The Lord announces the utter destruction of His people. Even those peaceable folds will experience His
judgment. Peter describes our enemy like
a roaring lion looking for whom he may devour but the Lord here says that He is
like a lion to destroy the sheep. You can
hear (literally) that imagery from the beginning of this word to the end, He
will roar from His habitation against His fold.
It is an awful word, there will be so many judged and slaughtered that
they will litter the ground and will not be lamented, gathered or buried. Do we really have much sense of the terrible
day of judgment against wickedness that is ahead? If we do, we should have two reactions to
that knowledge, thankfulness and worship for the work Jesus did in saving us
from this judgment and a need to tell others, particularly those about whom we
care. It doesn't matter whether you are
Calvinist or Arminian with respect to the issue, you should have the same
passion to share the Good News.
If Jesus is the door of the sheep and "he who does not
enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a
thief and a robber" isn't that just another way of saying no one comes to
the Father except by Him? He is clear
that there is only one way to eternal life, from the beginning of the Gospel to
the end. He tells Nicodemus that he must
be born again to either see or enter the kingdom of heaven, and that birth will
in Jesus' being lifted up and "whoever believes in him may have eternal
life." Likewise, there is only one
good shepherd, the one we first hear about in Psalm 23, "The Lord is my
shepherd." He also says through the
prophets that He will come and shepherd His own sheep because the shepherds are
worthless. Jesus is giving us every
opportunity to come to Him and receive life.
Until we realize that isn't a birthright and that it isn't the lot of
all humanity, we will never truly appreciate that gift of mercy.
How can they hear without someone preaching? Indeed, but is that referring to the preacher
in church on Sunday? For some, yes,
Sunday is a place to hear of Jesus, but only if we invite them. For others, they will not come and therefore
they must hear from someone else, not in a sermon but in a life lived according
to the Word of God and then the testimony of the hope that lives within that
person. It isn't enough to live right,
we must also bear witness to the one who enables that by His Spirit. Our lives don't necessarily tell others about
Jesus, we need to make sure that we are always prepared to speak of Him. As the leader of AMiA says, "Time is
short, hell is hot, the stakes are high."
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