Wrong About The Shepherd

“‘Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.’ This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.” [1]

Jesus, quoted in VERSE FIVE, makes the strongest possible statement that His sheep will not ever follow a stranger’s voice. There lies resident within each child of God a capacity that resonates with the Word of truth. That which is false and errant causes red flags to be raised and the child of God cannot find peace in following that which is errant. The Spirit of Christ is always at work in the life of the redeemed soul, guarding that individual and pointing that one to the truth. God’s Spirit is not present in the life of one who is lost, but He lives in and jealously guards the one who is born from above. This is the reason James has written, “Do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’” [JAMES 4:5]?

Under the most extreme pressure of seduction one could ever imagine, the child of God is kept from embracing error. Listen to the Master as He instructs His disciples. “If those days [Jesus spoke of the days of the Great Tribulation] had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand” [MATTHEW 24:22-25]. Focus on the TWENTY-FOURTH VERSE. The great signs and miracles that will be performed are capable of deceiving the very elect—if that were possible!

Warning Christians to beware the seducing power of Satan, especially in the last days, the Apostle Paul instructs all who are willing to hear what he says, “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time” [2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-6]. The teaching of Satan’s seducing power is not some novel teaching—it has been presented from earliest days of the Faith!

Paul continues by warning those who are willing to receive his teaching, “The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” [2 THESSALONIANS 2:7-10].

Did you catch what the Apostle said concerning those who serve evil? He warned that such people are capable of deceiving the unwary through “false signs and wonders.” Listen to and heed the Apostle’s warning: Not every miracle is from God! Some dramatic signs are designed to deceive—and people who are religious, people who appear to be Christians, can be persuaded to follow deceiving spirits.

JESUS WAS ADDRESSING RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS — Jesus our Master was interacting with religious scholars, men who had studied the written text for years and who were recognised as students of the Scriptures. They knew every nuance of the written Word; they could dissect each word without whetting their knife. However, we must not forget that Jesus knew something about Scripture Himself. After all, He was the Author of the Word, and that counted for far more than merely knowing the words that had been recorded. Jesus didn’t merely know what was written, He had given the Word!