Safe With The Good Shepherd?

[Olde Tymer]

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Jesus has been tasked with tending a number of his superior's sheep.

● John 10:29 . . My sheep . . my Father gave them to me

Jesus' Father expects His son to be conscientious about the sheep's safety.

● John 6:39 . .This is the will of the One who sent me: that I should not lose
anything of what He gave me.

Jesus never fails to give the One what He wants.

● John 4:34 . . My food is to do the will of the One who sent me.

● John 8:29 . . I always do what is pleasing to Him.

Now the thing is: were Jesus to lose even one of the sheep that his Father
entrusted to his care-- just one --then Jesus would not be able to say that he
"always" pleases the One who sent him. He could say that he pleases the One most
of the time, but certainly not always without fail.

People are actually casting a nay vote in regard to Jesus' competence when they
insist it's possible for him to lose some of the sheep that his Father gave him. I
would be inclined to agree with the skeptics were Christ an ordinary guy; but his
miracles demonstrate that the good shepherd has all the powers and abilities of the
supreme being at his disposal to insure he succeeds at keeping the sheep right
where his Father wants them kept.

● John 10:9 . . I am the door; whoever enters through me shall be saved.

Were Christ an ordinary guy; then he wouldn't dare say "shall be saved" no, he'd have
to tone it down a bit and say safer instead of saved. That would leave him some room
for error. But when Christ says "shall be saved" he's claiming a 0.0% failure rate. That's
how confident Christ is that he will lose nothing of those that the One gave him.

FAQ: Why can't the sheep change their minds about following Christ and leave him
to follow someone else?

REPLY: Animal husbandry isn't democratic, on the contrary: it's quite despotic.

The thing is: a rancher's free will trumps the herd's free will; and the rancher's
brand burned into the animals' skins indelibly identify them with their owner. So
be advised: once someone makes the decision to unify with Christ, they relinquish
whatever sovereignty they had as a beast at large, viz: they become Christ's
property, and there's no going back because he and his Father play for keeps.

● John 10:28-29 . . No one can take them out of my hand-- my Father, who has
given them to me, is greater than all; and no one can take them out of the Father’s
hand. I and my Father stand together.

● 1Cor 6:19-20 . .You are not your own; you were bought at a price.

● Eph 1:13 . . In him you also-- who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation, and have believed in him --were sealed with the promised Holy
Spirit.
_

 

[Olde Tymer]

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● Luke 2:8-12 . . Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and
keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of The Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of The Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.

. . .The angel said to them: Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good
news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a
savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.

The Greek word translated "savior" basically pertains to rescue personnel.

Rescuing is what the Coast Guard does when boats capsize. Rescuing is what
Firemen do when people are trapped inside burning buildings. Rescuing is what
mountaineer teams do when climbers are in trouble. Rescuing is what EMT
paramedics do when someone needs to get to a hospital in a hurry; and kept alive
till they arrive. Rescuing is what surgeons do when someone needs an organ
transplant. I could go on and on giving example of rescuer after rescuer; but I think
we get the idea.

Jesus is like that, viz: he rescues people from the wrath of God-- people who not
only fully deserve it, but definitely in line to get it; and with no humanly possible
way to avoid it.

Now; of what real benefit would the savior of Luke 2:8-12 really be to mankind if
he couldn't provide guaranteed fail-safe protection from the wrath of God? He'd be
of no real benefit to anybody. No; he'd be an incompetent ninny that nobody could rely on.

But, if a savior were to be announced who guaranteed a free of charge, no strings
attached, fail safe, bullet proof, sin proof, human nature proof, Ten Commandments
proof, bad behavior proof, apostasy proof, reprobate proof, back sliding proof,
Sermon on the Mount proof, God proof, Devil proof, irrevocable rescue from the
wrath of God, and full time protection from retribution; wouldn't that qualify as
good news of great joy?

Well; I think just about everybody concerned about ending up in the lake of
brimstone depicted by Rev 20:10-15 would agree with me that news such as the
angel's would not only most certainly be good; but also cause for celebration, and
ecstatic happiness.

NOTE: I was fascinated with arson in my youth and managed so set a couple of
potentially dangerous fires; plus injured my right hand on one of the burners of my
mom's electric stove. Later, I was forty years an industrial welder in shops and
shipyards. I've seen for myself the effects of fire and molten materials on bare flesh
and thus want no part of the future in store for folks who neglect to avail
themselves of the protections offered to them via the savior announced by that
angel.
_

 

[Olde Tymer]

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● John 10:29 . . My sheep . . my Father gave them to me

Now, those sheep weren't exactly a freebee, viz: the sheep didn't come cheap.
Jesus bought and paid for them himself at enormous personal expense.

● 1Pet 1:18-19 . . For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver
or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you
from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish
or defect.

There are people out and about who sincerely believe that Jesus' sheep-- having
been bought and paid for at the price of his own blood --are in a position to
negotiate the terms of their association with him. They actually believe their rightful
owner would stand aside while they disown him sans fair and equitable
compensation, and walk out the door to start a new life elsewhere, possibly with
some other rancher, maybe even one of his competitors.

There's some apropos lines in a movie called The Hunt For Red October that go like
this:

Dr. Ryan: We definitely grab the boat, sir.

National Security Advisor: Hey, wait a minute. We're not talking about some stray
pilot with a MIG. We're talking about several billion dollars' worth of Soviet state
property. They're gonna to want it back.
_