For thus says the Lord (Adonai) LORD (Yahavah), “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares for his flock in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep.” Ezekiel 34:11-12.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
In our last Life Lesson we were beginning to consider a conversation Jesus had with a group which consisted primarily of Pharisees. In this conversation He revealed Himself as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Ezekiel that I Myself would send them a good Shepherd that would search for and seek out the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 15:21-24.
He had come to seek out and save the lost. Luke 19:10. And it was reaching beyond the house of Israel and He so told the Pharisees.
Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. John 12:31-33.
And today, let us look at the words of the conversation for they will enlighten you in this wonderful Name that I shared with Jesus and fulfilled in Him. I AM the Lord (Adonai) LORD (Yahavah) your Shepherd. Ezekiel 34:11.
When this conversation took place, Jesus had found the man whom He healed that had been born blind. Jesus had sought him out when He heard that he was put out of the synagogue for witnessing to Jesus, and Jesus said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” This was the term that I used with the prophet Ezekiel and also with My servant Daniel. The man, who now saw perfectly, answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus had given this man physical sight and now He gave him spiritual sight. Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” And the understood. He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. We will discuss this healing and the conversation in another Life Lesson in more detail, but let it suffice to say that there were a group of Pharisees with Jesus there who knew of the miracle and were eager to hear more. But Jesus did not want to talk at further length on that as they had already heard all the details a few times from the man born blind that could now see.
Instead He said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” They had picked up what Jesus was saying right away. Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” And then He went right into opening their eyes to who He was, the promised good Shepherd who would seek out and save the sheep.
“I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord (Adonai) LORD (Yahavah),“I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick. Ezekiel 34:14-16.
Jesus approached the crowds like sheep without a shepherd and He fed them with My Word and healed them of all sickness and disease. And now He spoke to the Pharisees about a door, one door, by which the true shepherd could enter the sheepfold to lead forth the sheep and it also was the only door by which the sheep could go forth to follow the shepherd to salvation. If you recall, in the Tabernacle, the plans of which I gave Moses on Mt. Sinai that mirrored the heavenly realities, there was only one door by which you could enter, facing the east, and you could only enter bringing an unblemished sacrificial offering for your sins, such as a spotless lamb, to offer upon the bronze altar in atonement for your sins, and then you could go out by the same door forgiven and blessed.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. John 10:1-6.
The people of Jesus’ day understood shepherding sheep. You may not know much about sheep, so let Me tell you something about this marvelous animal I have created for you to enjoy, to which I give the honor of calling My Son the Lamb of God. Even now I call Him the Lamb in the center of the throne who is your shepherd who guides you to springs of the water of life; where I wipe every tear from your eyes. Revelation 7:17.
Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 1 Timothy 6:17.
Sheep are commonly kept in sheep pens, also known as sheepfolds, especially during the night for protection from predators. These pens can house multiple flocks from different shepherds, and in the morning, each shepherd calls their sheep out. The sheep recognize their shepherd’s voice and will follow him, while ignoring the calls from other shepherds, as they do not associate those voices with safety or familiarity. I have given sheep a remarkable ability to identify and respond to their shepherd. This recognition is not just based on sound but also on the relationship built through care and trust. The sheep will follow their own shepherd because they know his voice, while they will flee from strangers. This behavior is essential for their safety and well-being, as they rely on their shepherd for guidance and protection. Many shepherds give individual names to their sheep and call them by name. Sheep learn to respond to their own name when called by their shepherd. Both lambs and sheep naturally follow due to their flocking behavior, social instincts, and learned experiences, making them highly responsive their shepherds, as well as to other sheep of their flock.
So Jesus is talking about a sheepfold and the shepherd of certain of the sheep who know the shepherd’s voice through their relationship with him that are his own little flock. Anyone else trying to take away the sheep is a thief and a robber that does not have the sheep’s best interest in mind. The sheep flee such a one.
The Pharisees who were listening to Jesus had no idea why He had started talking about sheepfolds, shepherds, robbers, and sheep. But He was about to explain to them. But He had their attention. They were no longer nursing the offense of being called blind leaders of the blind.
But before I go on, I want to talk to you about your own ability to recognize My voice and respond to your good Shepherd. You are far more intelligent than sheep but many of you listen to and follow the stranger’s voice over Mine. Why? You do not know the difference between My voice and the voice of the adversary, who comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. And why is that? Because you do not spend time in My Word.
