Psalm 102; Jer. 23:1-8; Rom. 8:28-39; John 6:52-59
The Lord rails against the shepherds of His people. What does it mean to be a shepherd of God’s people and what is the difference between a good shepherd and a bad shepherd? The accusation is that they have scattered and driven away the flock and not attended to them. A wonderful little book that describes a good shepherd is A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm by Philip Keller. One of the things I learned from that book is that sometimes there is a need to deal with wayward sheep, the work of a shepherd is not always what looks loving in the eyes of the world but the constant desire is to see the flock prosper. The Lord deals with us sometimes tenderly and sometimes in discipline in order to keep us in the fold and with the flock. He promises that there will come a new king over Israel under whose rule and reign they will dwell safely and securely in the land and his name will be the Lord is our righteousness. We know that Jesus is the fulfillment of that prophecy and we acknowledge that truth that He is indeed our righteousness. We should be longing for Him to rule and reign over us and to seek His kingdom and His righteousness with all our hearts.
To the Jews this statement of eating flesh and drinking blood sounds like Jesus is speaking of cannibalism. Like Nicodemus in the conversation about being born again in John 3, they are stuck in the world of flesh and blood and Jesus is speaking of heavenly, spiritual things. The first Christians spoke this way about Communion and when they did the world misunderstood them and they were indeed accused of child sacrifice and cannibalism. In order to understand Jesus we must be born again by the Spirit and we must begin to think on a higher plane. The metaphor applies at Communion when we receive bread and wine as symbols of Jesus’ body and blood per His interpretation of Passover, but it is also true as we feast on Him in our hearts with thanksgiving every day. It is an incredibly earthy way of saying this, but remember that they were not to eat meat with the blood in it for the blood was the life of the animal. Here Jesus encourages us to drink His blood for the new life giving properties it affords us, we drink in His Spirit to our mortal bodies, the Spirit of eternal life.
How do we feel to hear Paul say that we were predestined? Does that make us proud or does it make us humble? The doctrine is clear here and in John 6 when Jesus says that only those the Father calls will come to Him and that none of those will be lost. If we won’t be lost then it is easier to believe and to rest in the words that all things work together for our good, even those things that seem bad to us. When Paul says if God is for us then who can be against us he encourages us that we will persevere to the end and encourages us to regard not our enemies but our ally who is greater than all the enemies that could be ranged against us. The perseverance of the church and the Gospel for two millennia is proof that nothing can stop God’s will. The love of Christ perseveres for the saints.
I am the resurrection
I am the life
He who believes in Me
Even if he die
He shall live for ever
And I will raise him up
And I will raise him up
And I will raise him up on the last day
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