Shepherd and His sheep
Key Verses: 10, 11, 14, 30
This is another powerful picture of Jesus. He is the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. Others run when there is trouble, leaving the sheep unprotected. The thief is bent on destroying the sheep. Jesus brings full life. Life without Jesus is an empty life. It lacks what makes life full. It is just existing. It is amebic life. Multiply, grow, die, filling space, consuming resources. Jesus offers us something much more. Jesus offers us relationship with the Creator God. He gives us purpose and direction.
Jesus continues to make statements about Himself. He now makes a clear statement about the unity between Himself and the Father. This is a unity of essence. I like to state it this way. If there were some modeling clay that was God, Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit would all be made of this clay, and they would be the only Ones made of this clay. The people who are listening to Jesus say these things fully understood what Jesus was saying and they respond by picking up stones to kill him.
Notice that Jesus does not back down from his statements. He uses a logical argument to reinforce what he has said. He argues from the lesser to the greater. He says that in the Old Testament people were called gods. How much more should I be called God because I was set apart as unique and sent into the world. These two things, being set apart as unique and being sent into the world are things only Jesus can experience. He is reinforcing His claim. He is claiming to be God. And the people understand that He isn’t backtracking. They want to kill him. Jesus could have said, “Uh-oh, I think you misunderstood what I said,” and they would have backed down. But instead, Jesus states His claim in even stronger language, and they continue to want to kill Him.
Jesus claiming to be the Shepherd of His Sheep is not just symbolic. Only God can be this kind of shepherd, and Jesus is this kind of shepherd. He laid down His life for us. Are you one of His sheep? Are you listening to His voice?
REVIEW: Acrostic Theme & each chapter’s phrase.
The Arnold Journey 