I wrote about this not too long ago but in the last couple of days it has been on my mind, so I think that I should touch on it again. Jesus is the good Shepherd and we are the sheep. It says in Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” This includes every person that ever lived, except Jesus Himself. Isaiah, in these verses, relates or likens all of Israel as straying sheep and Jesus being their Shepherd.
But there are other sheep also that Jesus speaks of in John 10:16 when He says, “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.” This verse is relating to Gentiles, praise the Lord, He didn’t choose to leave anyone out of His redemption plan.
Don’t be offended that Jesus related us to sheep because we are in great company. In Isaiah 53:7 it says this about Jesus, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; he was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.” It also says in John 1:29, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” If Jesus could be called the Lamb of God then we shouldn’t be offended being called sheep of His pasture.
In bible days animals were sacrificed for sins. The Word says in Hebrews 9:22, “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” The problem with the blood of animals was that it was just a covering over of sin, it could not cleanse and wash it away. It says this in Hebrews 10:4, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins,” and verse 11 says, “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.”
The Good News is that Jesus’ blood was different; there was and is power in His blood to cleanse and purify sin and when it was applied to a person at rebirth it was like that person had never sinned, the slate was wiped clean when they repented and asked for forgiveness of their sins, praise the Lord! The Word says this about Jesus in Hebrews 10:14-18, “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, ‘this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,’ says the Lord: ‘I will put my laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them,’ He then says, ‘and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
The Word says this in John 10:27-30, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
It also says this in John 10:10-11, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” This is great news because the good Shepherd was not willing to exclude anyone, so all of us are invited into His sheepfold; the problem is that many reject His calling and compassion and I think that makes Him very sad.
It says in John 3:16-21, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
None will have an excuse when standing before the Lord someday, and believe me we will all be there, and the books will be open and the judgment will begin. If your name is not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life you will be separated from the good Shepherd forever and ever and you will also suffer. The choice is yours, so please make the right one. Repent and confess you’re a sinner and that you are sorry and ask Jesus to be your Savior today. God bless and have a great day! And please thank and praise the Lord today, for He is worthy.
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