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Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
Hebrews 13:20

The Lord Jesus gave Himself the title of “Good Shepherd” in John 10:11 saying that He gives His life for His sheep. In the last chapter of Hebrews, He is called the Great Shepherd of the Sheep. The first describes what Christ saw His job to be. The second was the opinion of the sheep concerning their caretaker.

Members of the Secret Service are required to sign a paper stating that they would be willing to sacrifice their lives in an attempt to save the President or some other V.I.P. that they were ordered to protect. I never heard of anyone willing to die for mutton on the hoof, much less requiring dying for the sheep in the job description for being a shepherd. Christ willingly gave His life so that His flock could live. The sheep were deeply grateful and voted Him Great Shepherd of the Sheep.

Sometimes we forget that the Lord didn’t have to do this. No one would begrudge a shepherd boy for not standing between a pack of ravenous wolves and his flock. To do so would mean certain death and, after all, a bunch of dumb, smelly animals wouldn’t be worth the sacrifice.

The angels in heaven must have wondered the same thing. “Why would the King of kings sacrifice himself to save those stupid, ungrateful human beings?” Probably even more perplexing was, “Why did the LORD God Almighty have to become the Lamb of God in order to be the perfect substitute for these ‘sheepeople’?”

If Christ did not die for the sins of this world, God would have still have been the God of the universe; He just wouldn’t have been the God of love and mercy that we know Him now to be. The fact remains that Jesus did give His life as a Great Shepherd of the Sheep.

October 5

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
Hebrews 8:6

Better is “more gooder.” It’s been improvised on, greater than, and superior to whatever it is being compared to. Here, Christ is the Mediator of a Better Covenant, so the new relationship He establishes with God out-shines anything and everything involved in the old covenant of law keeping.

The nation of Israel was a privileged people. God revealed everything He wanted them to do by giving them a written law. This included a list of moral standards which established right and wrong (the Ten Commandments) and also gave a code of social and ceremonial laws. With this spiritual contract came great benefits and responsibilities. God promised to bless the Jewish people greatly when they obeyed His laws. Through obedience they would be given military victories, exponential growth, and wealth that compounded annually.

Disobedience, on the other hand, resulted in serious consequences: military defeats, famines, plagues, climate change, poverty, captivity, exile, and after that, things really got bad.

God’s covenant of law only worked when His people heard what He said and obeyed it. Since the human heart is hard, the years of God’s blessing were few and the years of cursing many.

The New Covenant that Christ ushered in changed all areas of the contract for the better:

• God’s blessings are based on a person’s faith, not a result of works.
• Christ supplies us with grace which is His power to save and transform.
• Temporal blessings on earth are replaced with eternal life.
• God no longer seems distant. He is Immanuel, God with us.
• The emphasis isn’t inheriting the land but being joint heirs with Christ.
• Christians have the promise of victory over sin and death and hell.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for being the Mediator of a Better Covenant.

October 6

The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.”
John 4:19

In English grammar, the little word “a” is an indefinite article. That means that the noun it is linked to is nothing special or in particular. When the Samaritan woman called Jesus a prophet, she was seeing Him as one among many religious professionals.

The woman at the well had never seen Christ before, and yet, He knew all about her. He knew things that only God could know, so she assumed that God had revealed the information to Him. No one in that village had ever seen a man of God before, but seeing how extraordinary this stranger was, she concluded that He must be a prophet.

The title was meant to be a compliment. After all, hundreds of years had gone by without any prophet at all so, she was putting Him into a very special category. Herein lies the whole problem; Christ is in a class by Himself. In every group that people want to put Him in, the Savior must have the preeminence.

In the minds of modern theologians, Jesus is just a prophet. He is a spiritual leader that formed a world religion and is on par with Moses, Buddha, Confucius, and Krishna. But Christ is Lord of lords and all others will bow the knee to Him.

In Islam, Christ is honored as a prophet. However, Mohammed is considered to be “the Prophet” so the Lord of Glory at best comes in second place. That’s wrong! The Lord Jesus remains the only “Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6).

Whenever Christ is bundled to something else, He is esteemed as less than the God of the universe, so people reject Him for what he claimed to be. Many see Jesus as a way to God (among many others) or a savior for some people in the world, but not others. Unbelief likes to use the indefinite article. It would be like calling Him a prophet.

October 7

For Moses truly said to the fathers, “The LORD your God will raise up for you
a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things,
whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear
that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.
Acts 3:22,23*

Shortly before Moses died, he prophesied that another Prophet would come after him that would be on the magnitude of Moses himself. This meant the ability to do signs and wonders at the level that Moses was able to do them, not to mention leading the people of God. Even before “the Babe” was born in Bethlehem, Jewish sages recognized that Moses was referring to the Messiah.

