THE TRUE VOICE

Proverbs 10:2
Treasures of wickedness profit nothing:
But righteousness delivereth from death.

Our dear Lord and Master Jesus, Yehoshua Ha Mashiah’ always endorsed the Scriptures once delivered to the saints. He was in fact an epiphany of those Words which were given to men as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Jesus so understood the original meanings of the Scriptures that he was able to apply and teach us them. He was, is, and will be the true one and only oral commentary of the Scriptures.

Scriptures often offer different levels of understanding. Sad to say, this often pits people one against the other which is wrong in the sight of the Lord. With our text today, I desire to take you to the place where Jesus compared Himself to our shepherd. This place is found in the Gospel of John chapter 10, and Jesus says there that He is our shepherd, the one true shepherd who comes through the door of the sheepfold and feed the sheep at the cost even of His own life if necessary. Jesus makes these statements about Himself by comparison to Ezekiel 34 and 37 where God warns of the bad shepherds come in the sheepfold through an illegal entrance. They do not really care for the sheep; they are in it just for the shearing. Because of it, God had promised His people Israel a true Shepherd who will unselfishly care for them. Jesus announced that He was that true Shepherd. This whole analogy represents the contest between Jesus and the devil for the possession of the flock and people of God

The false shepherds of Ezekiel 34 and 37 represent the devil. They are thieves Jesus said. They do not come through the door of the heart of the people; they come through somewhere else. They move in through the windows of the mind and of intellectual philosophy. Or, like Santa, they come in through the chimney of gifts, of the fairy tales and of invented speculated theology. They are thieves and robbers. They do not speak with the voice of the oracles of God known by the people of Israel; their voice is not the voice of the Torah. They are strangers and both Jesus and Paul warn us about these. They are mercenaries only in it for the shearing. They think to wickedly profit from the flock of God but God has promised that it will profit them nothing. These shepherds are those whom Jesus said beat the servants while the husbandman was gone. They will be severely judged for taking advantage of the people of God.

Jesus represents God’s leadership of God’s people. He is the One and only true Shepherd. He comes in through the door of our heart. He is the One true representation of the voice of God because He speaks the oracles of the Torah. He is therefore easily recognizable. He is in it for us, to feed us, protect us, care for us, and ultimately to deliver us from death.

Let us be wise therefore, not gullible. Let us study the oracles of God so we can easily make the difference between the voice of the true shepherd and the voice of the thief who steals from the flock of God. It is our responsibility to do so.

I am reminded of this scene in the movie, ‘The March of the Penguins’. Before leaving his chick in the care of the mother, the father sings to his chick. He does it so at his return from feeding, his son recognizes him. The sound of the father’s voice is the sign of his true fatherhood and ownership of our soul. Jesus also ‘sang’ His Words to us before He left. Let us make sure we rehearse His voice so we can properly discern Him amongst all those who fake His voice and pretend to come in His name.