November 5, 2023 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Two Flocks become One

Two Flocks become One

Isaiah 27:6-13 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ In days to come Jacob will take root,
    Israel will bud and blossom
    and fill all the world with fruit.

⁷ Has the Lord struck her
    as he struck down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
    as those were killed who killed her?
⁸ By warfare and exile you contend with her—
    with his fierce blast he drives her out,
    as on a day the east wind blows.
⁹ By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned for,
    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:
When he makes all the altar stones
    to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles or incense altars
    will be left standing.
¹⁰ The fortified city stands desolate,
    an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,
    there they lie down;
    they strip its branches bare.
¹¹ When its twigs are dry, they are broken off
    and women come and make fires with them.
For this is a people without understanding;
    so their Maker has no compassion on them,
    and their Creator shows them no favor.

¹² In that day the Lord will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, Israel, will be gathered up one by one. ¹³ And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

How will Jacob (Israel) change the world (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is different between the way Lord struck Jacob (Israel) and the way He struck “those who struck her” (verse 7)?

How does the Lord “contend with” Jacob (verse 9)?

What will happen to Jacob “when he makes all the altar stones to be like limestone crushed to pieces” (verse 9)?

How does the “fortified city stand” (verse 10)?

Why does “their Maker” have “no compassion on them” (verse 11)?

How will Israel be gathered when the Lord “will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt” (verse 12)?

Who will come to “worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem” on that day (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about how the Lord gathers His people?

John 10:11-18 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

How did Jesus describe Himself (verse 11)?

Who “lays down his life for the sheep” (verse 11)?

What does the hired man do when “he sees the wolf coming” (verse 12)?

Who “cares nothing for the sheep” (verse 13)?

Who knows Jesus (verse 14)?

What does Jesus do (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen” (verse 16)?

How many flocks will there be (verse 16)?

Why does the Father love Jesus (verse 17)?

What does Jesus have the authority to do (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about how the Lord gathers His people?

In your opinion, are the people being gathered in Isaiah 27:6-13 who will “worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem” part of either of the flocks that Jesus is talking about in John 10:11-18?  Why?

Romans 11:25-32 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, ²⁶ and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion;
    he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
²⁷ And this is my covenant with them
    when I take away their sins.”

²⁸ As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, ²⁹ for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. ³⁰ Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, ³¹ so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. ³² For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

Why does Paul not want the Christians in Rome “to be ignorant of this mystery” (verse 25)?

What is the mystery (revelation of something not clear in the Old Testament) of why “Israel has experienced a hardening in part” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, does the context of the passage that Paul lifts the quote from (Isaiah 27:9) change the way that you interpret “all Israel” (verse 26)?

What will the Deliverer who comes from Zion do (verse 26)?

When is this covenant active (verse 27)?

In your opinion, who are the “enemies for your sake” (verse 28)?

What are irrevocable (verse 29)?

What have the Roman Christians received “as a result of their disobedience” (verse 30)?

What may they receive “as a result of God’s mercy on you” (verse 31)?

Why has God “bound everyone over to disobedience” (verse 32)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about how the Lord gathers His people?

In your opinion, what does Romans 11:25-32 help us understand about how the promise in Isaiah 27:6-13 that “Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit” will be fulfilled?

In your opinion, what does Paul in Romans 11:25-32 help us understand about the two flocks that Jesus was talking about in John 10:11-18?  Is the way God’s mercy is received different or the same for the two flocks?

Hebrews 8:7-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. ⁸ But God found fault with the people and said:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
    when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
⁹ It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
    and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
¹⁰ This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
    after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
    and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
¹¹ No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest.
¹² For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.”

¹³ By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

What would not have happened if “there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant” (verse 7)?

Who will the Lord make the new covenant with (verse 8)?

Why will it “not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt” (verse 9)?

Where will the Lord put His laws (verse 10)?

What will the people be (verse 10)?

Why will they no longer “teach their neighbor” (verse 11)?

What will the Lord remember “no more” (verse 12)?

Why will the first covenant “soon disappear” (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal to us about how the Lord gathers His people?

In your opinion, how does comparing Isaiah 27:6-13 and Hebrews 8:9-13 help us understand what some of the differences between the old and the new covenants are?

In your opinion, is the covenant that Hebrews 8:7-13 talks about being with the people of Israel and Judah for both of the flocks that Jesus was talking about in John 10:11-18?

In your opinion, is the new covenant of Hebrews 8:7-13 connected to the way “Jacob’s guilt” will be atoned for in Isaiah 27:6-13?  

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, Romans, and Hebrews teach us about how salvation is accomplished?

In your opinion, how are two flocks made into one?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 2, 2023 – John’s Writings – Love, Accepted or Refused

Love, Accepted or Refused

Isaiah 52:3-10 - New International Version (NIV)

³ For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,
    and without money you will be redeemed.”

⁴ For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt to live;
    lately, Assyria has oppressed them.

⁵ “And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord.

“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
    and those who rule them mock,”
declares the Lord.
“And all day long
    my name is constantly blasphemed.
⁶ Therefore my people will know my name;
    therefore in that day they will know
that it is I who foretold it.
    Yes, it is I.”

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”
⁸ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
    together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
    they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹ Burst into songs of joy together,
    you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
    in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
    the salvation of our God.

What were the people of Israel and Judah sold for (verse 3)?

What will they be redeemed for (verse 3)?

In your opinion, how are Egypt and Assyria similar (verse 4)?

When is God’s name blasphemed (verse 5)?

Who will know God’s name (verse 6)?

