The Good Shepherd

If you look at the village and you may have noticed that I'm going to be in Luke today and you're thinking, what?

A deviation from the plan? We're about halfway through that great gospel, the gospel of Luke, and finished chapter 13 last week and I decided to give you a three-week break from Luke.

You know, sometimes we need to do that. I, of course, your pastor really does believe in expository preaching to the degree of actually preaching expository sermons through books of the Bible.

And so we've been working our way through Luke for, well, quite a while and we didn't have a lot left and sometimes it's good to take a break from it, give you a rest, give me a rest and preach on some other topic or from some other passage.

And so that's what I'm going to do this morning. So if you add your Bible with you then, and hopefully you do, then turn to the first of several passages in Scripture that we're going to be looking at not only this Sunday morning, but for the next couple of Sunday mornings as well, for three in all.

And that passage is 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 25 and I'm just going to read verse 25 at this point. We're going to look at another place in Scripture eventually, in fact, John 10, but for now let's just look at 1 Peter chapter 2 and I want to read just one verse that will get us started this morning and it is verse 25.

For you were like sheep going astray.

For every one of us. Like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

So my topic this morning and for the next couple of Sunday mornings is the shepherd, the shepherd of my soul. And I hope that you can say that. I hope that's your testimony.

The shepherd, you being the Lord Jesus Christ, is the shepherd of your soul. You know, the Bible contains quite a few word pictures.

That's one of the things that I love about Scripture and the Bible writers. And it seemed to be a favorite thing, not only in the Old Testament with the Hebrew Scriptures and Hebrew writers, but also in the New Testament.

Those who were Hebrews, but they wrote in the Greek. And so whether it was the Hebrew culture or even the Greek culture, they really did enjoy giving word pictures.

And so we have a number of very significant word pictures, vivid pictures in the New Testament. And these word pictures, of course, are intended to highlight for us and to make very vivid for us in our minds certain spiritual truths or realities.

And one of these very vivid word pictures is the word picture of the shepherd. The shepherd and his sheep.

And you should know, I think you do know, that this very visual, very vivid, I would say even precious word picture of the shepherd and the sheep is a word picture that represents the believer's relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, who, of course, is our shepherd.

Now, we are the sheep. The sheep of his pasture. The sheep of his flock. And, you know, sheep, you know, are pretty smelly creatures. And sheep are very prone to wander and stray.

And that's a perfect picture of us. But we are the sheep. And some of us, maybe all of us in this room, I hope all of us in this room, by the grace of God, are as sheep.

We are found sheep. We are sheep that have been turned to the shepherd. We are sheep that are now safe. Safe in the flock. Safe in the fold. And so we are the sheep.

And, of course, Jesus is the shepherd. Right. No doubt about that in this word picture. Jesus is the shepherd. And he's portrayed as the shepherd a number of places in the New Testament.

In fact, we even go back into the Old Testament. And the word picture is used there quite often. And our Lord and Savior is the shepherd. Peter says that he is, Jesus is, the shepherd.

The shepherd and overseer. Some of your translations may have the word bishop. The shepherd and bishop of our souls. So Jesus is the shepherd.

And this is a beautiful and meaningful, very spiritually significant picture. Jesus, the shepherd. So for the next several Sunday mornings, that's three, counting this one, we're going to focus on the shepherd.

The shepherd of our souls. The Lord Jesus Christ. And I want us to understand when we're finished. I want us to understand fully what our shepherd has done for us as his sheep.

What he's done for us in the past. And also what our shepherd is doing for us in the present. And what he will one day do for us in the future as his sheep.

All right. So again, Peter said in the passage that I opened with, Jesus is the shepherd and overseer or bishop of our souls. He is the shepherd.

And the word shepherd comes from the Greek word poimene. And it is quite often in scripture translated pastor. Pastor. And sometimes shepherd as it is here in this particular passage.

The word overseer. Peter said shepherd and overseer or bishop. It comes from the word episkopos in the Greek. And it means bishop or overseer as it is translated here in our text.

Now all with a third word in the New Testament. The Greek word presbyteros. Which is usually translated elder. Then you have the three words that are used in the New Testament.

And used interchangeably to describe a certain office in the church. And by the way, it is the office that I hold. As your pastor.

And now Peter, though, is not talking about me here in this passage. I'm not the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Thank the Lord that I'm not. Although I've been called as God's man to minister to your souls.

