Immanuel (Hebrew: ֵ‫ עעמִמנָּואּאל‬meaning, "God with us";[1] also romanized Emmanuel, Imanu'el) is a Hebrew

name which appears in chapters 7 and 8 of the Book of Isaiah as part of a prophecy of God's protection
from rival kings during the life of Jeshurun.[2] He is wound into the book, among descriptions of
historical events and the future. In Judaism the name ֵ‫"( עמנָּואל‬Immanuel") is not applied to the messiah,
[1] as is done in Christianity.

The Isaiah passage and the name "Emmanuel" are cited in the Gospel of Matthew and applied to the
virgin conception and birth of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, known as Christ.

Lamb of God (Greek: Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Amnos tou Theou; Latin: Agnus Dei) is a title for Jesus that
appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims,
"Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."[1]

Christian doctrine holds that divine Jesus chose to suffer crucifixion at Calvary as a sign of his full
obedience to the will of his divine Father, as an "agent and servant of God".[2][3] In Christian theology
the Lamb of God is viewed as foundational and integral to the message of Christianity.[4][5]

A lion-like lamb that rises to deliver victory after being slain appears several times in the Book of
Revelation.[6] It is also referred to in Pauline writings, 1 Corinthians 5:7 suggests that Saint Paul intends
to refer to the death of Jesus, who is the Paschal Lamb, using the theme found in Johannine writings.[7]
The lamb metaphor is also in line with Psalm 23, which depicts God as a shepherd leading his flock
(mankind).

The Lamb of God title is widely used in Christian prayers, and the Agnus Dei is used as a standard part of
the Catholic Mass, as well as the classical Western Liturgies of the Anglican and Lutheran Churches. It
also is used in liturgy and as a form of contemplative prayer.[8][9] The Agnus Dei also forms a part of the
musical setting for the Mass.

As a visual motif the lamb has been most often represented since the Middle Ages as a standing haloed
lamb with a foreleg cocked "holding" a pennant with a red cross on a white ground, though many other
ways of representing it have been used.

Gospel of John
Historically, many rulers have assumed titles such as son of God, son of a god or son of heaven.[1]

The term "son of God" is sometimes used in the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible to refer
to those with special relationships with God. In the Old Testament, angels, just and pious men, the
descendants of Seth, and the kings of Israel are all called "sons of God."[2] In the New Testament, Adam,
[3] and, most notably, Jesus Christ[2] are called "son of God," while followers of Jesus are called, "sons of
God."[4]

In the New Testament, "Son of God" is applied to Jesus on many occasions.[2] Jesus is declared to be the
Son of God on two separate occasions by a voice speaking from Heaven. Jesus is also explicitly and
implicitly described as the Son of God by himself and by various individuals who appear in the New
Testament.[2][5][6][7] As applied to Jesus, the term is a reference to his role as the Messiah, the King
chosen by God.[8] The contexts and ways in which Jesus' title, Son of God, means something more than
or other than Messiah remain the subject of ongoing scholarly study and discussion.

The term "Son of God" should not be confused with the term "God the Son" (Greek: Θεός ὁ υἱός), the
second Person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus as God the
Son, identical in essence but distinct in person with regard to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit (the
first and third Persons of the Trinity). Nontrinitarian Christians accept the application to Jesus of the term
"Son of God", which is found in the New Testament, but not the term "God the Son", which is not found
there.

In considering the names and the titles of Jesus, we want to see today that Jesus is not only the Prophet,
the Teacher, the King, the Son of God, the Lord, the Christ, but he is also the Priest, the Great High Priest,
the one and only High Priest. We are going to see also that Jesus is the High Priest, not like any of the
other priests, in an absolutely unique way, being the Son of God.

The same way that he is a teacher, not like other teachers; a prophet not like other prophets. Although
the teachers and the prophets and the kings and the priests, particularly of the Old Covenant, and
indeed over all the world, we might dare say, and all the religions, and somehow prefigure and typify
him, they lead to him, and he is the one who perfects and fulfills and accomplishes everything himself.

