JESUS AS SHEPHERD.
FAITHFUL:
This is our Lord Jesus, "that great Shepherd of the sheep" -- Hebrews 13:20
"He has a shepherd's heart, beating with pure and generous love that counted not His own life-blood too dear a price to pay down as our ransom. He has a shepherd's faithfulness, which will never fail or forsake, leave us comfortless, not flee when He sees the wolf coming. He has a shepherd's strength. He has a shepherd's tenderness.
SACRIFICIAL:
"He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." -- Isaiah 53:5-6
He died for all sin -- the obvious sins of murder, adultery, and theft as well as for the secret sins of selfishness and pride. He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross. This was sin's final cure.
But it was not anger that led Christ to be crucified: it was love. God loves us so much that He himself took on our guilt. He internalized all our sin and healed it. When it was over, He said, "It is finished!".
TENDER:
The Shepherd calls to us and listens for the slightest sounds of life. He hears the faintest cry.
Our discomfort is God's doing. He hounds us. He hems us in. He thwarts our dreams. He foils our best-laid plans. He frustrates our hopes. He waits until we know that nothing will ease our pain, nothing will make life worth living except His presence. He is there to greet us. "The Lord is near to all who call on him -- Psalm 145:18.
Our waywardness doesn't have to be explained to God. He sees everything at a single glance -- what is, what could have been, what would have been apart from our sinful choices. He sees into the dark corners and crannies of our hearts and knows everything about us there is to know. But what He sees only draws out His love. It is His nature to love.
FAITHFUL:
This is our Lord Jesus, "that great Shepherd of the sheep" -- Hebrews 13:20
"He has a shepherd's heart, beating with pure and generous love that counted not His own life-blood too dear a price to pay down as our ransom. He has a shepherd's faithfulness, which will never fail or forsake, leave us comfortless, not flee when He sees the wolf coming. He has a shepherd's strength. He has a shepherd's tenderness.
SACRIFICIAL:
"He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." -- Isaiah 53:5-6
He died for all sin -- the obvious sins of murder, adultery, and theft as well as for the secret sins of selfishness and pride. He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross. This was sin's final cure.
But it was not anger that led Christ to be crucified: it was love. God loves us so much that He himself took on our guilt. He internalized all our sin and healed it. When it was over, He said, "It is finished!".
TENDER:
The Shepherd calls to us and listens for the slightest sounds of life. He hears the faintest cry.
Our discomfort is God's doing. He hounds us. He hems us in. He thwarts our dreams. He foils our best-laid plans. He frustrates our hopes. He waits until we know that nothing will ease our pain, nothing will make life worth living except His presence. He is there to greet us. "The Lord is near to all who call on him -- Psalm 145:18.
Our waywardness doesn't have to be explained to God. He sees everything at a single glance -- what is, what could have been, what would have been apart from our sinful choices. He sees into the dark corners and crannies of our hearts and knows everything about us there is to know. But what He sees only draws out His love. It is His nature to love.
JESUS AS SHEPHERD.
FAITHFUL:
This is our Lord Jesus, "that great Shepherd of the sheep" -- Hebrews 13:20
"He has a shepherd's heart, beating with pure and generous love that counted not His own life-blood too dear a price to pay down as our ransom. He has a shepherd's faithfulness, which will never fail or forsake, leave us comfortless, not flee when He sees the wolf coming. He has a shepherd's strength. He has a shepherd's tenderness.
SACRIFICIAL:
"He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." -- Isaiah 53:5-6
He died for all sin -- the obvious sins of murder, adultery, and theft as well as for the secret sins of selfishness and pride. He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross. This was sin's final cure.
But it was not anger that led Christ to be crucified: it was love. God loves us so much that He himself took on our guilt. He internalized all our sin and healed it. When it was over, He said, "It is finished!".
TENDER:
The Shepherd calls to us and listens for the slightest sounds of life. He hears the faintest cry.
Our discomfort is God's doing. He hounds us. He hems us in. He thwarts our dreams. He foils our best-laid plans. He frustrates our hopes. He waits until we know that nothing will ease our pain, nothing will make life worth living except His presence. He is there to greet us. "The Lord is near to all who call on him -- Psalm 145:18.
Our waywardness doesn't have to be explained to God. He sees everything at a single glance -- what is, what could have been, what would have been apart from our sinful choices. He sees into the dark corners and crannies of our hearts and knows everything about us there is to know. But what He sees only draws out His love. It is His nature to love.
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