To, in a sense, shepherd you, the flock of God. Shepherd with a small s. Peter is talking about Jesus. Jesus is your pastor with a capital T.

Jesus is your shepherd with a capital O. He's your overseer with a capital O. And so I want us to focus then this morning and again for the next couple of Sundays on Jesus, our shepherd.

Now the word shepherd in reference to Jesus appears a number of times in the New Testament. Eighteen times to be precise. And yet there are three times that we have the word shepherd appearing in the New Testament.

That these three times are unique from the other times that we find the word shepherd. Because when you put all three of these together, then you have described for us the full ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The complete ministry of our shepherd. And so as we look at these passages, where the word shepherd appears, these three specific ones. We're going to discover that there is an adjective that precedes each one of them.

A specific adjective. And an adjective, of course, is something that tells us something about the noun to which it is attached.

And each of these adjectives helps describe a different aspect of the ministry of the shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, it tells us what kind of shepherd he is to us.

And so that kind of introduction turned with me into the first of these three times that we have the word shepherd preceded by a very specific adjective. And that's John chapter 10.

And you go ahead and turn to that. Now keep your finger in 1 Peter chapter 2 because we're going to come back to that. But in John chapter 10, verses 11 through 16. John 10, 11 through 16.

Let me just read this passage to you. But he says here, verse 11. I am the good shepherd.

The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. And of course, Jesus is talking here, right? It's written in red in your Bible if you have a red letter edition.

And so we know that Jesus is speaking. He says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But a higher man, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leads the sheep and flees.

And the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The higher man flees because he is a higher man and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd.

And I know my sheep. And am known by my own. As the Father knows me, even so I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.

Though the sheep I have will turn out of this foal. Not of this foal. Them also I will bring. And they will hear my voice. And there will be one flock and one shepherd.

So this is part of John chapter 10. We sometimes call it the good shepherd chapter. And so here's Jesus saying, I am the good shepherd.

Alright, so based upon John chapter 10. Jesus is the shepherd. And what kind of shepherd is he?

Well, what is the adjective? It's good. And so first of all, this morning, he is, Jesus is, the good shepherd.

The good shepherd. Now, what according to Jesus is the ministry of the good shepherd? Well, verse 11. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

And so the ministry of the good shepherd is a dying ministry. It is the shepherd dying for the sheep. His ministry is to die for the sheep.

He said it again in verse 15. I lay down my life for the sheep. Now, you know, it's kind of difficult for us in our culture. Here in this western culture. Difficult for us to understand this particular aspect of this word picture.

The shepherd and the sheep. Because no one, of course, in our culture would be willing to protect a bunch of smelly sheep. To the point of death if necessary. We just wouldn't do that. And so the picture here might be a little bit foreign to our western mindset.

But to the culture of the New Testament days. And even to some cultures in our world today. This was the mark of good shepherding. To die for the sheep.

You might even remember King David. Or rather, before David was king. When he was just young shepherd David. And he was describing his qualifications for going out to battle against Goliath.

And in a sense, kind of giving a verbal resume to King Saul. And in 1 Samuel chapter 17. He said, Your servant used to keep his father's sheep.

And when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock. I went out after it and struck it. And delivered the lamb from its mouth. And when it rose against me.

I caught it by its beard. And struck it. And killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear. And so we remember that story. And so you see, shepherding was often a life-threatening kind of vocation.

And any shepherd worth his salt. May lose his life in the course of tending his flock. Right? And we can see that. We can understand that about this picture. But now wait a minute.

Because Jesus is saying something different. Quite different, isn't he? He said in verse 15. I lay down my life for the sheep.

That's something quite different. Because any good shepherd will risk his life in the course of protecting his sheep. But he has no real intention of dying. He doesn't. I mean, he will fight the bear.

He will fight the lion. He will fight the wolves. He will fight against thieves who might come and steal the sheep. And he's going to do all of that and stay alive if he can. That's not what Jesus said.

Jesus said that the good shepherd has come to this world for the express purpose of dying for the sheep. He came to die for the sheep. Listen, did you know that Jesus, in all of history, Jesus was the only person who ever chose to die?

You should think about that for a minute. In all of the history of mankind, there's only been one person who came and chose to die. And that person was Jesus.

