ANGLICAN COMMUNION DAILY FOUNTAIN DEVOTIONAL 15 MARCH 2024, FRIDAY MESSAGE
Daily Fountain Devotional 15 March 2024 TOPIC: Jesus The Good Shepherd
TEXT: John 10: 1-21(NKJV)
10:1. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
10:2. “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
10:3. “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
10:4. “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
10:5. “Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
10:6. Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.
10:7. Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
10:8. “All who [ever] came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
10:9. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10:10. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly.
10:11. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
10:12. “But a hireling, [he who is] not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
10:13. “The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
10:14. “I am the good shepherd; and I know My [sheep,] and am known by My own.
10:15. “As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
10:16. “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock [and] one shepherd.
10:17. “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
10:18. “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
10:19. Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.
10:20. And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?”
10:21. Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Daily Fountain Devotional 15 March 2024 STUDY:
In our text, Jesus describes the sheep-shepherd relationship and affirms Himself to be a good Shepherd, unlike the Jews of His days and early shepherds of Israel who scattered the sheep because they were hirelings (Jer.23). The sheepfold is usually a pen, a cave, or an area backed by stone walls, with no doors, so the shepherd sat in the opening to guard his sheep against harm. He would gather the sheep into a sheepfold at night for their protection and when thieves and wolves came to destroy and kill the sheep, the good shepherd was right there to save them.
Jesus is different from the hired keeper who runs away for his life in the face of danger; He, as the good shepherd, lay down his life for the sheep. He knows his sheep, cares for them, and tends his flock day and night. Jesus Christ remains the matchless great and good Shepherd who can be trusted and depended upon. He has never disappointed His sheep and will never do!
As sheep, believers are expected to listen to and follow their Chief shepherd who shed his blood for their sins. They are expected to make sure his will is propagated in this world. The leaders in the church are also a shepherd and they should also emulate Christ’s sacrificial and ineffable love for His sheep. The good shepherd should have a genuine concern for the believers under him.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, help me to always trust in you as my good shepherd, Amen.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: I will never abandon you. Hebrews 13:5
