Paradox: Shepherd and Sheep
“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 7:17
I must put down a dear little story told me by a friend this morning. Her small niece, aged somewhere between three and four, was heard telling the parable of the lost sheep to a cousin a year or two older. The finale was, “So the Shepherd put back the lamb into the fold, and then He mended up the hole where it had got out.” All of sanctification as well as well as salvation lay in the wisdom of those child-lips! (28 May 1926)
Scripture: Isaiah 53:7-11
- In what ways is Christ like a “lamb”?
- What event is anticipated in verses 8 and 9?
- Why was it the “Lord’s will” for Christ to suffer in such a way?
- Look at verse 11. Explain the following phrases with your additional understanding from the New Testament fulfillment of prophecy:
- “suffering of his soul”
- “He will see the light of life and be satisfied”
- “my righteous servant will justify many and he will bear their iniquities”
Meditation on Scripture
“… the Lamb… will be their shepherd…” (Revelation 7:17) Paradoxically, the Prophet Isaiah compared The Redeemer – the Good Shepherd – to a lamb brought to slaughter. A lamb sacrificed for the transgression of the people was a common practice of the Jewish community. But here again, amidst the familiar images, Isaiah slips in the foreign puzzling cryptic comment: He refers to life after death – resurrection: “Though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering he will see his offspring and prolong his days. He will see the light of life…”
Could the Old Testament believers begin to decipher Isaiah’s message? And what about the New Testament followers of Christ? Could they associate the “Good Shepherd” with the “slaughtered lamb”?
For the earnest seeker, the conundrum was clarified by John’s paradoxical testimony upon seeing Christ: “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
Indeed, the sweet cradle of Christ was rocked in the shadow of a Cross.
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