Did you know that? You say, well, pastor, that's ridiculous. I mean, what about those who commit suicide? Don't they choose to die? Or what about those who commit acts of heralism?

Kind of the visual image of the soldier throwing his body on a live grenade. Did that soldier choose to die? No heroes who give their lives and willingly give their lives to protect another human being.

Are heroes, those kind of heroes, choosing to die? And what about those people who deny certain medical treatments? You know, that might prolong their lives, but they choose not to have that treatment and choose, rather, to die.

And what about people who give instructions to somehow not withhold or instructions to withhold life support when they reach a certain point? Aren't they at that point choosing to die?

What about those people who choose what's called physician-assisted suicide? Something's becoming more and more prevalent in our world today, even in our own culture and world.

What about those people? Aren't they choosing to die? And, of course, you know, I've seen a lot of war movies. What about those Japanese kamikaze pilots that purposefully ran their planes or flew their planes into our naval ships in order to destroy those ships?

Aren't they choosing to die at that point? No, they're not. Jesus was the only one who chose to die. He's the only one.

Now, these others may have chosen the way they were going to die, but they were going to die at some point. These others choose the time of their death, but they're going to die sooner or later anyway.

But Jesus was the only one who chose to die. Why? Because Jesus was the only one who ever lived who did not have to die. Did you show that? Jesus didn't have to die.

In fact, even as He hung up on the cross, He had to give permission to the Spirit to leave His body to die. He gave permission. He said, no one takes my life from me.

I lay it down. He chose to die. He was the only one who ever chose to die. And He did die. And He died for me. And He died for you.

He is the good shepherd. He dies for the sheep. Now, I had you hold or asked you to hold your finger in 1 Peter chapter 2. Let's go back to 1 Peter chapter 2.

Here comes the expository part of the sermon. We're going to spend the rest of our time looking at 1 Peter chapter 2. And in this passage, I want you to see how Peter describes for us how the good shepherd died for sheep.

The ministry of the good shepherd. And I want to give you six words that describe the sacrificial ministry of our shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And looking at 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 20, first of all, notice that Jesus died vicariously. He died vicariously.

Now, the word vicariously is sent to the means to take someone's place. You hear that word used quite a lot. You know, usually it's used in reference to a person living out the life of another person.

Or maybe living someone else's dream. And so they're living a person's life vicariously. And so we might use that word and hear that word used in that context.

But the word vicarious describes for us here what the good shepherd did for us. He died our death. He died vicariously.

And so looking at verse 21, look at it. For to this you were called. And just to give you kind of a contextual note, Peter is talking about suffering for Christ. He's talking about persecution.

For this you were called. But then he says, because Christ also suffered for us. And I read that very slowly because I want us to understand.

Christ also suffered for us. For us. And that's a very significant word in the Greek text. A very significant theological word.

For us. That is, literally, he died in behalf of us. He died in our place. He died as a substitute.

He died vicariously. I tell you, I believe in the substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He took my place at the cross.

The Bible says in Isaiah 53 verse 6, speaking of the Messiah, speaking of his sacrifice. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way.

And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He laid our sin on him. He died vicariously.

As a substitute. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5.15. And he died for all. That those who live should live no longer for themselves.

But for him who died for them. And rose again. For them. There's that word again. In behalf of them. As a substitute. Vicariously.

And again. In Galatians 3.13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Having become a curse for us.

For us. Does that mean anything to us? It should. And really, if you think about it. How can anyone live for sin and live for self? And know that Jesus took your place.

At the cross. At Calvary. I believe one of the most heart-rending stories I've ever heard over the years. Was a story that really comes out of the Great Depression.

And there was a certain drawbridge that was located. That spanned the Mississippi River around the Memphis area. Memphis, Tennessee. One of those drawbridges, you know. In those days, you know.

Things were not computerized. They had to have a man there. Who was the controller of the drawbridge. And as the story goes. On this particular sunny day. A man brought his son with him to work.

And so they're having lunch together. On the observation deck there. On this drawbridge. And having such a great time together. That the man forgot all about the schedule of trains.

And suddenly he heard in the distance. The sound of the train coming. Blowing its horn. Blowing its horn. And he suddenly realized.

That the bridge had been drawn. It was up. Because he had been letting the ships come through. And he had to rush back to the control tower. And lower that bridge.

Before the Memphis Express came across. And if he didn't get there in time. Then the train, of course, would derail. Would wreck. And all the board would be potentially killed.

