LAMB OF GOD - GOOD SHEPHERD

© Carlos Padilla, Easter 2012 - Passover 14 Nisan 5772

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, but He is also the Good Shepherd, the Pastor of the sheep. The Church has cost Him his life, dying on the Cross in the Passion on His way to Calvary, all because He loves us. We the Church own Him, not just life, eternal life, but a temporary life worthy of such a Great Saviour. Our Christian life and the image that the Church offers depends on every individual Christian, on his level of commitment with his Saviour, who died for him. As Christians, we need to start as little lambs, being fed by elders in the faith, whether personally of by The Bible, since many people give their lives to Christ reading it or reading other Christian writing. But a Christian's life is called to fellowship gathering as sheep in a flock, the Church of Christ.

The Church is made up by a large number of churches, fellowships, whether they may be in impressive buildings or in small homes, or anywhere, even in loneliness inside our souls if we are under extreme persecution; but we all have a level of commitment, duty and responsibility that emanates from the love of God in the Passion of Christ. From lambs, we grow to become sheep who need guidance to lead a Christian life, and finally we must become adult in the faith, and some of us are to lead like Simon, son of Jonas, known as Peter, when the Lord Jesus Christ, resurrected, confronted him with the situation of the Church. Peter had denied the Lord three times, just like we can also fail to the Lord, but the Lord forgives and equips to become a good disciple. Thus, Jesus asks Peter three times whether he loves Him, and whether he is willing to look after His flock. Likewise the Lord, just like He did with Peter, who is a symbol of the disciple, asks the whole Church whether we love Him. If we say yes, we have three responsibilities: towards our neighbour, towards the Church, but especially towards our Saviour who gave His life for us in Easter, as Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world while, until His return, He is our Good Shepherd. Let us be looked after by Him while we answer in our lives to the three following questions.

In His teachings, the Lord shows us - lambs, sheep and pastors - a true family living and sharing together for a specific commission: the Church as the Kingdom of God on Earth. In the famous Text in the Gospel of John the apostle, Simon son of Jonah, Peter, receives three requests in the love of God, in a brotherly conversation with the Lord, after He resurrected and before He ascended.

When the Greek Text mentions lambs, it uses the diminutive word arnia, so that there is no doubt that it refers to a small animal (in the sense of a beginner, in the faith or humbleness in sacrifice) meaning the young disciples in Christ. When he refers to sheep, it uses probata, adult sheep, although some Texts have translated little sheep for commentaries in reference to little children of John, in his loving ways, not because they are small, as in the case of the lamb, but because of God's love for His People, His Children, His Church, His wife, for whom He gave His live on the Cross in Calvary, according to the prophecy. Thus our Good Shepherd of sheep, became Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Lamb of God because He is His Son, His little lamb and beloved little Son, who is also King of kings and Lion of Judah, the Messiah for every nation, for every soul of those who open their heart to Him forever.

The ram, the adult male sheep, could be used to make a burnt-offering or thanksgiving offering. A specific sacrifice for a sin could only be done with a ram. Its red-dyed skin was used to cover the Tabernacle and its horns were used as horns of war. Also the battering ram, is linked to the ram.

Christian life as a community is made up of fed lambs, tended sheep and fed sheep. The shepherd, just like the Master of the shepherds, is just a servant of the Good Shepherd of the sheep who shall watch for it to be so, because a good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, like those who are pastors focus their tending, like they did, or not, in the past, though simony, see the wolf coming and they run away, letting the wolf attack and scatter the sheep. John 10:7-17.

When you know Jesus in your heart, you are born again from the Holy Spirit, and thus we are made labs who need to be fed; and the feeding needs to start with the pure spiritual milk of the word of the Gospel and the elementary principles of the faith. It is essential that this period of growth occurs in an environment with spiritual brotherly love and under the specific care of a good pastor who has a good flock of brotherly sheep. Otherwise, the lamb will be poorly nourished, he will be spiritually thirsty, without brotherly and Christian love, and he can become seriously ill, he can even get lost, and those who did not treat him with the Golden Rule will be to blame.

