The Good Shepherd
I Am Jesus – part 4
TODAY – is week 4 in our message series ‘I Am Jesus.’ ON – January the 9th we set out on a journey together to know Christ in a much deeper and much fuller way. On that day began taking a fresh look at Jesus, we starting looking at Him through a fresh pair of lenses.
AND – the look we have seen, so far in this journey has been pretty awesome, He is amazing! FOR - 3 weeks in an effort to know Him better we have been unpacking some of the names and titles that we find for Jesus in the New Testament. (what people called Him and what he called Himself.) SO – far we have looked at the names ‘Son of God” and “The Word Became Flesh…” (Jesus’ divinity and His humanity…)
[TIM…] – aren’t you glad that ‘the Jesus’ (you love, serve and worship) is God? Aren’t you glad that HE - can deliver what He promised, do what He said, guard what you have entrusted to Him. AND - aren’t you glad that the word became flesh… Aren’t you glad that Jesus put on sandals and walked among us…? I sure am… BECAUSE; Jesus the man;
• allows ME to see God
• allows ME to see MYSELF
• shows ME who I can become
• destroys death, sin, and the devil…and
• understands everything that I go through…
NOW – the name that we are going to unpack this morning is; ‘The Good Shepherd.’ AND – the only time Jesus refers to Himself as the good shepherd is the 10th chapter of John’s Gospel… LET ME – put that chapter in it’s context as we begin…
IN – John chapter 9 Jesus heals a man that was born blind… This guy is just kind of hanging out by the roadside… AND WHEN – the disciples first see him… THEY – ask Jesus… “Hey Teacher, is this guy blind because he has done something wrong OR is it because of his parents” (they like us wanted to know why)
Jesus replies, “No guys, he is not blind for either of those reasons… Instead this has happened to him, so that the work of God could be displayed in his life..”
QUESTION – do you know what the work of God is? To display His glory. To show the world how awesome he is! AND – listen just like this guy sometimes stuff happens in our life for the same reason… so that we have an opportunity to display God’s glory.
THEN - Jesus stoops down spits on the ground, stirs the dirt, and makes some mud… (now that’s a lot of spit)… HE - puts the mud on the guys eyes and tells the guy to go to the pool of Siloam and wash it off… SO - the guy goes and washes it off and immediately his eyes are opened… Awesome!
NOW – I would call that entire event (spit and all) a good thing (wouldn’t you?)… I MEAN – who would look at a guy born blind being able to see and call it bad? I’LL – tell you who, the leaders of God’s people… the Pharisees… YEAH – (as crazy as it sounds) those bone heads believed that a guy born blind going home seeing, was a bad thing…WHY? - because it was done on the Sabbath.
SO INSTEAD – of celebrating this man’s recovery, these guys begin holding hearings… They bring the guy in…Give him the 3rd degree, they asked him who healed Him… They don’t like his answer so they bring in his parents… BUT – his parents are too afraid to say anything because they don’t want to be thrown out of the synagogue. EVENTUALLY - things get so heated that they toss the guy out. LET’S – pick up the story at John 9:35;
Prayer…
35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (later on in 05’ we will unpack that title) 36“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” 40Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” 41Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
REMEMBER – as I said a few weeks back Jesus always seems to be picking a fight with these guys. WHY? Because they were the leaders of God’s people. AND – they weren’t doing a very good job at it. BASICALLY – they only cared about themselves and about what they believed. YOU SEE – they made it harder for people to know, understand, love and follow God… NOT easier.
I MEAN – think about it… IF – these leaders represent God; know what God is like; THEN – God must think that it’s a bad thing to heal this guy too… BUT – God must have given this guy Jesus the power to heal Him… I don’t get it
OKAY – with that background in mind… WE – are ready for John 10. YOU SEE - right after He calls them blind and guilty Jesus says;
“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice." 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
7Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am
(and this is ego emui – the proper name for God “I Am”… we talk about this in detail when we unpacked the title ‘Son of God’)
Therefore Jesus said I am the gate
(Question – when you hear the word gate what do you think of? Something made of wood, rope or iron that swings on a hinge? That’s what I picture… but that is not what someone living in the time of Christ would picture… YOU SEE – the only gate a shepherd knew of in 1st century Palestine was his own body… At night a shepherd would call all the sheep into the fold… Once they were in he would lay across the opening with his staff and rod… That way the only way for a sheep to leave or for someone to come in and harm the sheep was through his light sleeping ready to spring into action body)
I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers,
QUESTION – why were they thieves and robbers? BECAUSE – as Jesus said in John 10:1,2 – they did not come into a relationship with the sheep through the gate (through God)… INSTEAD – they climbed in some other way… YOU SEE – they came into relationship with God’s people… not through God BUT through and with their own agendas and motives.
but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns 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. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
(2 pictures….rental car power windows won’t go up… your car… big storm any difference in what you would do?)
