Untitled Sermon (24)

Ezekiel: God Condemns the Shepherds

Leaders of Israel charged with looking after themselves

Leaders who put themselves first are not obedient to God’s call

Ezekiel: God will be the Good Shepherd

God promises to shepherd the people himself

God will do everything that the leaders did not

Ezekiel: God Condemns the Sheep

Problem is not just with leaders, but also with the people themselves

Even the people on the bottom claw to get on top

God’s people expected to take care of one another

Ezekiel: God’s King will lead the Sheep

God will send a King to ensure the people care for one another well

Will God shepherd the people, or will David?

Jesus: The Good Shepherd

Jesus, the king from the line of David is the Good shepherd

He is both God and man. God shepherds his own people in the flesh as Jesus Christ

The Good Shepherd reveals that god’s call on leaders is even higher than we could have thought:

The New Revised Standard Version Jesus the Good Shepherd

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

Jesus Turns the Tables

In John, Jesus condemns the leaders and promises to be the Good Shepherd when they were not.

In Matthew, however, Jesus turns the tables and calls us to imitate the Good Shepherd. We are expected to do all of the things the leaders were called to in Ezekiel.

God’s heart is so close to his people that to neglect them is to neglect him.

The Reign of Christ

Christ promises to be a king unlike any worldly king. He puts the sheep ahead of himself, he even gives his life for his people.

His reign means an end to pain and suffering, and it means that he will feed the sheep with Justice:

Justice = Judgement

But Christ must also reign in our hearts. He calls us to follow after him, to do as he does, and to feed the sheep.