God’s word refers to us as the sheep of His pasture who hear His voice and follow Him. Jesus knows His sheep by name and guides us as the great shepherd.
Now, we know that the sheep can sometimes be harassed and helpless when they are without a shepherd. In the bible, we see a clear contrast between the two types of shepherds. We learn about the good shepherd (Jesus Christ) who lays down His life for the sheep. We also learn about one who does not own the sheep, so when he sees the wolf coming, he leaves the sheep and flees. He leaves them vulnerable – allowing the wolf to snatch and scatter them (unlike the good shepherd, he does not lay down his life).
Jesus Christ is the door, and He came that we (His sheep) may have life and have it abundantly. But there is another who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in another way – and he is a thief and a robber who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
Across the Bible, Jesus reinforces the message that we should know and hear His voice and follow Him. He also reinforces the opposite message concerning a stranger, highlighting that His sheep do not recognise a stranger’s voice, so they will, in fact, run away from him and never follow the stranger because they simply do not know him. Remember when you were younger, and your parents told you not to speak to strangers? Remember when they told you to walk away and run home if a stranger approached you or tried to take you away? I do!
God expects us to be fully aware that while we have a good shepherd leading and guiding us by His voice, there is also a stranger lurking in the pasture whose mission is very different from that of the good shepherd. This stranger’s mission is twofold—the first is to steal, kill, and destroy, and the second is to deceive the sheep and snatch them away from the hand of the good shepherd.
However, here is what God says concerning this crafty attempt by the stranger in John 10:28-29. “I give my sheep eternal life; they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
Woohoo! What an assurance! Did you read that? Jesus is saying, look, my sheep will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hands. But even more than that, my Father who gave them to me is greater than all, including the one who prowls about like a roaring lion, and absolutely no one can snatch the sheep out of the hand of the Father!
Wow!
That is our confidence and assurance – we can surely take that to the bank!
Love,
Toluwalola
Read another blog post here titled, Between the Field and the Throne – He declares the end from the beginning by clicking on the link.
Reference scriptures:
John 10: 3-29
Psalm 78:52
Psalm 79:13
Matthew 9:36
Hebrews 13:20
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