Jesus — The Good Shepherd - Friday
TODAY’S VERSE
John 10:19-21
There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” (ESV)
I often seem to find myself in playful arguments with my friends, typically regarding different movies. Most of the time I find myself stubbornly defending movies that I have an emotional connection to, even though I know the movies are not without their flaws. Perhaps one of the biggest movie debates I had with my friends was about the movie The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Let me tell you: my friends raised some compelling arguments as to why The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a really bad movie. The evidence really did seem like it was stacked against me. But I dug my feet in, looked all my friends in their eyes and said, “Not only is The Amazing Spider-Man 2 a really good movie, it is one of the best Spider-Man movies ever made!”
If you’re curious… I still hold this opinion today.
I tell you this because this week, we’ve talked about how:
Jesus, as the good shepherd, didn’t just promote a full and abundant life for us, He provided a full and abundant life for us through His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave.
Jesus, as the good shepherd, came looking for His people when they were lost, even though no one else would. Jesus has sought us out as well, and He currently seeks every one who is lost, and desperately waiting to be found.
Jesus, as the good shepherd, knows us really well, He knows what we really need, and He too leads us beside still waters and restores our souls when the noise of life becomes too loud.
And, just like Scott said on Sunday, “All of life comes down to what you believe Jesus’ intentions are toward you.”
After Jesus finished teaching those around Him in John 10, we read this fascinating text that shows us how different people reacted to Jesus’ teachings in a few different ways. They could not decide if they thought Jesus “had a demon,” “was insane,” or if He really did have the authority to claim the things He was teaching, for “Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
C.S. Lewis puts the dilemma the crowd was facing this way in his book Mere Christianity, where he suggests that Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. Those are the only options on the table.
APPLICATION
But here’s the deal, we too must make that call for ourselves. We too must choose what we believe Jesus’ intentions are towards us. We’ve spent a lot of time this week looking at some evidence that would suggest that Jesus really is the good shepherd, and that His intentions towards us are good. But will we let that change the way we live our daily lives?
Will we choose to trust His voice and listen to His voice over all the other voices we hear on a daily basis? Will we allow ourselves to be shaped by our good shepherd Jesus, or will we allow ourselves to be shaped by the influences of the world around us?
PRAYER
Jesus, I trust that You are the good shepherd. I am thankful for the many different ways You have shown me that You love and care for me. Help me to tune my ears to Your voice, and to tune out all the other voices that vie for my attention. I choose to trust that You know and want what is good and best for me. Amen.