LIKE SHEEP

 

Saturday, September 25, 2021

 

LIKE SHEEP

Isa 53:6

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 

Matt 9:36

36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

 

           The phrase “like sheep” is found five times in the Old Testament. Matthew records the musings of Jesus after the woman at the well returns with her people. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd, and that sight broke Christ’s heart.

 

           We are so far removed from a culture that is agriculturally based that we now have a Bible that is often misunderstood. Not because the Bible has become irrelevant, but because as readers we are not diligent.

 

           Sheep need herders to thrive. They wander from blade of grass to blade of grass until they are lost. They do not set out to become lost. They simply set out to satisfy desires. Vagabond humans are no less susceptible to becoming lost for the same reasons.

 

           Jesus saw the Samaritans having two problems of the lost. First, he said they “fainted.” The Greek ekluo simply means to relax, but you and I understand fainting to mean something else as well. To faint means to sit down in weariness. Next, Jesus sees them as “scattered abroad.” The Greek rhipto means to suddenly be dispersed. The idea is that some predator or some tormentor has caused the herd to lose its cohesiveness. They no longer are a group. They are single units. They are prey. This touched the Good Shepherd’s heart and squeezed from it compassion.

 

Jer 50:6

6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.

 

Lord, as a shepherd, I well understand the grief that comes from seeing a scattered and fainting flock. As a sheep, I also understand the unrest that exists until you gather us into your fold. Thank you for seeking and finding me. AMEN