The Good Shepherd

Luke 19:9,10 He said, “Today is the day for this family to be saved from sin. Yes, even this tax collector is one of God’s chosen people. The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.”

Question: did Jesus come to this earth for you? Or do you perhaps have the sense that there are a whole bunch of others more deserving of His attention, His sacrifice, than you? Come on, did Jesus come for you?

The main job of a shepherd is to keep his sheep safe and make sure that they have enough food and water. For centuries, all around the world, that’s been the job description.

The crazy thing is that he would risk his life to save one stupid sheep from wild animals, or robbers, or perhaps when it had fallen down a cliff and was perched precariously on a ledge. That’s hard for us to fathom but there you go – this has been going on since humanity first started herding sheep. So a good shepherd is one who’s prepared to lay down his life for his sheep.

Jesus was once dining with a bunch of sinners at the home of Zacchaeus, a tax collector.

Luke 19:9,10 He said, “Today is the day for this family to be saved from sin. Yes, even this tax collector is one of God’s chosen people. The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.”

He’s alluding there to this idea of the good shepherd who goes and finds the lost sheep. People didn’t expect Him to do that. They criticised Him for hanging out with these sinners.

And it’s hard for us to fathom too, but there you go – Jesus has been doing precisely that for millennia. He still is.

I never thought of myself as “lost”. In fact, if someone had labelled me “lost”, I’d have been deeply offended. But somehow, deep down, I knew – we all do. We just don’t want to admit it.

The Son of Man came to find the lost and save them. Jesus

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.