And so he ran to the control tower. And he's about to throw the lever to lower that drawbridge. And he looks down. At that very moment. And sees that his son had tripped and fallen off the observation deck.

And down into the mechanism of this drawbridge. He was caught. In fact, his foot was caught in the great gears. Large gears that operated this drawbridge. But there wasn't time.

No time for him to go down and rescue his son. The train is coming. At any moment the train would be crossing that bridge. What is he going to do? Is he going to sacrifice the people on the train.

And save his son. Or is he going to sacrifice his son. And save all on board that train. He knew what he had to do. So he buried his face in his arm.

His left arm. With his right hand. He lowered that lever. Lowered the bridge. As he stood there in the observation.

In the control tower. Watching the train go by. Tears rain down his face. He noticed men. Sitting in these cars.

Reading their papers. And nicely dressed women. Sipping their tea. Totally oblivious to. What has just happened. Totally oblivious to the sacrifice of this man.

He found himself. Crying out to the people on the train. There is a meaning to you. All of you who are passing by.

There is a meaning to you. That my son has died. So that you might live. And it's a reminder of. Lamentations. Chapter 1 verse 12.

Passage that I believe is a prophetic picture of the cross. But the Bible says. Is it nothing to you? All of you who pass by. Behold and see.

Look and see. If there is any sorrow like myself. Which has been brought to me. Which the Lord has inflicted. In the day of his fierce anger.

Does it mean anything to you? Is it nothing to you? He died. Vicariously. He died. In your place. He is the good shepherd. He died for the sheep.

He died in our place. He died vicarious. Second. He died. Unjustly. In the sense of our perspective.

In man's perspective. He died unjustly. Look at verse 22. Peter said. He committed no sin. He died. Right? But he committed no sin. He died unjustly.

He committed no sin. Nor was the seed found in his mouth. I remember several years ago. When I was pastoring in Arkansas.

And I traveled with our youth. To a youth conference. And I did that a lot of those days. We didn't have youth pastors sometimes. Sometimes. And you know. As a pastor.

You just kind of get up there. They did it all. You go to the children's camp. And youth. To the youth camps. And conferences. And chief cook. And bottle washer. All those things. And so.

I was attending the youth conference. With our youth. And one of the features. Of that particular week. Was a husband and wife drama team. And it was just outside.

And there was one time. That I remember the most. Never will forget. And not that it was just. You know. Particularly. Well done. You know. It was just kind of the.

The drama that was done. A messenger. That stuck with me. All these years. And in this case. It was a husband and wife drama team. It was just the husband. Doing this. This time.

So it was a monologue. But it was kind of a strange thing. He actually was. Playing two roles. In the story. And so he would just be. Talking back and forth.

He was the only voice. And he was playing two characters. One of the characters. Was. Barabbas. And you remember. About Barabbas. In the Bible. Barabbas was a.

A criminal. An insurrectionist. Probably a murderer. Probably a thief. He was. A very violent man. And I remember. Pilate. Hoping to.

Maybe appease the crowd. And maybe. Get himself. Out of this. This tasteful job. Of condemning Jesus. Who he knew. Was innocent. And he offered. To the people.

Remember. Jesus or Barabbas. Which one would you like. For me to release. They said. Barabbas. We chose Barabbas. Well what about Jesus? Crucify.

All right. So Barabbas. Was relieved. And so. As the drama. Kind of. Unfolded. This kind of. Model. He played.

Barabbas. On one side. And then the other character. Was the apostle Peter. And it's just really. An interesting way. In which he did. And so they carry on. A conversation. And it's. It kind of.

Kind of like. A. Kind of. A. Happenstance. Kind of meeting. Between Peter. And Barabbas. Shortly after. Jesus. Crucifixion. And so Peter.

Approaches. Barabbas. He said. You're Barabbas. I'm actually. And he said. Yes I am. Whatever. He said. Jesus died.

In your place. What do you mean. He died in my place. I can't. Perform. The entire drama. But. Peter then. Shared. With.

Barabbas. About Jesus. About his life. About his person. All coming down. To that day. When. Jesus.

Was sacrificed. And Barabbas. Was released. And that in effect. Jesus. Was actually. Hanging. On Barabbas. Cross. He's the one. Who deserved.

