“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.” – John 10:11
As the Good Shepherd, the Lord not only protects us as we saw yesterday, but He also lays down His life for His sheep. It is why we can call Him good. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” We can call Jesus GOOD today because He did what had to be done in order for you and me to be saved and forgiven.
He laid down His life so that we could be redeemed. This word “redeemed” means to be delivered from sin and rescued from receiving the consequences we deserve. We are redeemed by His blood!
Let me show you something about His redemption back in Psalm 22. This is the most Messianic chapter in the Old Testament written about a thousand years before Jesus went to the cross. It is here we find the Psalmist describing the price that Jesus would pay to redeem us. But He wrote this about 1,000 years before it actually happened.
You’ll probably recognize where He says, “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” But then drop down to verses 15-18, where David wrote: “My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet… I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat. They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.”
Do you know who else quoted these words of David? Jesus did! These were the words spoken by Jesus while nailed to a cross for your sins and mine. Because He was beaten, we are healed! Because Jesus was forsaken, we are forgiven! Because He died, we have an eternal home! All our failures and all our sins are washed away in His blood!
The Good Shepherd died for the sheep in order to redeem them! Jesus is the Good Shepherd not just because He protects us now, but because He made an eternal destination possible for His sheep. He laid His life down for His sheep!