Synagogue leaders would have taught this in the Sabbath services, so by the time Christ taught and performed His wonders, the title “The Prophet” was generally acknowledged as a title for the Lord’s Anointed.

After Christ miraculously fed 5,000 men with only five bread rolls and two sardines many remarked, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14). On another occasion Jesus stood up to the Pharisees and chief priests so that the crowd marveled and exclaimed, “’Truly this is the Prophet‘. Others said, ‘This is the Christ'” (John 7:40-41). Even King Herod’s advisers discussed who Jesus was. The king feared Jesus was John the Baptist come back to life, but some of his counselors speculated that. “It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets” (Mark. 6:15).

The verses at the beginning of this meditation come from Peter’s sermon in the temple after the healing of the lame man. Again, a major miracle was performed and still some people argued rather than coming to the conclusion of faith in the Messiah. Peter reminded them that these very people had seen the fulfillment of the Prophet coming, but they crucified Him instead of giving Him glory.

The bottom line is that some people repented and embraced the Savior while others rejected the Prophet and were utterly condemned just like people today.

*see also Deuteronomy 18:15,18; Mark 6:15; John 6:14, 7:40

October 8

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said
to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
John 20:16

The difference between a Rabbi and a Rabboni is just a matter of degrees. In American universities, there are three levels of academic achievement: Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate. In the same way, teachers of the Torah advanced in their scholarship.

The first level for a Jewish sage was that of a Rab (literally Master). The origin traces back to the development of synagogues during the Babylonian captivity. The Rab was the ruler of the synagogue and was designated by the congregation through the laying on of hands.

The middle level was that of a Rabbi. It was developed after the return of the exiles to Jerusalem. The title means “my master” and referred to a master teacher who would attract disciples to him. They would serve their Rabbi, and he would both teach and provide for them.

The highest level was Rabboni, meaning “my great Master.” Only the most respected sages who would see their disciples for a number of spiritual generations were honored this way.

Mary Magdalene called her Lord “Rabboni.” As a woman of questionable reputation, she was not known for her scholarship. What she was known for was that she was a sinner who was forgiven much. She bestowed the high honor on the Risen Lord.

The only other mention of the title Rabboni was by the blind beggar, Bartimaeus. Again, he was not a direct disciple of Jesus and, being blind, he couldn’t read, much less study the Hebrew scriptures. However, he had great spiritual insight.

When Jesus was passing through Jericho, the blind man called out the Messianic Title, “Son of David,” to Him. When the crowd would hush him up, he called out even louder. When Christ asked him what he wanted, Bartimaeus replied, “Rabboni,” (My Great Master), “That I may receive my sight” (Mark 10:51).

September 15

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us,
an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Ephesians 5:2

In the Bible, sacrifice and offerings are often mentioned together, but there are important differences. Offerings
 compromise the broader category and refer to anything brought to the designated place of worship that is presented as a gift to God. Sacrifices are a sub-group of offerings and refer to food stuffs that are totally or partially burnt on the altar.

Christ came to earth to sacrifice His life as a substitution for mankind’s sins. This wasn’t something the Lord had to do because He owed salvation to Adam’s race but rather was a free will offering. Jesus didn’t have to save us; He chose to save us.

Since the focus was on giving a gift, all offerings are types of Christ and they come in many varieties. The many variations of sweet-smelling sacrifices were all voluntary and precious. Although a lame, blind, or sick animal could be butchered for food, it could not be given to God; it had to be without defect.

Sin and Trespass offerings fall under non-sweet-smelling sacrifices, but also are Old Testament images of Christ. These were not optional; they were required in order to atone for sins. The Lord Jesus willingly became a sin offering in order to impute our sins as His own, because we were unwilling and unable to reconcile ourselves to the Holy God.

Scriptures also link tithes and offerings. A tithe literally means 10% of one’s income and was compulsory for God’s people. Actually, there were three separate tithes required; one for the priests, one for the feasts, and one for the poor every three years. Therefore, tithing would actually come out to be between 20 and 30% any given year. Anything on top of that was considered an offering.

Since Jesus Christ gave Himself 100% to free us from our sins, He is the living embodiment of an offering.

October 10

The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.
Matthew 12:42

Disparity? Do you think? Today, the 85 richest people on the planet have a higher net worth than 3.5 billion of the poorest (the lowest 50% of all humanity). The wealthiest 1% of the world own 99% of all worldly goods. And yet that’s nothing! King Solomon made Israel’s economy so rich that silver was considered as stones. But, then, he only dealt with gold; he controlled the world supply.

For decades now, the president of the United States has been hailed as the “most powerful man in the world.” However, Ol’ Solomon was the first to own that title, and his place in the history books will remain long after the leaders of today are forgotten.