To be. On that. Little cross. Not Jesus. Barabbas. Eyes were open. He realized. What had happened. He said. That's not fair. Not fair.

That he would die. He's. Not guilty. I'm the one. He was guilty. And that's. Exactly the point. Barabbas.

Jesus. Was released. And Jesus. Died in his place. And that's. The idea. The. Just for the unjust. And that's the idea. Behind what Peter said.

In. In. The Bible. In. In. In. Second Corinthians. Five. Twenty. One. He said. For he. Made him. Do no sin. To be sin. For us.

That we might become. The righteousness. Of God. In him. That's what Peter. Says. A little bit later. In. First Peter. First Peter. Chapter three. Verse eighteen. He said. For Christ. Also suffered.

Once. For sins. The just. For the unjust. That we might be. He might. Run us to God. He died.

Unjustly. He died. By carrots. That's the good shepherd. That's what the good shepherd. Has done for us. He died. For the sheep. Third. He died.

Silently. He died. Silently. Verse twenty. Three. First Peter. Two. Who. When he was. Reviled. Means.

When he was. Insulted. And they. Insulted. Jesus. At his arrest. At his trial. They insulted him. At his. His. Flogging. And beating.

And even. As he hung upon the cross. When he was. Insulted. Did not. Revile. Return. That means. He didn't. Return. In some. He didn't.

Retaliate. Earth. When he. Suffered. He. Did not. Threaten. That is. He. He. Did not. Speak. Of.

Revenge. When he. Was. Being. Beaten. And. Crucified. Have you. Ever. Wondered. How. Jesus. Could. Just. Remain. Silent.

Through all. That. And. Did you. He. Said. A few. Words. And. The few. Words. That he. Spoke. Were not. Words. On his. Behalf. Or. Words. That. That. That. That. That. That. Might.

Prove. Himself. Innocent. Jesus. Stood. Silent. Most. Of the time. In fact. As he stood. For. Pilate. He. Wouldn't. Even. Answer. Any. Of his. Questions. He. Stood.

For. The high. Priest. He. Stood. There. Silent. He. Stood. Even. For. King. Herod. How.

Could. He. Remain. Silent. While. He. Was. Being. Falsely. Accused. And. Beaten. Whipped. And. And. As. They. Came. By. And.

Were. Spitting. On. Him. And. As. They. Insulted. Him. And. Lied. About. Him. And. Mock. To. Him. Why. Did. Jesus. Keep. Silent.

And. Don't. Speak up. For. Himself. When. You know. Every one of us. I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why.

Jesus. Presented. No case. For. Himself. And. It is. Because. He. Was. Taking. My. Guilt. There.

That day. He. Was. Taking. My. Sin. Do. Understand. If. Jesus. Had. Proven. Himself. Innocent.

That day. Guess what. He would have. Proven. You. Guilty. And. Me. Guilty. And. That. Of course. Would have. Condemned me.

To bear my hands. My own guilt. He died. Silently. Isaiah. 53. Verse 7. He was oppressed. And was afflicted.

Yet. He opened. Not his mouth. He is brought. As a lamb. To the slaughter. And as a sheep. Before her. Shearers. Is done. So. He opened. Not his mouth.

He died. Silently. And therefore. Fourth of all. He died. Submissively. He died. Submissively.

Verse 23. Look at it. He. But committed himself. To him. Him being. God. Father. Who judges. Righteousness. He.

Committed himself. To God. The Father. Who judges. Righteousness. Now. Pay close attention. To those words. Committed. Himself. He committed. His sin.

No one. Forced Jesus. To die. For a sheep. No one. Did. Not man. Certainly. Not the devil. And not even. God. The Father. Forced Jesus. To.

To. Take our sin. And die. For our sin. Jesus. Committed. Himself. He surrendered. Himself. To bear. The penalty. Of my sin.

And your sin. Now. Don't miss this. He. Committed. Himself. To. Him. Who judges. Righteousness.

What does that mean? What does that mean? Jesus. Bore our sin. Right? He did. Jesus. Committed. Himself. To pay. The full penalty. For our sin.

And that penalty. Of course. Was death. For the wages of sin. Is death. Romans 6. 23. But. Let me ask you. By whose. Hand.

Did Jesus. Die? By whose hand? Not by the hand. Of any man. Did Jesus die? Jesus said.

No man takes my life. For me. Not by the hand of man. Not by the hand. Of the devil. Come on. No.

