Today's readings are Ecclesiastes 10.1-20 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Eccl.+10.1-20 ) and John 10.1-21 ( http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=John+10.1-21 ).
As Jesus begins his "good shepherd" statements let us draw our attention to his identity. Jesus is very clear about this. He has come in the "authorized" manner. He arrives according to God's command and the prophecy which God has revealed over many generations. He does not swoop down into society to create an alternative religion. He is not some sort of commando savior who breaks into the world, ruins everything that God has ever done in the past, and establishes a new order.
Though there is undoubtedly a new covenant and some sort of what we would call discontinuity between Old Testament and New Testament, between Moses and Christ, the old and new lawgivers, we see in a much greater sense that Jesus has come to fulfill, not to destroy. He is the one Moses spoke about. He is the one the Gospel has always looked to. He has always been the fulfillment of the Law.
Like sheep, we will never keep the demands of the Law. We don't know the way. We don't have the desire. We are sold to sin. Let us look to our shepherd, who has kept the demands of God's law on our behalf. Let us look to him for protection, guidance, sustenance, and provision. And let us rejoice that all Jesus is doing on our behalf is in accordance with what God has ordained and revealed to us in ages past.
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever!
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