TEXT: EZEKIEL 34:1-10
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy
against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘this is what the Sovereign
Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of
yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe
yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take
care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the
sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or
searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered
because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became
food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains
and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and
no one searched or looked for them. “‘Therefore,
you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I live,
declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has
been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and
because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves
rather than for my flock, therefore,
you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am
against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will
remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed
themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no
longer be food for them.
In the
first part of this message, we read about Jesus as the good shepherd, we
defined the meaning of the good shepherd both literarily and scripturally. We also
mentioned the characteristics of a good shepherd and a hired hand.
Today,
we will continue by looking at the in-depth meaning of what Jesus said in John
10:11 that “I am the good shepherd... this statement shows that there are bad
shepherds if Jesus can qualify himself as the good shepherd. The adjective “good”
in Jesus’ statement made it known to us that shepherds are of different categories.
Our text
above listed the attributes of the bad shepherds:
·
They only take care of
themselves. They only cares for their immediate family, they live in the best
houses, ride the best cars, wear the best clothes while the members of their
congregations are wallowing in lack.
·
They feed themselves
and not the flock (selfishness)
·
They did not heal the
sick or the injured, no encouragement for the broken hearted (wickedness)
·
Clothe themselves, and
eat choice food without meeting the needs of their flock (greed)
·
They did not seek the
lost or scattered (lack of compassion)
·
They dominate the flock
with force and severity (autocratic leaders)
Jesus as the good
shepherd did not manifest any of the attributes listed above. Instead he lived
a selfless life, he healed the sick, and bound the broken hearted, and minister
to the needs of everybody that came in contact with him. He looked for the scattered Sheep and brought
them back to God. Above all, he laid his life down for his Sheep!
What will be the
judgement of the wicked and bad shepherd? The answer is in verse 10 “this
is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will
hold them accountable for my flock. I WILL REMOVE THEM FROM TENDING THE FLOCK
SO THAT THE SHEPHERDS CAN NO LONGER FEED THEMSELVES. I will rescue my
flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.”
Now as a shepherd you know if you
are a good shepherd, bad shepherd, or hired hands. Make necessary adjustments if
you need to, may we not be held accountable for wrong doings in Jesus name.
Amen.
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