Feed My Sheep (3)

“Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.’”  (John 21:17b  NIV)

Flock of sheep in Utah in 2013

    In Isaiah 43:6, we are told, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (NIV)   It’s obvious from this Scripture that we all need to be taught, so that we learn to live His way, not our own way.   In other words, we need to be fed the Word of God, the Good News, the message of Salvation.  

     Paul tells us in Romans 10:13,14; “for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard?   And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?’”  Okay, someone has to preach the Word, and most of us believe that that is the job of a pastor.

    In the Words of Jesus in John 13:34,35, He says, “A new command I give you:  Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”   (NIV)  If we truly love one another as Christ loved His followers, then we must be certain that all those we love must know that Jesus is the means of salvation, the only means of salvation.”  Jesus spoke these words to His followers of the day, but He meant them for all of us. 

    The last words Jesus spoke to His disciples were recorded in Matthew 28:18-20:  “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me; therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.   And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” (NIV)  In these last words of Jesus before His ascension into heaven, He spoke with all authority to tell them and us to go into ALL the nations and teach them to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and they shall be saved.   

    We have reached the point by the reading of the previous four verses that all of us are sheep who need teaching—the teaching of the Good News.  We have also discovered that we sheep are all to share the Good News about Jesus to all the sheep.  Each one of us is to personalize the command given to Peter by His Lord and ours, Jesus Christ:  “Feed My Sheep.”