So he is the Priest, the Great High Priest, and he is the High Priest who offers the very perfect sacrifice,
the perfect offering, and that offering is himself; it’s his own body, his own blood, his own flesh and
blood, which he offers and gives as it says in St. John’s Gospel “for the life of the world.”
In the four Gospels, Jesus is never explicitly called “priest” or “high priest.” Nevertheless, in the New
Testament, it is very clear, throughout the entire New Testament, all of the writings, that Jesus’ sacrifice
of himself, his self-offering on the Cross, is a sacrificial offering. It’s a high-priestly offering. It’s the
offering and the sacrifice of all sacrifices, of all offerings, and it’s the ultimate one that effects the
ultimate reconciliation with God, which ransoms all creation, and certainly all human beings, from
disease and sickness and sin and from the power of the devil and from the power of death itself. It is the
great redemption, the great buying back of creation by God himself in the Person of his Son, in order to
reconcile all things with God, and so that God could fill all things with himself, and that there could be
absolute peace and harmony and unity between God and his creatures.

In the New Testament, this teaching is given very explicitly in the Letter to the Hebrews. We could even
say that that’s the reason that the Letter of the Hebrews is written, that that letter is written to show
how Jesus is the High Priest; and what it means that he is the High Priest; and how he fulfills all the
priestly sacrifices of the Old Testament; how he fulfills everything that was done in the desert, in the
Tabernacle, in the Temple in Jerusalem; how he is not only the High Priest, but he’s the perfect offering,
he’s the Lamb of God, he’s the one who was slain for the life of the world.

In this letter to the Hebrews, the word “priest” or “priesthood” is used certainly over twenty times. In
the first ten chapters, it’s used again and again. That’s the very meaning of this book. It’s to show that
Jesus is truly God’s Son, and that as God’s Son, God has made him “the high priest of our confession”
(Hebrews 3:1) as it says, “who offers the sacrifice once and for all” (Hebrews 7:27), the single offering,
the eternal offering, to God that effects an eternal, unending salvation. And this is what we are going to
meditate upon now.

To get into this meditation of Jesus as the High Priest, the one and only High Priest, we have to begin by
looking at the Old Testament again. First of all, we have to see in Genesis, the very first book of the Bible,
we see how there are two events there in Genesis that are very, very relevant, very pertinent, to the
understanding of Jesus as the Great High Priest.

First of all, we see that offerings were sacrificed; offerings were offered to God. And that was generally
ancient religion, that was Canaanite religion, that the gods were somehow assuaged and appeased and
the wrath of God was removed and communion with God was reestablished with sacrifice, that there
were sacrifices that were offered.

We see that, for example, Noah—well, even before Noah, Cain and Abel, the very sons of Adam, are
offering sacrifices to God, offerings to God. And we see that even Cain kills Abel because it is written that
[Cain]‘s sacrifice was not acceptable to God for whatever reasons, but Abel’s offering was acceptable.
And God says to Cain, “If you would offer acceptable sacrifice, you would be acceptable as well.” Some
people think that the very reason behind that was not so much what Cain offered or what Abel offered,
but the spirit of the offering. Because the offering, to be really an offering acceptable, has to be an
offering of love; it has to be an offering of a contrite and humble heart. It has to be an offering where the
person is thanking God and showing gratitude to God for the sacrifices that God makes on behalf of the
people, for what God does for the people.
So we know that in the Scriptures, you had these offerings that were made, you had the offering of Cain
and Abel; you had the offerings of Noah, who was saved in the Ark, that he offered [as] sacrifice to God.
Very specifically what we want to see, though, is the offering that was made that was predicted, so to
speak, in the Genesis story about Abraham and his offering of Isaac. But before that we want to see how
it is written in Genesis that when Abraham returned from his victory over the kings in the King’s Valley—
and this is going to be referred to in the Letter to the Hebrews—and that he came with the 318 men and
he defeated the enemies of Yahweh or God, and he came back.