On the other hand, sheep - adult Christian in the faith, who have been in the Way for years, who have gone through different situations, tests of faith, even through more than one congregation, they can also suffer from a lack of clear and caring leadership; they need a clear vision of life in the church where they are, whether it may be a small home group, a medium size church or a mega-church. Love of God is essential to pastor sheep properly, and also to allow ourselves to be 'tended'; order, example and a project for Christian life are also essential. Most destroyed congregations have come to that point because the sheep have spent more time busy and worried about the church's internal issues than in God's work. Of course sheep have their own responsibility. Some of them spent more time worrying about the type of leadership in the church, rumours, comments, criticisms, etc. This is the devil's strategy to destroy churches and Christians. Sheep do not allow being tended when the pastor does not have a clear leadership, a clear program, he allows distress to settle in and does not attend each sheep individually or in groups; but sheep must also make an effort and try to put themselves in the position of the elders and the pastor.

Churches and their sheep, mature Christians, cannot live in the third stage that Jesus asks Peter - being fed - if they spend their time only in dealing with problems in the congregation instead of fulfilling the Great Commission. They cannot be fed spiritual solid food that will make them effective in winning souls and then look after them until they are adults and are able to keep themselves healthy and efficient in faith and God's work. The pastor of a church and the elders who look after and supervise the flock are responsible for making Christian life be a blessings, whether it may be within a family, a established church or a community of friends in Christ and not a life of obligation, fear or distress. Sheep who do not find this, end up leaving the flock. Maybe they will look for another fold, but until they can settle in and feel welcome, useful and loved, and feel that they are serving the Lord, they go through a painful time which can sometimes have irreversible consequences, and the result is isolated Christians, separated from fellowship, without any hope of finding a group or a church that can resemble the first church of the New Testament, but in our specific age and culture.

CONSEQUENCES OF NOT FEEDING OR TENDING THE CHURCH THAT CHRIST WON WITH HIS LIFE

In the following Text, we will see the consequences of bad leadership in the church, when pastors do not fulfil their duty in the "agape" love, in the love of God in Jesus Christ. Looking at the history of the Church, we also see how the Protestant Reform was the reaction to a form of government in the Church that had deviated of bishops in every church, in every town, until they mixed with  the empire's power, and even go over it until it converted into an only pope, which was the case of Gregory VII with the empire of Henry IV. A reform of spiritual life, from Saint Augustine, through to the monks and the reform in Cluny, would leave a proposal: observe the rule of Saint Benedict (obedience and permanence), but furthermore abbeys would become places where the Bible was studies, influencing the world as much as to see the rise of universities.

At the beginning, many monks used to change abbeys as soon as they were asked to show commitment, and this is why Benedictine created the Rule. Today, just like then, Christians should offer commitment and permanence to their church, but many of them just want to be served and they go form one church to the other, and from one home group to another. In other cases they have tried to make impossible changes and they have to leave. This, which happened back in those times, together with the corruption of popes and simony (selling religious positions), unfortunately resembles what many believers are experiencing in their Christian lives today. The Text in Ezekiel is enlightening:

...And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ³ You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. ⁴ The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. ⁵ So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. ⁶ My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”

The Lord teaches us to feed the flocks. As Christians, eating the fat of faithfulness and dressing with the wool the maturity of the brethren should be reciprocal. The pastor and the elders must provide as well as receive, spiritually and physically, in prayers, in dedication, in mutual help in the world, in life, in whatever can be done for others. The Lord asks us to feed the sheep and we can only do this if the church is in peace, in order, if the spiritual food is solid and comes from the Holy Spirit, in teaching, in relationship and in dedication. It is no good that pastors feed themselves without listening to their congregation or taking others into consideration; the pastor is a servant, like the Master says.

He also exhort A to strengthen the weak ones, to give them brotherly attention until their problems are solved. We need to heal the sick one, the one who sins, who cannot overcome his flesh but he fights for it, the one who wants to serve God but fails. We have to bind up the broken instead of criticizing and condemning, like Christ did with Peter, since this is what we want God to do with us. We have to look for the scattered one until we return it to the flock. These, the scattered ones, are a very valuable source of information to improve the church, and the pastor who spends time doing this, leaving the 99, and bringing the scattered one back on his shoulders, saves a soul and improves his congregation. Maybe they left because they were treated roughly and with violence, without mercy.  If they are astray because they have no pastor, they are in danger, threatened by the beasts of the world, the spiritual enemy, the devil and his fallen angels who are looking for souls for eternal hell. We must go and search for them, ask them, and those brethren who have left must receive in the love of God from a pastor-brother who worries, be humble and give an opportunity to be part of the congregation.

