Jesus’ instruction to the disciples was ‘follow Me’ and their individual response was forsaking everything else and obeying Him.(Matthew 4:18-22)
This invitation cum command by Jesus in the bible and the quick responses of the people He chose are the biblical standard for disciple-making according to God’s Holy pattern where The Master calls His people to follow ONLY Him because He is THE WAY (THE ONLY WAY), THE TRUTH and THE LIFE and no man comes to The Father except by Him. To deviate from this, spells eternal doom.
The experience in churches today is quite contrary to The Master’s command.
Instead of teaching the people Christ died for, to follow Him, many so called pastors have cornered God’s people for their own wicked, dishonest and selfish gain, shifting their focus from God onto themselves (mere men who cannot save).
In John 10:7-18, Jesus proclaimed that He is the DOOR of the sheep, He is The GOOD shepherd and also spoke about the sheep and the hireling.
We will spend some time quickly to answer the following questions.
1. Who is the Good Shepherd?
What are His duties?
2. Who are the sheep?
What is expected of them?
3. Who is the hireling?
How do you recognize him?
WHO IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND WHAT ARE HIS DUTIES?
Jesus is The Good shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. He was crucified without committing any sin to pay the ultimate price for our sins through His blood. We are healed by His stripes and He has broken the power of every satanic bondage over our lives.
When he affirmed that He is The Good shepherd, He was telling us that there is a bad shepherd who will sacrifice the sheep instead of losing his life.
Jesus is also The Great shepherd and The Chief Shepherd. (Hebrews13:20; 1Peter5:4)
As The Great Shepherd, He perfects us in every good work to do His will by working in us what is pleasing in HIS sight.
As The Chief Shepherd, He will give us the crown of glory which does not fade away.
