Self-righteousness keeps you in the wildernessPastor-Teacher Self-righteousness keeps you in the wildernessGod’s plan throughout all the ages is that He might be glorified by the grace that He dispenses to undeserving creatures. the lost sheep, LUK 15:4-7,
the lost sheep, LUK 15:4-7,
Your Sunday Drive with a Pharisee The Old Testament used the shepherd as a symbol for God (Psalm 23) and for the leaders of Israel (Ezekiel 34). Psalm 23 has a good shepherd, a lost sheep, and repentance- restoration. In Ezekiel 34, the leaders of Israel were compared to bad shepherds who neglected and abused their flock. Mat 23:13 The Pharisees as the shepherds of Israel are confronted by Jesus with the truth that they have lost their sheep and they are responsible. You are the shepherds of Israel. So when a sheep is lost, the shepherd is at fault, but the lost sheep also got himself into that predicament. So you have a bad shepherd who loses his sheep, and then a good shepherd who goes after it. In Eze 34, we have: And all the work is done by the Lord, the good shepherd. He uses this particular metaphor of the shepherd to put them in their place. The Greek word our Lord uses for “pasture” in Luke 15:4 is NOT the same Greek word He uses for “pasture” in Joh 10:9. nome = pasture ἔρημοςKittel "lonely place" The desert wandering of Israel is stressed in the NT as an instructive time of disobedience (Heb 3:8-9; Act 7:41 ff.), yet also of God’s gracious working (Act 7:36; Joh 3:14, 6:31, 6:49) and speaking (Act 7:38). A city or country may be devastated by enemy action (Mat 12:25) or divine wrath (Mat 23:38; Rev 17:16; cf. Isa 6:11; Lam 5:18, etc.). Yet there is also promise for waste places, according to the OT (Isa 32:15-16, 35:1 ff., Isa 41:18-19, etc.) ἔρημοςThayer: of a flock deserted by the shepherd, Homer, Iliad 5, 140) As a substantive - As a Palestinian story, no shepherd would leave ninety-nine sheep alone in the wilderness without some provision for them. The ninety-nine are left in the wilderness, the place of abandonment and testing. The ninety-nine sheep in the first story are linked with the elder brother in the third story. The lost sheep is found, rescued and brought home. The elder brother remains outside in the courtyard, estranged from his father, shouting at his father, and refusing to come inside to the celebration.
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