Whoever thinks that they cannot serve this way, ask the Lord for help. If you desire a leading position, the Lord will provide.

⁷ ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”— ⁹ therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”¹¹ ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. ¹² 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. ¹³ And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. ¹⁴ I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”

The Lord will look after His sheep until they come together in a good fold, a good church with rich pasture of the Word of God and brotherly love. He will destroy the one He considers to be fat due to selfish feeding and spiritually strong in isolation in their own ego, without humbleness and without serving the Lord and the justice of the Lord will be their food. God does not leave His people, His sheep; but He will claim the souls from those leaders, pastors, elders or bishops who do not love their brethren, as if they were criminals. 1John 3:14-17.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. ¹¹ He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. ¹² Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

We have to die to ourselves if we want to see spiritual descendants, this is the lesson for pastors, elders or bishops, even fro sheep and little lambs, who are ambassadors of Christ.

Why did Yahweh want to bruise His Son? It was the agreement that Father and Son had come to before the foundation of the world, 1Peter 1:20, because they loved us. The Son would give His life for His Father's children, because he loved the Father and us, and the Father in the grief of His heart seeing His Son dying on the Cross, rejected and under cruel hands, He knew that His Son wanted to do it in His greatness as King of kings, brave lion of Judah, and He consents. His life as atonement for our sin cancels all our merits, every deed, every fulfillment, every effort on our side to achieve our salvation, because that attitude despises the Cross of Christ. We can only be His descendants if we accept His blood as payment for our Sin. The glory is His.
 

We, the Church, are the fruit of the grief of His soul; how are we not going to love one another and make every effort to be in unity, which was also cause of His death, John 11:52b, and the example of a Christian life when our Shepherd has laid down His life for us?. We owe Him our life, and also unity, the relationship, the deeds and the glory, bearing witness every time and working and praying for our neighbour and brethren. He is The Carpenter, and He teaches us the work of the cross, let us take our cross every day and follow Him!

A brother is a treasure, let us not lose him! Brethren exist due to the Passion of Christ, let us care for the treasures of Christ.

If we are fruit of the labor of His soul, let us satisfy Him, and let us, by His knowledge in the Gospel He may justify many, as we preach, that He may carry the iniquities, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and bore the sin of many, and made intercession praying for the transgressors. Likewise, let us also pray and intercede for the sinners to become little lambs, and lambs to turn into sheep of the Lord, won on the Cross.

Pastors, like Simon son of Jonah, are called to feed the lamb to make them into good disciples, they are called to tend the sheep so that they can serve God, and they are called to feed those sheep so that their lives emanate the love of God, inside and outside the fold of the church; and pastors fulfill all of these calls when they can say yes to Jesus when He asks all the "Peters": ... do you love me more than these? ...

... For love will cover a multitude of sins ... 1Peter 4:8, it is no coincidence that Peter was the one to write this inspired verse. Fathers and mothers love their children, and when they sin, if they are good parents, they do whatever they can to help them and correct them with love. Married couples must forgive each other many times in love, and in love of God. We must forgive and love our neighbour. We must forgive and love little lambs and rams, because we are all the sheep of the Good Shepherd.

Christianity is the ambassador of the fruit of the Passion of Jesus Christ, of the Christmas of Jesus Christ, of Christian life, of the Gospel in the Great Commission. If pastors lay down their lives for the flock and for Jesus Christ, and the flock also lays down their life for the pastors and for Jesus Christ, many little lambs will come to the fold, many sheep will produce good wool and pure spiritual milk, and the Great Commission will be done more efficiently so that the day when the Good Shepherd, the Pastor of the sheep comes He finds us doing all this, like many good Christians and good pastors, and good churches do every day of the year and therefore they will all receive the crown of glory that does not fade away, as we can see in 1Peter 5:

The victory of the Passion in Passover is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who makes our Christian life possible every day so that, as we see in Matthew 28, continue to fulfill the Great Commission for His glory.