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Proverbs of a 40 yr old man.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Jesus was the Lamb of God slain before the foundations of the world, who wakes away the sin of the world! Amen. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. Amen. Sheep are basically helpless creatures who cannot survive long without a shepherd, upon whose care they are totally dependent. Likewise, like sheep, we are totally dependent upon the Lord to shepherd, protect, and care for us. Sheep are essentially dumb animals that do not learn well and are extremely difficult to train. They do not have good eyesight, nor do they hear well. They are very slow animals who cannot escape predators; they have no camouflage and no weapons for defense such as claws, sharp hooves, or powerful jaws. Jesus knows we are frail human beings born in sin. He became a human so that He could be the perfect overseer of our souls. He died as the perfect Lamb so that He could lead sheep as the Great Shepherd of our souls. We have been given the mind of Christ so that we can learn righteousness and have eternal life. Jesus knows what it is like to be human and is acquainted with our grief. For He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! So, whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help. Jesus is the Gate. Those who come in through Him will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. What an amazing Great Shepherd we have. Becoming a humble sheep so that He could be the Shepherd of men's souls.
Study Psalm 48:14
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