ESOCS Devotional 28 December 2021
TEXT: JOHN 10:1–21
MEMORY VERSE:
“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” (John 10:11 KJV).
Jesus is the good shepherd to His believers just as the shepherds are to their livestock. A shepherd tends his flock day and night. He would gather the sheep into a sheepfold at night for their protection.
Being different from a hired keeper who might run away in the face of danger, the flock belongs to the shepherd who would stay and defend them. He has a genuine loving concern for what belongs to him. In our text, Jesus illustrates how the shepherd cares for his flock, protecting them from weather, thieves, and predatory animals. He loves and shields them; and if necessary, he would lay down his life for them.
Jesus is that loving protector and caretaker for His flock. Ezekiel 34 foretold of the Messiah who would, like a true shepherd, come to caringly keep God’s people. It was a loving message of the coming Christ, the Good Shepherd.
Our text tells us how thieves and wolves come to destroy the sheep. But the good shepherd is there to save them. These verses tell us that though Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy God’s people (John 10:10), Jesus is there to protect, love, and save us from destruction, and giving us eternal life. Jesus came not to merely be the hired keeper but came as the One (the only One), who was and is, completely committed to us, even to His own death and resurrection. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down His physical life for you and me.
You may be asking yourself why Jesus needed to give His life for our protection. We all have sinned. By our sin, we lost the eternal life God has for us. We will not enter heaven if we don’t accept Jesus the Good Shepherd. Jesus’ blood was shed as payment for our sins. He is our gift.
When we accept this gift, when we believe that He did this for us, we are saved from paying the debt ourselves. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Again, “The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:33). Have you accepted the life He offers?
- Does your lifestyle depict one who has accepted Christ as his Lord?
- Lord, help me to always acknowledge you as the Good Shepherd in my life.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
FURTHER READING: Ezekiel 34:12–31; 16:1–13
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ESOCS Devotional 29 December 2021
