Sheep

According to Jesus we are His sheep...

Over the last few years I've been seeing references to "sheeple" and that used in a negative connotation. Sheeple are followers of current trends and the manipulations of tptb. We are not to be "sheeple" but we are to be Jesus's sheep.

Doing a word study using my electronic Strong's Concordance on the word "sheep" gives insight into what Jesus says about it.

The very first verse in the Bible that brings up the topic of sheep is with regard to the first brothers mentioned; Cain and Abel:

Gen 4:2  And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Gen 4:3  And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Gen 4:4  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Gen 4:5  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

It seems that Cain and Able both knew exactly what was pleasing to God. Now from this I do not draw the conclusion that there's something wrong with farming, lol. However, the concept of sacrifice and sheep and "things of the earth" are here for us to ponder.

Psalm 53 is well accepted as being about Jesus and His sacrifice for us, and it mentions us as sheep in this way:

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 

Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, California

We have turned every one to his own way...Do we see that today? It makes me think of that Frank Sinatra song that people loved so much: "I Did It My Way". According to the Bible, Cain and Frank Sinatra were wrong...according to this world, self effort and self promotion and doing it "my way" are to be celebrated and encouraged. Are the Joel Osteens, Oprah Winfrees, and Robert Schullers wrong? According to Jesus, they are completely wrong

Jer 50:6  My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place.

Ahhhhh.... resting place...


Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11  Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

So flaunting our own works and abilities actually are examples of unbelief.....resting in Jesus...my spirit is so willing, yet my flesh still desires to elevate itself. Old habits die hard. You would think it should be very simple to REST in Jesus. There REMAINETH therefore a rest to the people of God. That blessed rest that the Saturday sabbath pointed to, which the Israelites failed at keeping, or twisted it into a ritualized keeping that made it seem they were keeping it. Even when at rest, the flesh elevates itself into thinking it is doing something holy and honorable. 

Mat 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

As Jesus sheep, we follow Him in doing those things that will bring us no honor or praise from this world.

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

We can only endure to the end if Jesus makes it so. With us it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.

´You anoint my Head with Oil´ (Psalm 23). We see a shepherd anointing the heads of sheep with oil to preserve them from sunstroke, or to heal bramble scratches. An early photograph.