It says that he was visited by Melchizedek, the king of Salem, or the king of “peace,” who brought out an
offering of bread and wine. And it says that this Melchizedek, the king of Salem, was a priest of God most
high. And it says that Melchizedek blessed Abraham and he said, “Blessed be Abram”—his name was not
Abraham yet; it hadn’t been changed yet by God; he was still Abram and not yet Abraham—“Blessed be
Abram of God most high, maker of heaven and earth, and blessed be God most high, who has delivered
your enemies into your hands.” And then it says Abraham gave a tithe, or a ten percent, of everything
that he had to Melchizedek, and that is also going to be mentioned in the New Testament in the Letter to
the Hebrews.

Because we’re going to see that in the New Testament, Jesus is called a “priest forever according to the
order of Melchizedek,” not the Levitical priesthood, but the new priesthood of Melchizedek. And here it
says explicitly that the offering of Melchizedek was bread and wine, which will be the offering of Jesus,
certainly at the Mystical Supper when he says [when he] takes the bread, “This is my Body, broken,”
takes the cup of wine, “This is my Blood, shed.” And so, for Christians in the New Covenant, their offering
to God, together with Jesus Christ, is of Jesus Christ’s own life, his own flesh, his own blood, which is
offered in the form of the bread and the wine. And in the consecration of that bread and wine, when it’s
offered to God, it becomes for the believers the very Body and Blood of Christ himself.

In Genesis also there is the sacrifice that Abraham, now being named Abraham after his name was
changed by God to be “the father of many nations” [which] is what “Abraham” means, you have this
incredibly terrifying story of Abraham being commanded by God to sacrifice his son, to sacrifice his only
son, the son of the promise, to sacrifice Isaac himself, the one born in old age, the one through whom all
the families of the earth were supposed to be blessed. God tests Abraham with the most fantastic,
remarkable—in fact, some people think it’s outrageous—test that he could ever possibly ask of a human
being. God tested Abraham and said to him—I’m reading now from Genesis:

“Abraham.”

And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

He said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer
him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I shall tell you.”

So God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son. Now, there was human sacrifice in Canaan in those days. It was
awful, and forbidden, actually. Yahweh the Lord forbade any kind of child sacrifice or human sacrifice to
God when he was going against the gods of the Canaanites, the Baalim, the Ashtaroth, and so on.
However, this testing is considered to be probably the quintessential test in the entire Scripture. Does
God’s servant really trust him? Does he really believe in him? Is he ready to do anything that God asks?
This is just fear and trembling to think about it. Kierkegaard, the Christian writer, the Dane, he wrote
about this terrible story, probably in the most terrifying way, how God tests Abraham and the faith of
Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his only son.

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Categories:

Jesus Christ, Anointed One

by R.C. Sproul

Throughout the New Testament, we encounter many titles for Jesus of Nazareth—“Son of God,” “Son of
Man,” “Lord,” and others. However, the title that is given to Jesus most often in the New Testament is
one that is familiar to us, but one that we do not understand well. It is the title “Christ.”

Why do I say that we do not understand this title well? I say it because “Christ” is used so often in
conjunction with “Jesus” that we tend to think of it as His last name. However, “Christ” is not a
secondary name for Jesus; He would have been known as “Jesus Bar-Joseph,” meaning “Jesus, son of
Joseph.” Rather, “Christ” is Jesus’ supreme title. But what does it mean?

The meaning of Christ is drawn from the Old Testament. God promised the ancient Israelites that a
Messiah would come to deliver them from sin. The idea of the Messiah is carried over into the New
Testament with the title Christ. The Greek word Christos, from which we get the English word Christ, is
the translation of the Hebrew term Mashiach, which is the source for the English word Messiah.
Mashiach, in turn, is related to the Hebrew verb masach, which means “to anoint.” Therefore, when the
New Testament speaks of Jesus Christ, it is saying “Jesus the Messiah,” which literally means, “Jesus the
Anointed One.”