14“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me– 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father–and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I 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. - John 9:35-10:16 (NLT)
OKAY – 2 times in this passage… Jesus refers to himself as; “the good shepherd… WHAT DO SAY - we unpack that title and see if God has anything to teach us this morning… AND - to help us unpack, this title ‘The Good Shepherd…’ I want us to look at 2 statements;
#1 – We Are Sheep
#2 – Sheep Need A Good Shepherd
We Are Sheep…
It’s insulting. I don’t know how else to describe it. The nerve the absolute nerve to call me a thing like that. NOW - at first I didn’t mind it. IN FACT - the idea seemed kind of novel, cute, comforting… BUT - not anymore… NO - the more I think about it the madder I get. No one has the right to slander me like that. No one. I am not. I repeat I am not like one of those helpless stupid animals… I am not a sheep. At least I don’t want to be… Why? Because sheep are everything that I don’t want to be.
I MEAN - sheep are not fearless, rugged creatures whose character inspires us to greatness. NO - on the contrary; they are passive, dependent blobs of wool... (I don’t know of any sports team that has a sheep as their mascot). On Friday I found a web-site for unusual college mascots…
• Campbell Camels
• Delaware Fighting Blue Hens
• New Mexico State Pygmies
• Ohio Wesylen Battling Bishops
• Richmond Spiders
• Wofford Terriers
• Scottsdale Community College Artichokes
BUT – not one sheep… NO - I don’t want to be a sheep… I would prefer to be compared to an eagle, wouldn’t you?
AFTER ALL – eagles are strong, resilient, independent… YEAH – that’s what I want to be, an eagle that soars above the winds of adversity… (HEY – I’d even settle to be compared to a lion, a tiger, a bulldog… or even a yellow jacket… BUT – the truth is the bible never calls us any of those… NO – the bible calls us sheep… (and it calls us sheep about 200 times)… NOW – I have a couple of books in my office about sheep…
• “Song Of The Shepherd,” - Mark Todd
• “A Shepherd’s Look At Psalm 23,” - Phillip Keller
Mark – is a pastor in Indiana and Phillip is a writer, scientist, speaker and an X- sheep rancher… IN – these books the writers describe in great detail the characteristics of sheep… HERE – are just a few;
Sheep are notorious followers.... If one member of the flock starts running toward the highway, everyone starts running. And none of them knows why they are running. YOU SEE - the herd instinct takes over and the urge to follow becomes so great that they just have to go… I MEAN – sheep will mindlessly follow anything that catches their attention…
Sheep are helpless... That’s why wolves and other meat eating animals love sheep. IN FACT – just the mere sight of a sheep away from the protection of the shepherd says, “dinner is served - I’ll take that sheep burger combo super sized” -- to a hungry wolf. Sheep are timid feeble creatures whose only defense is to run....
Sheep are almost blind... They can’t see any farther then 15 yards.
Sheep are hardheaded... AND - the wild ones of the species, the bighorn mountain variety, continually run around banging their heads with one another. Apparently, it really impresses the lady sheep (I think it would give me a headache)… BUT - maybe the reason banging heads does not give sheep a headache, is because their cranial cavity has a lot extra space, YOU SEE – sheep are not known for their intelligence, they are (now how can I say it delicately) sheep are stupid, (can you say “air head”?)
NOW - before you accuse me of sheepism, animal prejudice or call p.e.t.a. on me, consider some of the following activities of sheep....
• Sheep will graze the same hill over & over until they turn it into a wasteland
• They will keep walking the same trial until they are in a rut
• They pollute their own ground until it is full of disease and parasites
• They have no homing instincts. A dog, cat or bird can find it’s way home BUT - if a sheep gets lost it is a goner unless someone comes to rescue it.
• And here’s my favorite - adult sheep will lie down and roll over on the backs...my dog does that... but sheep are not as agile as a dog....when a sheep rolls over on it’s back, it is physically unable to roll back over. Shepherds refer to this situation as a “cast sheep.” AND - unless the shepherd rolls it back over, internal gases will build up in the sheep and it will die. That is correct sheep will die if they roll on their backs YET - they keep on doing it...
