This story is a window into the heavenly Shepherd’s heart and His love for us. The Shepherd could have written it off, thinking, “Why go to so much trouble to rescue a stupid animal?” And yet, He went to search. The Shepherd leaves the 99 sheep in safety, and then as the sky darkened rapidly and the temperature dropped steeply, He sets out to find the lost sheep, lost probably because it wandered away, either through distraction or plain wilfulness. In His parable of the lost sheep, Jesus paints a dynamic picture of the Shepherd’s love in poignant action (Luke 15:3-7). PSALM 23: THE SONG OF A PASSIONATE HEART Hope & Rest from the Shepherd. In His elaboration of the relationship between Shepherd and sheep, Jesus brings our attention to the heart of this relationship-the Shepherd’s love for the sheep. As Shepherd, He knew His sheep, and recognised them (John 10:3,14). Jesus brought this rich understanding of the Old Testament into his declaration that He was the Shepherd of the people of God. He is the Shepherd of our souls who feeds, protects, guides and blesses us as we journey in life. Our Daily Bread writer David Roper offers a wise and comforting perspective on each verse, revealing the heart of God and His character as the Good Shepherd. Why Because it shows you how finding your way through the darkness of life can be easier when God leads the way. Hence the psalmist could declare confidently, “The Lord is my Shepherd” (Psalm 23:1). The Twenty-Third Psalm is one of the most well-known passages in the Bible. God is not only a shepherd to a community, He is also the shepherd for individuals. This shepherding God can best be understood as the God who makes a covenant with His people. He promised to find the lost and the stray, to rescue the perishing, to nurse the wounded, and to feed the hungry. This idea comes from the Old Testament, where God declared Himself to be the Shepherd of the people (Ezekiel 34:11-14). It took some time for people to understand this and to grasp the great truth that He is indeed the Shepherd for all peoples on earth. It was into this kind of world that Jesus came, declaring that He was the Good Shepherd of Israel (John 10:11). Psalm 23 the song of a passionate heart : hope and rest from the shepherd by David Roper. But for so long now, heaven had shut its doors tightly and earth had become a living hell for so many-harassed, helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Psalm 23 by David Roper, 1994, Billy Graham Evangelistic Assoc. The prophets, though their messages were not often pleasing to the ears, at least gave the people some assurance that God had not forgotten them, that He was still speaking to them. God seemed to have gone silent for 400 years. For the Jews in Jesus’ time, their country was under the rule of foreign Romans.
0 kommentar(er)
