John 3:16-17 for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that through him the world could be saved.
No one loves you more than God…NO ONE! Carla
John 10:11-18
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 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. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 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.
17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 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.” NKJV)
Jesus fulfills the messianic role of the shepherd. This role in Ezekiel is depicted as fulfilled by God; Jesus makes the claim that He (as God in flesh) is the one fulfilling it. Evoking imagery of the young shepherd, David, risking his life to keep his sheep safe (1 Samuel 17:34–37). In addition to fulfilling God’s role with His people as shepherd, Jesus fulfills David’s role as their king. The Father knows me this gives Jesus the authority to make the claims He does. I have other sheep alludes to the Gentiles and the ultimate universal scope of salvation via Christ’s atoning death. The flock includes all believers, both Jews and Gentiles. Faithlife Study Bible
Jesus is the good shepherd who gives His life for the sheep (John 3:16), as opposed to the wicked thief who takes their lives. While life in verse 10 refers to eternal life, life here refers to physical life. Jesus laid down His physical life in order to give us eternal life. The hireling is a hired shepherd, a mercenary, who tends the flock for his own interest. When a hired shepherd sees a wolf coming he flees, not caring about the sheep.
The other sheep were not Jews in heathen lands, but Gentiles. The Jewish people had asked if Jesus would go and teach the Gentiles (7:35). Jesus now declared that He had sheep among the despised heathen. One flock anticipates the salvation of the Gentiles and the formation of the church, in which converted Jews and Gentiles would form one spiritual body (1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:16). As the good shepherd, Jesus had the power—that is, the authority—not only to voluntarily lay down His life for the sheep but also to take it up again. No one but God can do that. The NKJV Study Bible
1 Peter 2:25
For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Ezekiel 34:11–16
‘For thus says the Lord GOD: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day…
John 11:52
and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.
Isaiah 40:11
He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.
“We are here to heal, not harm. We are here to love, not hate. We are here to create, not destroy.” (Anthony D. Williams)
Staying informed matters.
Bearing witness matters.
And we need to tell—and retell—the stories about those who did stand. And bear witness.
Sister Mary Antona Ebo died November 2017, at the age of 93.
In 2013, I was honored to walk the Edmund Pettus Bridge and to stand with heroes, including Sr. Mary and John Lewis.
In 2013 I wrote, "Today I walked across a bridge. The sun shines down from a bleached blue sky. The air may by cool, but our spirits don't notice, as we stand and sing under the sign, Edmund Pettus Bridge. We are in Selma, Alabama on Bloody Sunday. And no, after today I will never be the same." Sabbath Moments
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