A COMING SHEPHERD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a Son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

Micah 5:3-4

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Old Testament scriptures have much to tell us about Jesus as God spoke through His prophets to foretell the coming of His Son, the Messiah. Over the past nine days, we have looked at words spoken through Jeremiah, Isaiah, and finally Micah where we will finish today before spending the remainder of December in the Gospels and the events leading up to the birth of Jesus as well as what followed.

You may have noticed that every one of the ten messages in this opening set have began with the word “coming” as the prophets spoke words about a Son yet to come who would be divine royalty, born of a virgin and named Immanuel for indeed God was coming from Heaven to earth to be with His people in the flesh.

To date, we have seen how the coming Jesus would be:

- A righteous Branch out of the stump of Jesse, the father of David.

- A Sign as His birth from a virgin would signal that the Messiah had indeed arrived.

- A Light that would usher the people out of darkness.

- A perfect Government that would have no end.

- A wonderful Counselor who would always bring perfect counsel and guidance to anyone seeking it.

- A Mighty God Incarnate as the Lord came to live among His people through His Son.

- An everlasting Father who would perfectly protect, provide, care, and love His children.

- A Prince of Peace who would come to bridge the separation between God and man, rescuing the latter from judgment

And in yesterday’s message, a coming Ruler to would reign in the utmost authority over all things in Heaven and earth.

This brings us to today and these words from the fifth chapter of Micah as God speaks through the prophet to declare a coming Shepherd for His people. Look again at these words now:

Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a Son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. Vv. 3-4

Going back to the prophet Isaiah, here’s what he had to say about sinful Israel, the chosen people of God:

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (53:6).

All unsaved sinners are sheep astray from their true Shepherd. Yes, the world would offer the “sheep” many paths and people to follow but there is only one real Shepherd, the Shepherd Jesus, the One who God laid all iniquity on so to bring complete atonement to all who would seek it through His son.

We know Jesus was the Shepherd pronounced by Micah, the Shepherd who was coming to lead His flock “in the strength” and “majesty of the name of the Lord His God”, because He told us Himself. Look at His words here from the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel:

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the Shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what He was telling them.

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the Gate for the sheep. All who have come before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the Gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

“I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the Shepherd and does not own 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.

“I am the good Shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me—just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—and I lay down My life for the sheep. I 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 10:1-16

As Isaiah testified, God placed all iniquity on Jesus, His Son, who willingly laid “down His life for the sheep” as their good Shepherd. From there after, if any sheep would enter in through His gate and join His flock, they would “be saved” and “have life...to the full” as they “find pasture” and peace and protection in Him.

And although there are millions upon millions of sheep within the flock of Jesus, the good Shepherd, today, note that there is still plenty of room for others, those sheep who are not yet of His sheep pen. Note that He yearns for those sheep that are still astray to find Him and so to gain their salvation.

How far is Jesus willing to go to find those lost sheep?

Once again, we find the answers in His own words:

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” Matthew 18:12-14

Every person matters to the Lord and He is not willing to ever give up searching and seeking for those sheep who are wandering around without the one true Shepherd, the only Shepherd who cares for them, the only Shepherd who can save them.

Friends, from the time of Jesus through present times, sinners have walked through life lost and without safety, on the path to sure destruction like any sheep that tries to make it without a shepherd. Thanks be to God that He, not wishing for anyone to perish, would lovingly send His good Shepherd Jesus to seek and find lost sheep, bringing them into the safety and salvation of His flock.

Rejoice and be glad for the gift of Jesus this Advent season as we continue to move toward the celebration of His coming.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.