Day 286 – Jesus’ Ministry as the Good Shepherd

• It’s farmer caps on today, as we knock out three passages with the shared analogy of sheep and shepherds. It’s a common theme in the bible, but don’t get the analogies mixed up – in John 10 *we* are the sheep, but Jesus can also be described as the perfect sacrificial “Lamb”, so be a little careful you don’t get mixed up.
• With that in mind, who is the Good Shepherd? How did Jesus describe his “shepherding” role in the first 18 verses of John 10?
• Jesus described himself as the “door” of the sheep. Where is the door leading to?
• Jesus talked about a thief. Who do you think the thief might be?
• Jesus reminded those around him that he wasn’t like a “hired hand”, who might run away at the first sign of trouble. What trouble did Jesus know was coming? Aren’t you glad he didn’t run away from His difficult mission?
• The words in John echo those in Ezekiel. They can be a little cryptic, and obviously they were written before Jesus, but they do speak of Him. What does God promise for the “sheep” in this chapter? What words of comfort are here?
• Focus in on Ezekiel 34:23-24. How does the reference to David help point to Jesus?
• Jesus, in describing himself as the Good Shepherd, echoed God’s promises in Ezekiel. It’s interesting, then, to read in the second half of John’s 10th chapter a section where Jesus claimed that he was “one” with the Father. Whether it’s through analogy, parable or clear explanation and reasoning, Jesus repeatedly confirmed that He was (and is) God.

I loved reading the “covenant of peace” in Ezekiel 34:25-31. I felt myself wanting to slow down and savour the words. Are you comforted by them too? I really hope so – your trust in God for your eternal peace and satisfaction, through his Son, should be one of the greatest daily joys.

Jesus used parables that talked about sheep and farming because that’s what the people around him would have been able to talk about and relate to. Most of them would have been farmers or fishermen!

That’s one of the reasons why a good talk in church or at a youth club event will often have an example or story to hook the teaching on and to help you to remember the message that the speaker is hoping to share with you. I bet you’ve found talks easier to remember when they’ve had a story to help illustrate the point.

The same goes for whenever you are talking about Jesus to your friends. Would it ever help to think about explaining something you believe in by relating it to something that your friends and you enjoy doing, like a sport or a story about something that happened at school? It might be something worth thinking about in advance.

Of course, it’s worth mentioning that twisting God’s message to fit into the story you’ve got isn’t always helpful. Saying “Jesus is like my team’s goalkeeper because he’s there to save us when we slip up” might sound good, but actually it’s helpful. It suggests that we only need Jesus sometimes, and that most of the time we can be fine without him! Jesus isn’t a safety net, so don’t describe him as such!

That said if it helps you to talk to your friends, and to help them to understand, a good story or a relevant example might be just what helps them to understand why you trust in Jesus. Have a think about it!