The Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep.  So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.  Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.  The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

– John 10:11-13

Isn’t it Awesome that Jesus (Yeshua) calls himself The Good Shepherd?!!  That is so TRUE!  He Most definitely IS!  Jesus (Yeshua) described himself So Perfectly for us all to understand clearly who he is!  There is no Better way that he could have described himself!  Yet why did Jesus (Yeshua) go into such detail to describe himself in this way?  He was clearly trying to define himself to his children – his sheep – so that they could Easily identify him!  Why would Jesus (Yeshua) have to do that?  To protect his sheep (his children) from the wolf (the enemy)!  Even the Word of God describes the enemy as a wolf in sheep’s clothing!  So now we know that the wolf comes in like a sheep -a child of God -pretending to be one of the flock!  Yet Jesus (Yeshua) said that the hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep, so when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away!  Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock!  The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep!!  Now who could Jesus (Yeshua) possibly be speaking about?!!  Who IS this hired hand?!!  Who pretends to be the Shepherd of the flock of sheep, but is not The Good Shepherd?!!  Who is “hired” or paid to look after God’s children, but when they see the wolf coming they abandon the sheep because they care nothing about the sheep?!!  If this description of the hired hand does not fit pastors and preachers in church buildings to a tee, then who could Jesus (Yeshua) possibly be referring to?!!  Jesus (Yeshua) saw all of this ahead of our time!!!  How AWESOME is that?!!  He knew there were going to be pastors and preachers in church buildings across the entire world pretending to be The Good Shepherd (pretending to be him) and getting paid for it, yet not owning up to their claims!  Jesus (Yeshua) knew that his flock of sheep needed to know PRECISELY who he is so that they would not fall for this lying deception from the enemy!  No pastor or preacher of ANY church building is Your Good Shepherd, ONLY Jesus (Yeshua)!  It is only the plot of the enemy for people to believe the hired hand is the Good Shepherd so that the wolf can easily come in, attack the flock, and scatter it!  Those who are Truly God’s sheep will hear Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) voice and listen to him!  They will not fall for this mass deception, but will come out from it before the wolf attacks!  Are YOU God’s sheep?  Are YOU listening to Jesus (Yeshua), The Good Shepherd??