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Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30,
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take
My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
That
promise is probably best illustrated in His sacrifice of Himself on the cross
where He modeled what a great leader and savior He is. “Father, forgive them,
for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34). His sacrifice set the
example of how we are to live (1 Peter 2:21); but it also set an example of the
kind of people you should look up to for spiritual guidance on earth — 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ”
Jesus told a story of a good
shepherd in John 10, where He describes the character of a shepherd who cares
about the sheep. He says, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”
(10:11). He leads the sheep to good pasture, he protects them, and the sheep
knew his voice.
Ezekiel 34 contrasts the bad shepherds of Israel to the good
shepherd that would be discovered in Jesus. In that contrast, we realize a
shepherd was always intended to feed the sheep, to care for the injured, to
strengthen the weak. Later, after Jesus’ resurrection, He gave the apostles a
job that would be carried on (in some ways) from generation to generation. He
said to Peter in John 21:15-17, “Feed My sheep.” What a significant
responsibility!
The story of the shepherd (John 10) was an obvious reflection of
Jesus’ sacrifice. It is a high standard that we all should be grateful for and one
that causes us to see the beautiful power of genuine love for the sheep in God’s
fold.
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