In Old Testament times, people were subject to anointing when they were called to the offices of
prophet, priest, and king. For example, when Saul became the first king of Israel, Samuel the prophet
anointed his head with oil in a ceremonial fashion (1 Sam. 10:1). This religious rite was performed to
show that the king of Israel was chosen and endowed by God for the kingship. Likewise, the priests (Ex.
28:41) and prophets (1 Kings 19:16) were anointed at God’s command. In a sense, anyone in the Old
Testament who was set apart and consecrated for a servant task was a messiah, for he was one who
received an anointing.

But the people of Israel looked forward to that promised individual who was to be not merely a messiah
but the Messiah, the One who would be supremely set apart and consecrated by God to be their
Prophet, Priest, and King. So, at the time Jesus was born, there was a strong sense of anticipation among
the Jews, who had been waiting for their Messiah for centuries.

Amazingly, when Jesus began His public ministry, few recognized Him for who He was, despite
overwhelming evidence that He possessed an anointing from God that far surpassed that which had
rested on any other man. We know that there was great confusion about Him even after He had been
ministering for some time. At one point, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of
Man is?” (Matt. 16:13b). He was taking the pulse of His culture, getting feedback regarding the rumors
about Himself. In response to Jesus’ question, the disciples ticked off various views that were being put
forward: “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (v.
14). Jesus was being identified with all kinds of people, but none of these speculations was correct.

Then Jesus asked the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” (v. 15b). Peter answered with what is
known as the great confession, a statement of his belief as to the identity of Jesus: “You are the Christ,
the Son of the Living God” (v. 16). With these words, Peter declared that Jesus was the Christos, the
Mashiach, the Anointed One.

Then Jesus said an interesting thing. He told Peter that he was blessed to have this understanding of
Jesus’ identity. Why did He say this? Jesus explained: “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,
but my Father who is in heaven” (v. 17). Peter had received a divine insight that Jesus was the Messiah; it
was not something that he had discerned by his own ability. Again, this amazes me because one would
think that nearly everyone who encountered Jesus would have recognized Him immediately as the
Messiah. After all, there is no shortage of information in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah—
where He would be born, how He would behave, and what power He would manifest—and everyone
could see what Jesus had done—raising people from the dead, healing all sorts of maladies, and
teaching with great authority. But, of course, they did not. Jesus’ anointing was not immediately
apparent.
Many people today have positive things to say about Jesus as a model of virtue, a great teacher, and so
on, but they stop short of saying He is Messiah. This is the great divide between Christians and
unbelievers. Only one who has been born again can confess that Jesus is the Christ. Can you?

There are several words omitted from both Revelation 1:8 and 1:11 which provide strong testimony to
the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is Himself Jehovah, the Lord God Almighty.

In Revelation 1:8 in the King James Bible we read: “I am Alpha and Omega, THE BEGINNING AND THE
ENDING, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and is to come, the Almighty.”

And in Revelation 1:11 we read of a voice speaking to the apostle John: “Saying, I AM ALPHA AND
OMEGA, THE FIRST AND THE LAST; AND, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven
churches WHICH ARE IN ASIA; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira,
and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”

When John turned to see the voice that spoke unto him, he saw one like unto the Son of man. Then this
same Son of man says to him: “Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead;
and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and death.” Revelation 1:17-18.

This is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; He that was
dead and is now alive for evermore.

If the Lord Jesus Christ is the one speaking here as the King James Bible and the Traditional Greek Texts
read, then He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, and He is
Jehovah God Almighty.
Compare these titles to those Jehovah God gives us of Himself in the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 44:6 we
read: “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts: I AM THE FIRST, AND I
AM THE LAST; AND BESIDE ME THERE IS NO GOD.”

And in Isaiah 48:12 again we read: “Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I AM THE
FIRST, I ALSO AM THE LAST.”

In Revelation 1:8 the words “THE BEGINNING AND THE ENDING” are omitted by the new Vatican
Versions including the RSV, NIV, NASB, ESV, ISV, Jehovah Witness New World Translation and Daniel
Wallace’s NET versions.