All that having been said, Christ Jesus is Greater than Solomon in every aspect.

Wisdom… Christ is the “Wisdom of God.”
Wealth… The Lord made all the gold in all the galaxies of the universe.
Long-life… Jesus is eternity years old and has another eternity to go.
Power… All the mighty ones on earth will flee the wrath of the Lamb.
Victory over enemies …The Savior has conquered sin, death, and hell.
Holiness… Solomon was bankrupt in this regard.
Disparity… The Lord of Glory’s great wealth and power are shared with His joint-heirs.

Bottom Line: Christ is Greater than Solomon.

September 16

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Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
James 2:7

 The apostle James overflowed with contempt towards rich Christians who flaunted their wealth and expected special seating in meetings of the church. He made a rhetorical question to the saints to make them realize what was going on: “Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?” (James 2:5). He concluded that such behavior blasphemed the noble name of Christ.

Often when we read in the gospels of Christ’s birth in a stable, or the fact that He didn’t even have a roof over His head during His ministry or that He was buried in a borrowed tomb, we envision the Savior in His humanity and forget that He is King of kings.

Jesus was of noble birth and could trace his lineage back to King David. His ancestry went back to Adam who at one point had dominion over all the earth. But His noble origin goes back further yet. He is God, so He is also Lord of lords, the blessed and only Potentate, and King of Glory.

The Lord came to this world to save sinners “and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:15). But of those whom He called there were “not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble” (1 Corinthians 1:26). Yet, it is the plan of the Savior that Christians hear “the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). In other words, He takes those whom the world esteems as lowly and brings them to share in His nobility. He elevates us to be joint heirs.

As a result, we are called on to shed the weak and beggarly elements of our human nature that we were born with and be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The Apostle Paul admonishes believers: “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble […] meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8). In doing that we’ll never forget that the King of Righteousness is Noble.

October 13

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will
receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
1 Peter 5:4

The verse above concludes an admonition by the Apostle John to church elders that they “shepherd the flock of God” (1 John 5:1-4). Just like a shepherd taking care of sheep, the overseers of the local church need to feed and care for God’s flock (i.e. believers in Christ).The Latin word for shepherd is “pastor,” which is the origin for the English word for a minister or preacher. Just as the church’s pastor is responsible for his spiritual sheep, he also must be accountable to the head Pastor, or as it is in this verse, the Chief Shepherd.

This title of Christ is unique because it is only used in reference to the leadership of the local church. There could not be a Chief Shepherd unless there were also under-shepherds spread out in different fields looking over literally hundreds of critters who were unable to take care of themselves.

Pastors, elders, and people in full-time ministry sometimes feel that the congregation is their flock, but the truth of the matter is that the spiritual lambs belong to the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep (John 10:11). With some degree of regularity, these under-shepherds must answer to the Chief Shepherd‘s questions: “How are my sheep doing? Are they healthy? Is the flock growing? How many were lost to the wolves?”

1 Peter 5:2 explains other areas in which the Head Pastor will examine the assistant pastors: Attitude and motivation. “Why did you even take this job? Do you feel you have to do it or do you want to do it? Are you in it for the money or status? Or do you want to please me?”

I understand that not everyone will have to answer to the Chief Shepherd, so they might not be interested in the title. Even so, I’m scheduled to meet with Him at the judgment seat of Christ, and I want to get all my sheep in a row. He has an unfading crown of glory to give me, but that’s not why I do any of this. All I really want to do is be pleasing to my Chief Shepherd.

September 17

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 23:1

This psalm might be the most well-known portion of the Old Testament. It is commonly read at funerals, quoted in greeting cards, and is set to music. But to most, it is just a pretty poem that doesn’t fit the reality of their lives. It says, “I shall not want,” but most people have plenty of wants: money, things, power, fame, pleasure, and if they do get those things they want even more; they are never satisfied.

The problem is that most people can’t say, “The LORD is my shepherd.” To do so would be to admit that they were like sheep and they needed to follow someone who actually knew the way. The prophet Isaiah nailed it: “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). A sheep that won’t follow the shepherd always gets lost, even if the shepherd brings it back to the fold. Sooner or later that sheep becomes wolf food. Sheep really can’t take care of themselves, especially the really dumb ones who pride themselves on their independence.

In 1868, Elizabeth Clephane wrote the following poem that later became a hymn:

There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold;
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare;
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.

The next three stanzas describe how the Shepherd searches and suffers to find the sheep until it cries out for help. The last verse concludes:

And all through the mountains, thunder-riv’n,
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of heav’n,
“Rejoice! I have found My sheep!”
And the angels echoed around the throne,
“Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!”

October 14