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‘Our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep.’
Heb_13:20
I. The beauty and truth of this image does not owe its origin to Christianity.—The oldest of Greek poets speaks of the kings of his age as ‘shepherds of men.’ But when we turn to the Old Testament, we find this image applied to many who played important parts in the development of the national history of the Jews. Moses was a shepherd; so was David. When the prophet Micaiah prophesied destruction to the army of Ahab, he said, ‘I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd.’ And during the captivity, when Ezekiel saw the spiritual shepherds of Israel eating the fat and clothing themselves with the wool, he cried, ‘Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? and they were scattered because there is no shepherd.’ And he consoled the exiles with the promise, that when they returned to their own land, restored and purified, God would set up ‘one shepherd over them,’ and he should feed them, even His servant David. And, therefore, to apply this metaphor, which was so constantly upon their lips and read in their hearing, to Him Who watched over Israel and neither slumbered nor slept, was both easy and natural. David spoke from the abundance of his own experience both as a keeper of sheep and a ruler of men when he declared, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd.’
II. Our Blessed Lord spoke of Himself as the Shepherd of the sheep, of calling them by name and leading them out, of laying down His life for them, and then of their hearing His voice and following Him, and of His giving unto them eternal life, in consequence, so that they should never perish. The words must be understood and felt with all the weight of old association and familiar quotation. We read that ‘there was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings.’ And this division was not caused through any misunderstanding of His words. Those who were not in sympathy with Him saw in them nothing but blasphemy, and said, ‘He hath a devil and is mad’—whilst others said, ‘These are not the words of him that hath a devil.’ Each party understood His words to be a claim to be the Son of God. The teaching and the claims of Christ, from their very nature, drew to Him great friends and bitter enemies. Those who were drawn to Him by the magic power of His personality, and by the indisputable testimony of His works, saw in Him a probable fulfilment of the prophecy spoken in the last prayer of Moses: ‘Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.’ But those who were pitted against Him ignored the logic of the others: ‘Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?’ and at the word of Christ Himself, ‘The works that I do in My Father’s Name, they bear witness of Me,’ they took up stones again to stone Him, saying that for blasphemy they did it, because He, being a man, made Himself God. The phrase ‘I am the Good Shepherd’ was a shaft that went home to friend and enemy alike, to convince the one and to incense the other. Like the Cross, it drew men unto Him or it condemned them. His words either remitted or retained their sin. The Jews were so jealous of His influence, and so impatient at His words, that they judged Him before the time. Every act and every word of His was distorted into a ‘railing accusation’ against Him. Even at the last when He gave them ocular proof of the genuineness of His pastoral office: ‘The Good sShepherd giveth His life for the sheep,’ they passed by wagging their heads, and saying, ‘Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, and come down from the Cross.’
III. Let us meditate on Christ in the light of this teaching.—Let us try to realise Him as the ‘Good Shepherd’ Who was faithful to His charge, even unto death, Who laid down His life rather than one of His little ones, the lambs of His flock, should perish. Let us claim Him also as the ‘Shepherd and Bishop’ of our souls. As soon as we turn and repent us of our sins, we place ourselves under His pastoral charge. He is seeking us, no matter how far we have wandered from the fold, and He will bring us back again on His shoulders rejoicing, if we will. Remember, this pastoral ministry is still exercised by our Risen and Ascended Saviour. In His glorified body, He sits at the right hand of His Father, interceding for us. Yet His ministry is not confined to heaven only. He is always present in the midst of the two or three that are gathered together in His name for prayer and worship. He is present in the Holy Communion, not only to nourish our souls with the spiritual food of His most blessed Body and Blood, but also to co-operate with us in presenting before the Throne of His Father, that one Oblation of Himself, made once for all, for the sins of the whole world.
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Rev. C. Rhodes Hall.