Psalms 57-58
Ezekiel 34:17-end
Matthew 27:11-26
John 10
The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." In Matthew 27, we see that Jesus did not struggle to save his life. Before his accusers, he was dumb. He did not beg to be released. He did not try to tell them who he was, or that they were making a mistake. He didn't defend himself or his actions. He willingly gave up his life for his sheep--you and me. Why would he do that? What was his purpose? Well, for one, Jesus told his disciples "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:2b-4, NIV)
What is that place like? Ezekiel gives us a wonderful description. "I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. . . . I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety. (For a good description of the wild beasts read Psalms 57-58). . . . There will be showers of blessing. . . . The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops, the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslave them. . . . They will live in safety and no one will make them afraid. . . . They will know that I the Lord their God will be with them and that they are my people. . . .You, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord."
The kingdom of God is a place of rest, safety, and absence of fear--a place of blessing and productivity. It is a place of freedom. But most of all it is a place where our loving God rules over his much loved people. Times, now, are hard. We see violence and hatred on every side--gang-bangers, terrorists, predators, war-mongers, and they terrify us. We see destruction in the form of floods, global warming, tsunamis, tornadoes, ice and snow storms, hurricanes, wild fires, mud slides, and earthquakes and we are afraid. We see disease and illness, mental and physical, come upon those we love, and fear them for ourselves, and we are devastated. These "wild beasts" attack us, yet God promises a Shepherd from the line of David who will come and make a place of peace, productivity, and rest for us that where he is, we may also be. O come quickly our Shepherd, Lord Jesus.
