SCRIPTURE
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (John 10:11-13).
MESSAGE
Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (believers), willingly, and voluntarily because He loves the sheep. In John 10:14-15 the Lord Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep.” “To know” means you have personal knowledge. Jesus knows us as those for whom He laid down His life; you His sheep know Him as our Lord and Savior.
The hired hand has no personal interest in the flock besides his wages, so he runs from the flock when he sees Wolves. “The wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.” The word translated “attacks” here is the word “seizes” or “snatches.” The wolf (the devil) is a real threat and danger to the sheep (God’s Children). The wolf scatters and divides the flock, but Jesus gathers into one flock of His sheep.
Jesus says: “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again.” (John 17:24). The reason God the Father loves Jesus is that He willingly laid down his life for his sheep. In John 17: 18, Jesus said, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” Jesus was in complete control of both his death and his resurrection. He died to rise victorious over sin and death. Jesus conquered death for you His sheep to take you out of the grip of the devil and reconcile you with God.
PRAYER/CONFESSION
Dear Father, thank you for your love for me, you allow your beloved son, the Lord Jesus, to die for me bringing me in fellowship with you. I receive grace, yielding to the ministry of the Holy Spirit as He teaches me and leads me in the path of righteousness in the name of the Lord Jesus.
WISDOM NUGGETS
John 15:13“Greater love has no man than this that he lay down his life for his friends.”