That is why I counseled Joshua, if he wanted to succeed in conquering the Promised Land, to read, listen to, speak, meditate upon, and do My Word day and night. He had to learn how to hear and respond to Me so he could get all the battle strategies to win and hear of the places to avoid where there was a trap of the enemy. If you will note, he very clearly heard what to do to conquer Jericho and he followed it exactly. He recognized My voice.
But you are far ahead of Joshua, for he had the Holy Spirit on him from when Moses placed hands on him but he did not have the Holy Spirit in him. Jesus had not died and risen yet so Joshua was not born again from above and indwelt by the Holy Spirit the way you can be if you receive Jesus as Lord. Furthermore, he only had the first five books of the Bible but you have both the Old and New Testaments.
The process is still the same as what I told Joshua, however, I do not change, you can trust in Me as the everlasting rock, and repeated to Solomon, and many others. The only way you will know My voice is by reading, speaking, and doing My Word until it speaks to you.
Bind them continually on your heart; tie them around your neck. When you walk about, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk to you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light. Proverbs 6:21-23.
Then, when you receive any kind of thought or direction in your mind, first and foremost, test it to see if it lines up with My Word. If it does not, you can stop there and reject it. If you are not sure whether it lines up with My Word or not, it could and yet it could not, such as to go to a certain place or take a certain job, then consider what kind of reaction it produces in your spirit (the inner man of the heart). See whether it: (i) inspires peace, purpose, comfort, encouragement, edification, and exhortation or (ii) brings fear, confusion, discomfort, discouragement, idle thoughts, harshness, and condemnation. If it is not contrary to My Word and it lines up with (i) it is most likely from Me, if it is not exactly contrary to My Word but lines up with (ii) it is most likely from the enemy (thief).
If you don’t read My Word with attention, except occasionally at most, and you do not pray, you will be easy prey to the stranger’s voice.
Jesus then continued the teaching with the Pharisees to help them get His point.
So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:7-10.
The prophet Isaiah had foretold the Messiah as the Teacher coming to them in the flesh as one they could see and hear and He would be the way that they should walk in it:
He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. And you will defile your graven images overlaid with silver, and your molten images plated with gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing, and say to them, “Be gone!” Isaiah 30:20-22.
Jesus is the door to all the Covenant benefits of Psalm 103: By His death and resurrection I forgive all your sins and offenses and remember them no more, by His scourging and bloody wounds, I heal all your ills and diseases, by the ransom He paid for you by His blood, I redeem your life from the pit, in Him I surround you with love and compassion in the Body of Christ, in Him, I have prepared a life of good deeds for you in advance and I fill your days with those good things, and in Him, clothed in the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness, I renew your youth and make you bear fruit even in old age, full of sap and very green!
Jesus is the Door that opens every other door of the benefits, blessings, and favor in My Kingdom. He is the only way to Me. He is the living way. He is the resurrection and the life. He is the open door that no one can shut to you if you desire to enter by faith in Him.
Jesus is My Word and came to feed you My Word for it is life to those who find it and health to all their flesh. Take hold of My Word and get healed and fed. Satan goes after the Word to steal it from your heart, for he knows that if you become totally given over to My Word, he cannot touch you. You become untouchable.
Jesus for the first time clearly defined the way the devil operates. He is a thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He tries to steal My Word out of your heart and your mouth knowing that then he can steal and kill your vision, your dreams, your healing, your health, your prosperity, your provision, and your family. And once he has killed all hope in your life, he works on destruction of all you are and have by your own hands. As he did with Judas. He steals, kills, and then turns you into a weapon of self-destruction. But when you destroy yourself, you destroy others with you. You can plant your bitter roots in others.
But then in contrast Jesus defined how He operates. He came to bring you LIFE, ABUNDANT LIFE. Good days filled with good things forever. All the benefits of Psalm 103:1-5. Eternal life of the highest quality and quantity. The SHALOM Blessing. The whole pie of life with no piece missing.
Jeus then went on to make His point and give the Pharisees the divine revelation of who He is and He showed them Himself as the Lord LORD your Shepherd come to save you.
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.” John 10:11-13.
He had now made His point. He did the miracles He did, even on the Shabbat, as the great Shepherd of the sheep, seeking out the lost, healing the sick, the lame, the scattered, and bringing them together as His little flock to whom I was pleased to give the Kingdom. And now, just in case they had missed it, He repeated it even more clearly.
I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” John 10:14-18.
This is so packed with revelation and prophecy that we will take this up in our next Life Lesson for enough has been said for you to digest for today.
I love you and that is why I give you the great good Shepherd. Learn His voice and follow Him all the days of your life, now and forever. He will never leave you or forsake you and He will never lead you astray. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And He is yours.