Psalm of the Good Shepherd Part
12
“1 ¶ “I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold,
rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber!
2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice
and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they
follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a
stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.” 6 Those who heard Jesus use this
illustration didn’t understand what he meant, 7 so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did
not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through
me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.
10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to
give them a rich and satisfying life. 11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the
sheep. 12 A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf
coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t
their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 13 The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and
doesn’t really care about the sheep. 14 “I am the good
shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows
me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring
them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one
shepherd. 17 “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my
life so I may take it back again. 18 No one can take my life
from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down
when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has
commanded.”” (John 10:1-18 NLT)
List
the characteristics of the Good Shepherd.
Compare
the Good Shepherd to the hired man or thief.
What
to you do verses 17 and 18 mean?
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