8-7-2014

Good Morning All,

            Matthew 9:36; “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

     Sheep are a defenseless animal.  About all they can do is charge at you.  They do not possess sharp teeth to bite with.  They are easily attacked by any wild animal.  They are also very docile animals that need to be led, fed and cared for.  Left to their own ways, they get lost easily.  Without guidance and direction, they will wander aimlessly and soon be separated from each other.  They are easily spooked and will run in all different directions.  They will end up totally lost, totally disconnected, beaten down and completely helpless.

    In our verse Jesus looks out at the crowd of people and compares them to sheep.  These are sheep which had a bad shepherd.  He was careless and lazy.  He didn’t take care of them properly and then just ran off and left them.  They were left to be attacked by the wolves.  They were bloodied, bruised and destroyed.  They were lost and completely helpless; sort of like we can be.

    Being described as sheep can be very accurate.  We are easily misled.  We are often told something that sounds too good to be true but we believe it any way.  We see dozens of others doing it so we assume that it must be ok.  We don’t think for ourselves we just follow the crowd.  We are easily led astray and soon are far from the safety of the watchful eye of the shepherd.  We soon are beaten down by the ravages of the devil and this world.  We are tormented and attacked.  We are trampled on and depleted.  We follow the wrong shepherd and we end up abandoned.

    This is why Jesus had to come to the world.  We were so hopelessly lost that we would never find our way and those who should lead us had abandoned their duties.  Nothing short of God’s intervening in our lives was going to change things, so he did.  God intervened and completely changed the way the sheep lived.  The sheep (us) got the true shepherd, the one that would lay down his life for the sheep.  Because of his great love for us, Jesus had compassion on us and did whatever was necessary to bring us back into the flock of his children.  He even gave his life so we could have ours.  He healed our wounds and defeated our enemies; all because he loves us. 

    So no matter what the world throws at us, we know that Jesus, our true Shepherd, is there to guard and protect us.  He is there to comfort us and to apply the balm of forgiveness to our wounds of sin.  He is there to offer us hope and peace.  He gathers us up and leads us to the quiet still waters and lush pasture where we can live contented lives with him.

Gracious Lord, you are the shepherd who saves us.  You are the shepherd who provides for us and protects us.  Lord, there are so many of your children who are lost and harassed, like sheep without a shepherd.  Bring them safely into your loving embrace that they too may know your boundless grace.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret