http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/John.14  

I’ve heard it said that Jesus never claimed to be God.  That his disciples just misconstrued his words.  Or followers in later centuries got it wrong.  But what can Jesus possibly mean by saying, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”?  He always referred to God when he talked about the Father, so that translates:

“Anyone who has seen me (Jesus) has seen God.”

Now, it’s true, Jesus didn’t state this quite so clearly to everyone as he did to the Twelve.  Why was that?  Judas (not Iscariot) wanted to know the same thing.

“But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

Obedience and love precede intimacy.  Why would you marry someone who doesn’t love you?  Jesus is telling his friends that just as they have shown their love and trust by staying with him, and now they are in the “inner circle,” others will also do the same.

In other words, God is not going to issue a mass invitation by a giant billboard, but a private invitation that requires a personal response.

Amazing, that the God of the Universe is creating such a private space for each one of us.  Comforting.  And comfort is what Jesus was giving them on his last night with them.

^“ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

 Powerful words.  But they would not comfort them for very long unless Jesus really was one with God as he claimed.  All of them were about to go through a grueling ordeal – one that would test each of them to the core.  Before the night was over they would doubt almost everything.  But they wouldn’t forget his promise to come back for them after he went away.

So, where are we going, ultimately?

^“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?   And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

WHERE ARE WE GOING? – (3)

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” John 14:6

Read the story here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john%2014:1-9&version=NIV

Listen to story here:  http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/John.14  

“All roads lead to Rome.”  Many Americans today think, “All roads lead to God.”  Jesus’ statement that “no one comes to the Father but by me” is shocking to us.  It is not politically correct, to say the least.  We would rather believe that any religion, any faith, any philosophy will work equally well.  But will it?

Let’s look at the source of that proverb.  It traces to a Latin saying: “Mille viae ducunt homines per saecula Romam,” which translates, “A thousand roads lead men forever to Rome.”  This proverb was based on the ancient Roman road system which radiated out from the capital, like spokes around a wheel.  These Roman roads were designed so that Roman troops and supplies could travel to anywhere Rome ruled.

So “all roads lead to Rome” means that different paths can take one to the same goal.  These Roman roads were singularly designed that way.  But does this proverb apply to all situations?

Clearly, Robert Frost doesn’t think so.  In “The Road Less Traveled,” the traveler

says:

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood…

And his conclusion:

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

shows that one path led to a very different result than the other.  

Different path; different result.

Logic and observation tell us, that although in some instances different methods can end up with the same result, more often than not opposite methods produce opposite results.

 Even if all Roman roads lead to Rome, all American roads certainly don’t end up at the same destination.  In 1956 the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System was created (commonly called The Interstate).**  In the 50+ years since then, hundreds of roads have crisscrossed the USA.    

Try this experiment.  The next time you get in your car, fill in this sentence:  All roads lead to my destination.  Let us know where you land!

*attributed to Alain de Lille in 1175 AD. 

**Federal Highway Administration – List of Road Songs Celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System. (compiled 2006 by Richard F. Weingroff).  http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/roadsongs.htm