John 10:11
THE HIRED HAND (The Hireling)
In Palestine, the shepherd had the responsibility to protect the sheep. If any of the sheep were injured or killed, the shepherd had to prove it was not his fault. Evidence “would be a couple of leg bones or part of an ear from the jaws of a wild animal” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary).
A hired hand was paid to take care of the sheep. When the sheep were not in danger, he had no problem taking care of the sheep. But when danger came, he was more likely to be concerned about himself than the sheep. The Apostle John says when he sees the wolf coming … he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he’s a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. (John 10:12-13, NIV) John MacArthur gives the text a spiritual application. He says, “The hireling (or hired hand) represents religious leaders who perform their duty in good times, but who never display sacrificial care for the sheep in times of danger.”
Dr. W. M. Thomson in The Land and the Bookwrites: “I have listened with intense interest to … descriptions of (faithful shepherds in) downright and desperate fights with … savage beasts … to defend (their) flock … The true shepherd never (hesitates) to risk, and even to lay down, his life for his sheep.”
Jesus says I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. THE GOOD SHEPHERD LAYS DOWN HIS LIFE FOR THE SHEEP. (John 10:11, NIV) We are “the sheep.” The Apostle Paul says God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness (that we might become in Christ all that we could never be in ourselves, that which is required) of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV) Jesus loves us so much that I think it is beyond human comprehension. Jesus reminds us that Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13, NIV)
WE, WHO PROFESS JESUS AS SAVIOR AND LORD,
ARE TO BE IMITATORS OF THE TRUE SHEPHERD
We are to love each other as Jesus loves us. John says This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16) We who are born-again are called to the same kind of sacrificial giving toward one another.
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