A thousand times. No. The devil. Did not kill Jesus. All right. Jesus. Did not pay. A ransom. Of his own life. To the devil.

In order to free. Sinners. From. The devil's. Bonding. For slavery. But Jesus. Did. Pay a ransom. To someone. Do you know who?

To God. The father. He paid a ransom. In his life. To God. The father. Do you know. What the cross. Is all about. Is infinitely. More.

Than just simply. The physical. Death. Physical. Suffering. And death. Of the Lord. Jesus Christ. It is Jesus. Taking. Our. Sin. Past. Present.

And future. Upon himself. And then. Presenting. Himself. As. With my sin. Presenting. Himself. Before him. Who judges.

Righteously. That is God. The father. And then. Say. Forgive. Them. For they. Don't know. What they're doing. That is. Judge.

Me. Not. Them. Take. Me. Spare. Me. He died.

Submissively. The good shepherd. Died for the sheep. He died. Submissively. He died. Vicariously. Unjustly. He died. Silently. He died. Submissively. He died.

Number five. Purposefully. Purposefully. Verse 24. Who. Himself. Bore. Our sins.

In his own body. On the tree. That's just. A. A. Reference. To the cross. That. So that.

Or in order that. Here's the statement. Purpose. Having died. The sins. We died. The sins. We're saying. Might. Live. For righteousness. That's the place.

That we might live. For righteousness. You know. Peter. Wasn't eyewitness. To the cross. Peter. Was there. and it was at the cross I think that Peter began to understand what the prophet Isaiah had been talking about and prophesied and Peter is quoting a part of that here in 1 Peter 2 he was quoting a part of Isaiah 53 as an interpretation of what he saw at the cross he made the connection Peter had grown up with the Old Testament sacrificial system every year of his adult life he presented the sacrifice for his sin and Peter knew well that death was the penalty for sin Peter knew well that the sacrificial animal died in his place and he knew well that when he placed his hand upon the head of that sacrificial animal he knew that symbolically that he represented the transfer of his sin from himself to the substitute that sacrificial lamb and so Peter knew what he had been taught all through his childhood and early adulthood that when the animal's throat was slit and his blood was shed that atonement was made for his sin and so the penalty of sin had been paid and God's wrath for sin had been satisfied and so I think for the very first time

Peter understood Isaiah 53 it made sense to him he is despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our lives from him he was he was our faces from him he was despised and we esteemed him not surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we did esteem him stricken smitten of God afflicted that is he deserved his blood that's what we thought but he was wounded for our transgression he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her sheers is dug so he opened not his mouth see for the first time

Peter made the connection Isaiah the prophet of Isaiah in Isaiah 53 made a connection to Jesus and the cross the cross was the fulfillment by Isaiah 53 Jesus died purposely he died purposely and now quickly there's one more one more that I want us to see about the death of the good shepherd and that is he died brutally yes he did he died brutally Peter said by whose stripes we were healed now dear people it's clear from the context that Peter is not talking about spiritual not talking about physical healing here he's talking about spiritual healing he's talking about the healing of sin if physical healing is all that we give to Jesus Christ then what a raw deal we just have to go to hell healthy that's not it but what I want you to focus on here is the word stripes stripes a word that represents all of the physical suffering of

Jesus including how he suffered on the cross dying for us we often see these pictures of Jesus you know kind of hanging on the cross a little trickle of blood coming down his forehead head and down his face perhaps and that's kind of a picture you have of the cross Lordy crown there is beautiful Jesus hanging on the cross for us and that's the kind of picture we have but that's not that's not the true picture I tell you muscle bound Roman guards just to get their joys beat and beat and beat on Jesus until he buried a human I tell you they whipped him whipped him until his midsection was shredded flesh with his ribcage exposed in a number of places and they killed him with one of the most excruciating and cruel forms of execution known to man crucifixion the brutality the brutality of the good shepherd's death and all for you all for you he did this you see

Jesus is the good shepherd he had good he died for the sheep he died for the sheep but you know in closing it's not really a question as to whether or not Jesus is the good shepherd he certainly is the question always is is he your shepherd is he your shepherd the shepherd of your soul David said the Lord is my shepherd Psalm 23 the Lord is my shepherd is the Lord your shepherd the shepherd of your soul the shepherd of your life the shepherd of your nature well he is if the shepherd is your Lord you