Jeremiah 25:30-38
John 10:1-18
“Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in ashes, you lords of the flock, for the days of your slaughter have come –– and your dispersions, and you shall fall like a choice vessel. Flight shall fail the shepherds, and there shall be no escape for the lords of the flock. Hark! the cry of the shepherds, and the wail of the lords of the flock!” (Jeremiah 25:34-36).
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep….I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me…And I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:11, 14-15).
It’s hard to believe that each of these passages is talking about shepherds. How different the descriptions are! According to Jeremiah judgment is about to befall those leaders who have done wrong in God’s sight. Indeed, they will wail and cry but flight will not help them. Their slaughter is about to fall upon them. But John speaks in radically divergent terms. There we read Jesus’ claim to be the “good shepherd” who will “lay down (his) life for the sheep.” The mark of Jesus’ righteousness is that he will give his life for the flock while the leaders of Jeremiah’s day were unwilling to lead the people in the paths that God desired.
When Jesus takes on the title “good shepherd” he is speaking with intentionality. What went on before was not God’s will. But now, in the person of God’s Son, all will be set right. Those who seek God will need only to hear the voice of Jesus to know that he is the Way. As a part of God’s flock we should rejoice for the good shepherd has come to lead us in right paths.
Prayer: Lord, help us to follow the good shepherd who lays down his life for us, and may we live as righteous people all our days. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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