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Meditation on the Good Shepherd

June 19, 2006

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Dear Friends

When we read about meditation in the Bible, it is not speaking of some mystic transcendental experience, but simply a deep, thoughtful contemplation. Most often, the subject of that meditation is on God’s word and God’s ways. An example of meditation in Scripture is found in Joshua. “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)

We could characterize the opposite of a meditative consideration of Scriptures as superficial. This would be a quick, cursory look where perhaps wrong conclusions are reached and the finer points of the narrative aren’t considered. Most any serious Bible student will tell us that one of the beauties of Scripture is that when we take the time to meditate on them, we are nearly always rewarded with a new insight into the mind of the Divine Author.

It may be helpful to cite an example of superficial Bible reading versus a deeper meditative approach. One that jumps into my mind is one that I have personally been guilty of reading on a superficial level. In the parable of the Good Shepherd in John 10, we are introduced to another character which, in the King James Bible, is known as “the hireling.” In contrast to the Good Shepherd (Jesus), we read about this “not-so-good-shepherd.” It reads “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.”

A superficial interpretation of this passage (of which I have been guilty) was to interpret the passage thusly:

It only takes a little consideration to see how many holes this superficial reading and interpretation contains. First, we only need to ask a simple question that any child could answer to see the problem in this interpretation. How do shepherds make their living? This is an all too obvious answer – by being shepherds. To suggest to the agrarian culture to whom this passage was originally written anything different would have been insulting to their intelligence. So with a little meditation on this parable, we see that while a hireling may be a person for hire (#1 above), this is not the primary distinction the parable is trying to focus our attention on, therefore money is not the problem (#2 and #3 above) the parable is trying to address.

With a bit more meditation on the passage, it becomes obvious that the problem with the hireling is their behavior in the face of danger because of their attitude toward the sheep. In the face of a wolf in the midst of the flock, the hireling flees leaving the sheep to be killed and scattered. The hireling is self- centered. The Good Shepherd, we are told, will lay down his life for the sheep, not flee in a fit of panic or self-preservation. (v. 15) The hireling, on the other hand, flees because he “careth not for the sheep.”

After a bit of meditation on this passage, the true meaning is apparent. There are those, like Jesus, who truly and deeply care for the sheep. They are willing to lay down their lives for the sheep. In the face of the wolf (who in Matt. 7 is equated with a false prophet), the good shepherd(s) will stand their ground even if it means injury to themselves. They feel a sense of ownership for the sheep. They are selfless rather than selfish. It is a beautiful picture to contemplate and has a vitally important exhortation. Like this passage, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the things of God by meditating on His word.

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” (Ps. 1:1–2)

Have a great week,

P.S. Many requests have been made to print the TFTW in book form. Since this has been a community effort, I would like to make this book a community effort as well. If there is any particular TFTW that has touched you or that you would like to write a preface for, please contact Kyle Tucker. We will include some of these comments in the book, Lord willing.

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