The Hirelings

Posted on by korgrocker

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.”
John 10:11-13 NLT

The hired hands, or hirelings, were shepherds employed for their services as shepherds. They weren’t really interested in the wellbeing and protection of the sheep, rather being focused on the money they were earning. And in the event that a wolf appeared with desires of a lamb chop meal, the hirelings would head for a place of their own safety. As Jesus graphically portrayed, without a shepherd, the flock of sheep would be attacked and scattered or even killed. Jesus said about the hireling, “He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd”. 

Who was Jesus referring to when He spoke about hirelings? It seems rather obvious that He had the Pharisees in mind. They were notorious in their reputation for looking after their own interests and, as far as Jesus was concerned, that was why they wanted to close Him down and eliminate Him from their otherwise cosy world of being religious leaders. But as they proved repeatedly, the Pharisees weren’t interested in the wellbeing of the people. Jesus had harsh words to say about them, as we read in Matthew 23:3-4, “So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.” As we read on in Matthew 23, we see many more things Jesus said about the “hirelings”, the Pharisees, and none of them good.

Today, we too have good shepherds or hirelings. The good ones are men and women who are sincerely devoted to the spiritual care of the people God has given to them. But we also have hirelings who are just in the ministry for any financial or other benefits they can find. A good shepherd today is a Bible believing man or woman who genuinely cares for their congregation. Peter wrote about them in 1 Peter 5:2-4, “Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t Lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honour”. The role of a good shepherd, an elder or pastor for “the flock that God has entrusted to [him]” could not be more clearly put.

We pilgrims are most likely parts of a local congregation, but we have a shepherd leading us, pastoring us through life’s journeys, and who is keeping us safe through sound teaching. God has delegated our care to such a person, and the good shepherds take their responsibilities very seriously. But we also have the responsibility to care for ourselves, by following the Good Shepherd Himself, by reading God’s Word and through our prayers. Jesus didn’t come to ordain ministers. He came as the Good Shepherd to lead His followers in the ways of truth. We pilgrims know that we have a relationship directly with God Himself. He is our loving Heavenly Father and we are His children.

Dear Father God. We worship You today, our Creator God, our loving and gracious Heavenly Father. We thank You for Your promise of eternal life, a promise that will never be broken. Amen.

Salvation Comes Through the Jews

Posted on by korgrocker

“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews.“
John 4:19-22 NLT

‭Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “salvation comes through the Jews“. Of course, what Jesus said was totally true and accurate. The Old Testament was all about God’s plan for the salvation of mankind and it focused on one Person, the Messiah. Isaiah 53 sets out a graphic prophecy of the coming Messiah, and about Him we read, “But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins“. The Messiah, Jesus, finally came with a lineage that stretched all the way back to Abraham, as we read in Matthew 1. Jesus was, and still is, a Jew. He still is, because He is alive today.

But to many today, the thought, the reality, the truth, that through the Messiah and His crucifixion at Calvary, God finally completed His plan for the salvation of mankind, is a problem. Jesus, the Son of God, said in John 14:6, “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me“. The reality is that there is only one way to Heaven and that is through Jesus. Only He can save us from the punishment we deserve for our sins. And He was, and is, a Jew.

As the war between Israel and Hamas rages on, the devil has been stoking up anti-Semitism on a scale never seen for many years. Most people correlate being a Jew and being an Israelite as one and the same thing, and Jews everywhere in the world have found that persecution has increased. But God promised to protect His people. We read in Deuteronomy 33:29, “How blessed you are, O Israel! Who else is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your protecting shield and your triumphant sword! Your enemies will cringe before you, and you will stomp on their backs!” In spite of many times of unfaithfulness, God has remained faithful to His people, because He made a covenant with them. And in many ways the Hebrew Scriptures read like a love story between God and His people.

The enemies of Israel walk a dangerous path, and if we want to know what will happen to them we only have to read the book of Revelation. Of course, this does not justify actions taken by the Israelites, as they too will have to stand before God one day and give an account for all that they have done in this life.

So what should we pilgrims do about the Jews, God’s chosen people? We pray. Psalm 122:6, “Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper“. And we keep praying in the certainty that we are in the will of God for His people. And we give thanks for the Jewish Son of God, who died for the sins of the world at Calvary so that many will be counted righteous.

Dear Father God. We thank You for Your plan of salvation delivered through Your people, the Jews, and through Jesus Your Son. We pray for Your people and for peace not only in Jerusalem, but in Palestine as well. We pray for the innocent people caught up in the conflict and pray that these days will be cut short. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Rescue

Posted on by korgrocker

“I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, “The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.””
Romans 11:25-27 NLT

Paul writes that there will be a time of salvation for the Jews. We don’t know when that will be but we do know that one day it will happen. Paul loosely quoted two verses from the Old Testament Scriptures, ““The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,” says the Lord. “And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Isaiah 59:20-21). We have to visit this section of Scripture to determine the context. These verses in Isaiah are at the end of a chapter where the prophet provides warnings about sin and wickedness. And the Redeemer is none other than Jesus Himself. Of course, we know that He died just outside the city walls at Jerusalem for the redemption of all sins, an act with eternal consequences, and Isaiah continues to reveal that the Lord’s Spirit will remain forever, never leaving His redeemed people. 

But Paul was perhaps also writing about a day when the people of Israel finally turn to their Redeemer. Their hearts will soften from the current hardness, and “all Israel will be saved”. If the Jews rejected their Redeemer when He came to this earth, what would make them change their collective minds? We mustn’t forget that Jesus has an appointment, marked in His Heavenly calendar, to return to earth a second time. We read in Acts 1:9-11, “After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”” We don’t know when “someday” will be of course, but we know that it will happen, as the angels foretold. We also know where He will return to, because He ascended from the Mount of Olives, as we read in Acts 1:12, “Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.” We also know what the weather will be like on the day He returns because it will be cloudy. But even though we know something about how Jesus will return, we don’t know when, other than Paul’s assertion that first, the “full number” of Gentiles must convert to believing in Christ. 

We also know from other Scriptures that Jesus will not return as a baby child, but very visibly with great power and glory. “For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. … And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:27,30). Perhaps this will be the time when the Jews will finally be saved. Matthew 24:31, “And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.”

But whatever we pilgrims believe, God’s plans for His human creation will come together one day. All will make sense then, in case we are puzzled about how it is all going to happen. God has the eternity view. Time is no problem to Him. Unlike us, He is not constrained by calendars and human events. God gave a prophetic message of the salvation of the Jews through Paul’s pen, and one day there will be a huge crowd of Jews and Gentiles in Heaven, united in praise and worship to our wonderful Heavenly Father.

Dear Father. We look forward to that day when You will be worshipped by all Your people. What can we say, other than echo that phrase from the last chapter of Revelation – “Come Lord Jesus”. Amen.