"She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,

because he will save his people from their sins.”

Gospel of Matthew 1:21

This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,

"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

Gospel of John 1:28-29

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ entered time and history through the Incarnation. "The Word became
flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God (Mark
1:1, I John 5:20), is a gift of love from the Father for the salvation of the world (John 3:16-17), the one
who died for all of mankind, our "Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20).
In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the King of the Jews, both at the beginning of his life and at
the end. In the Koine Greek of the New Testament, e.g. in John 19:3, this is written Basileus ton Ioudaion
(βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων).[1]

Both uses of the title lead to dramatic results in the New Testament accounts. In the account of the
Nativity of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, the wise men (i.e. Magi) who come from the east call Jesus
the "King of the Judeans", causing King Herod to order the Massacre of the Innocents. Towards the end
of the accounts of all four Canonical Gospels, in the narrative of the Passion of Jesus, the use of the "King
of the Judeans" title leads to charges against Jesus that result in his Crucifixion.[2][3]

The initialism INRI (Latin: Iēsūs/Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum) represents the Latin inscription which
in English reads as "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews" and John 19:20 states that this was written in
three languages — Aramaic, Latin, and Greek — during the crucifixion of Jesus. The Greek version of the
initialism read ΙΝΒΙ, representing Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ Bασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων [4] which is best
translated, "Jesus the Nazorean, King of the Judeans."

In the New Testament, the "King of the Jews” title is used only by the gentiles, namely by the Magi,
Pontius Pilate, and the Roman soldiers. In contrast, the Jewish leaders use the designation "King of
Israel".[2] The phrase has also been translated King of the Judeans (see Ioudaioi).

The phrase king of kings is used in Scripture six times. Once, the title is applied to God the Father (1
Timothy 6:15), and twice to the Lord Jesus (Revelation 17:14; 19:16). The other three (Ezra 7:12; Ezekiel
26:7; Daniel 2:37) refer to either Artaxerxes or Nebuchadnezzar, kings who used the phrase to express
their absolute sovereignty over their respective realms (Persia and Babylon). The phrase lord of lords is
used by itself in Scripture twice and refers to God the Father (Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 136:3).
In Revelation 19:16 Jesus is given the full title “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 17:14
switches it: “Lord of lords and King of kings”). The title indicates someone who has the power to exercise
absolute dominion over all His realm. In the case of the Lord Jesus, the realm is all of creation. In John’s
vision, Jesus is returning to judge the world and establish His earthly kingdom, as He predicted in Mark
13:26.

When Jesus is called “King of kings and Lord of lords,” it means that, in the end, all other rulers will be
conquered or abolished, and He alone will reign supreme as King and Lord of all the earth. There is no
power, no king, and no lord who can oppose Him and win. There are myriad references to this absolute
rule of Jesus and His preeminence over other rulers throughout Scripture. To mention just a few, Isaiah
40:23–24 says that the Lord brings “princes to nothing” and makes earth’s rulers “emptiness.” The mere
breath of the Lord will “carry them off like stubble.” Daniel’s vision of the son of man in Daniel 7:13–14 is
of one whom he calls “the Ancient of Days” whose everlasting dominion is over all people, nations and
languages. In the New Testament, we get a better view of the One these passages refer to. The writer of
Hebrews speaks of the Lord Jesus: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His
nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). The next verse speaks of
Jesus being “much superior” to the angels. Clearly, His rule over creation is absolute.

Paul makes the point that Jesus was humbled in His earthly ministry and that His humiliation will result
in glorification. In Philippians 2:5–11, Paul discusses the extent to which Jesus went to atone for sinners;
Jesus’ perfect obedience is the reason that “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”
(vv. 9–11). The Suffering Servant becomes the King of kings (see Isaiah 53:10–12).