YES - sheep are helpless stupid animals --- and throughout the bible God calls us sheep. AND LISTEN – (whether we like it or not) we do bear a strong family resemblance.....
FOR EXAMPLE, We share their natural tendency to follow.... If you’re not convinced look at the clothes people wear or their hairstyles... The legs of jeans have to be a certain width (right now wide is in - who knows what it will be next year).... AND - adults aren’t any different if we look in the mirror we to will observe sheep qualities -- as we see the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the things we buy…
AND - sometimes like sheep, we run off in a direction and we “really” do not know why we are even going that way. AND LISTEN - if it were just a matter of style the situation would not be so bad. BUT – people routinely surrender their will to someone else in order to run after the flock. Right and wrong depends on the latest poll. Whatever everyone else thinks or does is what we think or do. We simply fall in line, running along with the rest of the flock wherever our little woolly legs will carry us.
Like sheep we can also be very nearsighted at times. WE – live only for what is right in front of us and fail to see even a mere 15 yards down the road. AND – like sheep we can be very stubborn, hard-headed and unmovable… I MEAN – we will choose to do something and keep doing it even though we know it is bad for us… IN - his book Phillip Keller talks about people like that and he writes;
They remind me very much of a bunch of sheep I watched one day which were being led down to a magnificent mountain stream. The snow-fed waters were flowing pure and clear and crystal clean between lovely banks of trees. But on the way several stubborn ewes and their lambs stopped, instead, to drink from small, dirty, muddy pools beside the trial. The water was filthy and polluted not only with the churned up mud from the passing sheep but even the manure and urine of previous flocks that had passed that way. Still these stubborn sheep were quite sure it was the best drink obtainable.
“There is a way that seems right to a sheep… but it only end in death,” “YES – I hear you, okay-okay, there is clean fresh water up ahead… BUT – I don’t care I prefer to drink from the dirty & contaminated mud hole of; my addiction, my bitterness…
YES – we are sheep, AND…
Sheep Need A Good Shepherd…
NOT - just any shepherd, they need a good shepherd… BUT – unfortunately not every shepherd is a good shepherd. IN – his book (A Shepherd’s Look at Psalm 23) Phillip Keller writes;
The tenant shepherd on the farm next to my first ranch was the most indifferent manager I had ever met. He was not concerned about the condition of his sheep. His land was neglected. He gave little or no time to his flock letting them pretty well forage for themselves as best they could, both summer and winter… every year these poor creatures were forced to gnaw at bare brown fields and impoverished pastures.
AND - as winter, with its cold rains and chilling winds came on, my neighbor’s sickly sheep would stand huddled at the fence, their tails to the storm, facing the rich fields in which my flock flourished. Those poor, abused, neglected creatures under the ownership of a heartless rancher had known nothing but suffering most of the year. With them there had been gnawing hunger all summer. They were thin with disease and scab and parasites. Tormented by flies and attacked by predators, some were so weak and thin and wretched that their thin legs could scarcely bear their scanty frames.
Always there seemed to lurk in their eyes the slender, faint hope that perhaps with a bit of luck they could break through the fence or crawl through some hole to free themselves. To all their distress, the heartless, selfish shepherd seemed utterly callous and indifferent. He simply didn’t care…he ignored their needs.
YES – sheep need more than just any shepherd… They need a good shepherd… AND – the sad truth is that God’s people have not always had one… CHECKOUT – what the prophet Ezekiel wrote in the 34th chapter of His book;
FIRST – Ezekiel talks about the sorry shepherds that were leading God’s people. AND IN – these verses we see a graphic picture of the Pharisees and of the hired hands that Jesus talked about in John 10;
1Then this message came to me from the LORD: 2”…prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: Destruction is certain for you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? 3You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. 4You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the broken bones. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with force and cruelty. 5So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd. They are easy prey for any wild animal. 6They have wandered through the mountains and hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them… you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal… You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve.
AS – Jesus said in John 10;
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns 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. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
QUESTION – do you think it was hard for God to watch sheep that he loved so much be under the care of such sorry shepherds? YOU – bet it was… That’s why God next in Ezekiel 34 says… THAT - before too long in the person of the Son… He will come and be the shepherd of His people…
11"For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search and find my sheep. 12I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. 13I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers in all the places where people live. 14Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in lush mountain pastures. 15I myself will tend my sheep and cause them to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign LORD. 16I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak… 30In this way, they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them. And they will know that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Sovereign LORD. 31You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God, says the Sovereign LORD."
