Thursday, March 3, 2005
John 10:11-12 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it."
THE GOOD SHEPHERD DOESN'T RUN
A few years ago my wife and I visited Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland. Often referred to as "Bloody Antietam," just one day of fighting on September 17, 1862 saw more than 23,000 men killed, wounded, or missing in some of the most horrific hours of the Civil War. It's just hard to imagine how wars in those days were fought. A horde of men would rush out into a field to meet another group head on. There were bayonets, guns, and hand-to-hand combat. Your best chance of survival in a battle like that was simply to run away as fast as you could. If I had been there, I think that's what I might have done. Sometimes retreat is the best option.
But when you retreat, then the enemy and his armies can close in on you much more easily. When you "fall back" you give ground to the opposition and make it easier for him to win the fight. In fact, sometimes retreat can turn into defeat.
That's what would have happened if Jesus had turned and run away from the cross. Had Jesus not laid down His life for the sheep but instead retreated into the mansions of heaven without completing His divine mission, we would have been the ones defeated. Satan and His accusations would have moved in and torn us to shreds. Our own guilt and sinfulness would have hung like a noose around our necks. The tide of battle would have turned and our hopes for eternal life dashed to pieces forever. The worst didn't happen because the Good Shepherd doesn't run. When He saw the wolf coming, He did not head for the hills, but He headed for the cross so that His dear sheep could be safe.
"O Soul, I take upon me now the pain thou shouldst have suffered.
Behold, with grace I thee endow, Grace freely to thee offered.
The curse I choose that thou might'st lose sin's curse and guilt forever." 