Finally, in the book of Revelation we see the Kingship of Jesus made manifest. In chapter 5, the Lamb
(Jesus) is the only one in all creation found worthy to open the scroll containing the judgments of God
(vv. 2–5). In chapter 11, we hear voices in heaven proclaiming that the kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of Christ and that He will reign forever and ever (v. 15). In chapter 12, we read that the
authority of Christ is what causes Satan to be thrown down to earth (vv. 9–10). In Revelation 17:12–14,
the Lamb conquers all those arrayed against Him, and John stresses that He conquers because He is King
of kings and Lord of lords. Finally, in chapter 19, we read of Jesus’ triumphant coming to strike the
nations and tread the winepress of the wrath of God, having the authority to do so because He is King of
kings and Lord of lords (vv. 11–16).
Fundamentally, the idea of Jesus being King of kings and Lord of lords means that there is no higher
authority. His reign over all things is absolute and inviolable. God raised Him from the dead and placed
Him over all things, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name
that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and
gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all”
(Ephesians 1:21–23).

Chief Shepherd

After telling the elders of the church in what manner to shepherd or pastor the church flock, Peter
promised that when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade
away. (1 Peter 5:4 NIV)

Pastoring or shepherding was a special calling for Peter. Jesus (Yeshua‘) had made that very clear to him
(John 21:15-19). Paul also considered it a high calling and gave instructions to the leaders of the church
in Ephesus (Acts 20:28).

Chief Shepherd - a name of Jesus pictured in the Greek text of 1 Peter 5:4.

Chief Shepherd – a name of Jesus in 1 Pet. 5:4.

Chief Shepherd in Greek:

Archipoimēn

Strong’s Concordance number: 750

Bible reference: 1 Pet. 5:4

Similar names for God are the Shepherd of Israel and simply My Shepherd. Jesus is called the Great
Shepherd of the sheep and the Good Shepherd.
Names of Jesus: The Good Shepherd

Wednesday, December 21st, 2016FeaturedHolidaysJesus

This entry is part 6 of 8 in the series Names of Jesus

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the
shepherd and does not own 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.

“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.” (John 10:11-15)

No one expects sheep to be responsible for themselves. Owners hire shepherds for that purpose. A
shepherd’s job is to accept responsibility for the safety and well being of his flock.

Our Lord is the Good Shepherd who defends his flock from the ravenous wolves lurking in the shadows.
Given any opportunity they’ll strike, but He fends them off with sling and arrow. Have you ever heard of
a sheep attacking an enemy or even defending itself from attack? Neither have I. I don’t think they can,
and their enemies are just too powerful for them. Did you know that sheep are prone to wandering?
That’s why they need shepherds, and believe me, it’s a full time job. But in spite of the shepherd’s best
efforts, the sheep do wander off from time to time, get themselves in trouble and have to be rescued.

We’d think it ludicrous for the sheep to blame the shepherd, but that’s the way we, who are sheep, treat
the Lord our Shepherd. We wander off, get into trouble and have to be rescued. “Why did You let me do
this Lord?” we complain, blaming Him. Unlike sheep who have no freedom of choice and no ability to
learn from their mistakes, we are supposed to get smarter through our experience. We’re supposed to
know how powerful our enemy is and how helpless we are without Him, and depend on our Lord for
protection. That includes listening to Him when he alerts us of impending danger, or warns us not to
wander.
But with the patience of a shepherd, He rounds us up, dusts us off, binds up our wounds, and gently sets
us down among the flock again, knowing that soon we’ll forget the folly of wandering and off we’ll go,
and He’ll have to do it all over again. His mercies are new every morning, His patience never ending, His
love never failing.

“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.” (Isaiah 40:11)

Our Good Shepherd will never leave us, never abandon us. (Hebrews 13:5) Once we are His, (John 10:29-
29) there is nothing we can do to separate ourselves from Him. (Romans 8:38-39)

Our prayer: Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for giving us our Good Shepherd. We desire to stay close
to You. Forgive us for wandering away and thank you for rescuing us when we do. We praise you that
your mercies are new every morning, and your love never fails. Fill us Lord, with your patience and love
today. That out of the abundant overflow we may give this same love and patience to those around us.
Let the world know we are yours by our love.