MAN – that is awesome!
AND – 2,000 years ago… IN - the person of the Son, the good shepherd put on human, flesh, slipped on a pair of sandals and walked this earth…
35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. – Matthew 9:35,36
BUT – they don’t have to be that way anymore… BECAUSE - the good shepherd has come…
• He knows their voice
• He calls them by name
• He leads them
• He lays down his life for them…
• AND - He can give them life, in ALL it’s fullness…
YES – we are sheep and sheep need a good shepherd… AND – the awesome thing, the amazing thing is… that God is not only willing but He wants to be our Shepherd. QUESTION - why would God want the headaches and the heartaches of leading such a stubborn flock? Why would He extend His hand toward those who have repeatedly slapped Him away in the past? Why would God want to put up with our moods, our grumbling, our stubbornness and our constant wandering off into sin? TO – be honest I don’t have clue why… BUT – I am so glad he does!
NOW – it would be practically impossible for anyone who knows the bible to talk about Jesus’ name/title “the Good Shepherd” and not think about Psalm 23 (I guarantee that those who were with Jesus in John 10 that day thought about this psalm…)
SO – I can think of no better way to wrap up this study of our Good Shepherd than by taking a brief look at that 3,000 year old Psalm of David. (Now, we don’t have a lot of time, I will only be able to scratch the surface of this great Psalm… I recommend that you pick up Keller’s book, $5)…
OKAY – let’s wrap up this morning by looking at what the Good Shepherd Wants To Do For… FIRST
Jesus Wants To Your Shepherd
“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want...”
The word translated Lord is the word Yahweh. AGAIN - it is the word, that God used to describe himself to Moses, “I am is my shepherd” UNDERSTAND - the all powerful, all knowing, all present, the one (who is and was and is to come) -- the one who spoke this world into existence, hung every the stars in it’s place wants to be your shepherd…wants to do the hard work of taking care of and leading you (thieves and robbers no longer need to apply).
AND - David said that when He is our Shepherd we shall not be in want... NOW - unfortunately the way most people see that last phrase is as a promise of God, to provide for our every need (ok God here is my list)....
BUT UNDERSTAND - David’s words do not come to us in the form of a promise. In the original text the first 2 lines of psalm 23, have only 4 words. And they stand together; as one sentence, as one statement of faith. The best translation, one that communicates David’s core idea is “The Lord is my shepherd; I don’t need anything else...”
LISTEN – David affirms, what we tend to forget in our never-ending maze of wants & desires: That when we have the Lord we have everything we need. I shall not be in want because I do not want anything besides him.
AND - we do want Him - all of us do, whether we realize it or not. As human beings, our greatest need is to know the Lord. NOW - we can deny it, hide it, suppress it, or try to substitute something for it, but deep within each of us lies a hunger that only can be satisfied with the Lord Himself, a thirst that only he can quench. AND UNTIL - we have Him we will never really be content - at least not for any significant period of time.... BUT with Him as our shepherd we need nothing else - we have all we need.
Question, Why do you think so many people are not content? ANSWER - because they are going to all of the wrong places to find contentment… CHECKOUT - what Paul says in Philippians 4;
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well feed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” - Phil 4:12,13
Christ is the answer to true contentment. This year our goal at Central is to know Christ. AND – let me make something perfectly clear… Knowing Christ is the end… it is not a means to an end. IN – others words we are not trying to know Christ so that He will make our life better… BUT RATHER – because knowing Him is the better life…
And this is eternal life, that people know you, the only true God, and that they know Jesus Christ the One who you sent. – Jn 17:3 (NCV)
Jesus Wants To Provide Your Nourishment
“He makes me lie down in green pastures...”
QUESTION - what do sheep eat? They eat grass... UNDERSTAND - our shepherd leads us to a place where we have all the spiritual food we need.. [Tim…] - He has provided rich food (in his word, his presence and spirit) food that we can graze on whenever we want.... WE – come hungry and we leave satisfied.
Jesus Wants To Give You Peace & Rest
“He leads me beside quiet waters...”
Because they can’t swim well, and get bogged down by their wet wool - Sheep are terrified of fast flowing waters. That’s why shepherds would often build a dam to slow down the water where his sheep were… UNDERSTAND - the Lord is a Shepherd who will lead you to quit waters, He will even build a dam if necessary… HE - will calm the things, that terrify you in life -- and give you peace & rest;
“Come to me, all you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest.” -Mt 11:28
Jesus Wants To Restore Your Soul
“He restores my soul...”
QUESTION - do things like: traffic, kids, spouses, parents, job, life…at times, dry up your soul, deplete your strength and suck the life right out of you… JESUS – wants to restore you our soul...
The Hebrew term David used in the phrase “restore my soul” means to cause something to turn. In other passages the word is translated to convert or repent... The central idea of the word is a complete turnabout... Therefore what David is telling us, is that the Lord restores our souls by causing us to turn back to HIM. By turning our eyes away from the world and on to Jesus - we get restored...
QUESTION – when and how does Jesus restore our souls? Sometimes He restores us on a Sunday morning through worship and the word… BUT – I am convinced that Jesus’ favorite place to restore our souls is when we pull away from the world and hang out with Him…
Jesus Wants To Direct Your Life
“He leads me on paths that are right for His name sake...” (NCV)
QUESTION - have you ever been lost and needed directions? Have you ever been on the wrong road and you thought it was the right one? Have you ever been confused as to what path to take? God leads us on paths and not just any paths, He leads us on right paths. AND He does it for 2 reasons:
FIRST – because His paths are the right path and they WILL lead you to life. LIFE - in all it’s fullest... SECOND – He does it for His name sake… What does that mean? It means that when people see God’s people walking right paths and finding life in all it’s fullest - it reveals to the world the kind of Shepherd our God is… AND – the kind of life He can bring…
Jesus Wants To Walk With You In Dark Times
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
INTERSTINGLY - the word death does not appear in the Hebrew text… BUT - rather a word that means a dark valley (a deep, dark and difficult trial of which death is) BUT - the term is much broader than just death.
AND - did you notice, the shift in the pronouns used to describe our shepherd.... In verse 2,3 the word is “he,” NOW - it is more personal, the pronoun “you.” David does NOT write, He is with me, BUT - you are with me. POINT - God goes before when the paths are smooth… BUT he stands beside us when the way is dangerous...
Jesus Wants To Protect You
“your rod & your staff they comfort me...”
The rod was a 36" club that hang from the shepherds belt, it was used to protect the flock from predators... The staff was a walking stick… AND - it had a hook on the end that was used to lift sheep out of dangerous situations. WE – live in a dangerous world… BUT – when Jesus is your shepherd, that world has to go through him in order to get to us…
Jesus Wants To Give You Confidence Over Your Enemies
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies”
NOW – this table doesn’t refer to a piece of furniture… BUT - rather to a mat or skin spread out on the ground. The term enemy means one who harasses with threats and abuse. AND - the term, in the presence of carries the idea of drawing everyone attention to something - another form of the word means hilltop...
OKAY - here is the picture of confidence that this verse paints... Our enemies are pursuing us (got any?) Seeking to harm us -- and they look up, and not only, are we not running from them… BUT – we are sitting on mat on a hilltop having a picnic lunch… confident of victory… (Stephen in Acts chapter 7, ate at this hilltop as the angry mob stoned him.
Jesus Wants To Bless Your Life
“You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.
Surely goodness & mercy will follow me all the days of my life”
UNDERSTAND – when God blesses… He blesses, it overflows! With God it’s always the best. The calf is always fattened, the robe is always royal, the joy is always unspeakable, the grace is always amazing…and the peace is always beyond understanding…
NOW – the word translated ‘follow’ means to chase something down, it means to pursue with great determination. DID – you see the movie, ‘The Fugitive?’ WELL – the way Tommy Lee Jones pursued Harrison Ford, is how God pursues us… NOT - to arrest us or throw us in prison… BUT – to pour out his blessings, goodness, mercy and grace on top of us.
Jesus Wants To Be With You Forever
“and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever…”
LISTEN – when Jesus becomes your shepherd… you have a shepherd for life. Jesus will be with you always, to the very end of the age…
WE – are sheep… AND – we need a good shepherd…
35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. – Matthew 9:35,36
QUESTION – if Jesus were here physically today… If he were standing here looking out at this crowd. What would He see?
I think He would see people who are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd
GUYS – he is here and he wants to be your shepherd…
What a deal….
Let’s pray