Whose feet are “beautiful on the mountains” (verse 7)?

What will the watchmen see “with their own eyes” (verse 8)?

Why are the ruins of Jerusalem to “burst into songs of joy” (verse 6)?

Where will the “salvation of our God” be seen (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about listening to God’s voice?

John 10:11-18 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

What is Jesus (verse 11)?

What does the good shepherd do (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why does this not say “lays down his life for his sheep” (verse 11)?

What does the wolf do (verse 12)?

Why does the hired man run away (verse 13)?

Who knows the shepherd (verse 14)?

What does the good shepherd do for the sheep (verse 15)?

How many flocks will there be (verse 16)?

What will Jesus do with His life (verse 17)?

Who takes Jesus life from Him (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about listening to God’s voice?

In your opinion, how is the salvation of God that Isaiah 52:3-10 talks about related to the laying down of His life Jesus is telling about in John 10:11-18?

1 John 3:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

What is the result of the “great love the Father has lavished on us” (verse 1)?

Why does the world “not know us” (verse 1)?

What are we (verse 2)?

When will we be like Christ (verse 2)?

What do people who have “this hope in him” do (verse 3)?

Who “breaks the law” (verse 4)?

What is sin (verse 4)?

Why did Jesus appear (verse 5)?

How do people who live in Jesus change (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about listening to God’s voice?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 3:1-6 help us understand about the redemption that Isaiah 52:3-10 says will happen “without money”?

In your opinion, how does John 10:11-18 help us understand about how amazingly great the love that 1 John 3:1-6 says that God has “lavished on us” is?

Revelation 16:8-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. ⁹ They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.

¹⁰ The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony ¹¹ and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

What was the sun allowed to do when the fourth angel poured out his bowl (verse 8)?

How did the people who were “seared by the intense heat” respond to God (verse 9)?

What did the people refuse to do (verse 9)?

Where did the fifth angel pour out his bowl (verse 10)?

What happened when he poured out his bowl (verse 10)?

Why did people gnaw their tongues (verse 10)?

How did people respond to God (verse 11)?

What did people refuse to do (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about listening to God’s voice?

In your opinion, how are the people who were “sold for nothing” in Isaiah 52:3-10 similar to the people who “cursed the God of heaven” in Revelation 16:8-11?  How are the people who are redeemed in Isaiah 52:3-10 different from the people in Revelation?

In your opinion, how can the God who is the Shepherd and who lays down His life in John 10:11-18 be the same God who brings the plagues in Revelation 16:8-11?

In your opinion, why do those who are receiving the force of the plagues in Revelation 16:8-11 refuse to “see” and know the one that 1 John 3:1-6 says came to “take away our sins”? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, 1 John and Revelation help us understand about who Jesus loves enough to lay down His life for?

In your opinion, what is the difference between those who respond to Jesus’s voice by coming to Him and those who refuse to repent?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 25, 2017 – Psalm 23 – From the lives of David and Jesus – The Lord is my shepherd

-            The

“The Lord is my shepherd” KJV Psalm 23a

2 Samuel 5:1-5 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. ² In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”

³ When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.

⁴ David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. ⁵ In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

Who came to David at Hebron (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why did they say “We are your own flesh and blood” (verse 1)?

What had the Lord said to David (verse 2)?

What did the King make with the elders of Israel at Hebron (verse 3)?

How old was David when he became king (verse 4)?

What area did David rule for seven years and six months with Hebron as the capital (verse 5)?

How long was David king over all Israel and Judah from Jerusalem (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

John 10:11-18 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

What does Jesus claim the “good shepherd” will do (verse 11)?

How does the hired hand react when “he sees the wolf coming” (verse 12)?

How much does the hired hand care about the sheep (verse 13)?

In your opinion, why does Jesus know His sheep and His sheep know Him (verse 14)?

What does Jesus do for the Sheep (verse 15)?

In your opinion, who are the “other sheep that are not of this sheep pen” (verse 16)?

What will the “other sheep” do (verse 16)?

How many flocks and shepherds will there be (verse 16)?

Why does the Father love Jesus (verse 17)?

Who takes Jesus life from Him (verse 18)?

What authority does Jesus have (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how are the views about the duties of a shepherd held by “all the tribes of Israel” in 2 Samuel 5:1-5 different from the view of Jesus in John 10:11-18?

Hebrews 13:20-21 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

How did the “God of peace” bring “our Lord Jesus” from the dead (verse 20)?

How is Jesus described (verse 20)?

In your opinion, what does “equip you with everything good for doing his will” mean (verse 21)?

What is Paul asking that God do “in us” (verse 21)?

Who is to receive the “glory for ever and ever” (verse 21)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, why does Paul in Hebrews 13:20-21 in calling Jesus “the great Shepherd of the sheep” amplify what Jesus said in John 10:11-18 when He said “the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”?

In your opinion, what are some of the differences between King David, who 2 Samuel 5:1-5 reveals shepherded the people of Israel, and Jesus Christ, who Paul in Hebrews 13:20-21 calls the “great Shepherd of the sheep”?

Revelation 7:13-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

¹⁴ I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
    will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ ‘Never again will they hunger;
    never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
    nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ 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.’”

Who ask John about the people in the white robes (verse 13)?

What was revealed about the people in the white robes (verse 14)?

Who will shelter the people in the white robes (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why is it significant that they won’t hunger or thirst or suffer from the sun or scorching heat (verse 16)?

What will the relationship of “Lamb at the center of the throne” and those in the white robes be (verse 17)?

Where will the Lamb lead them (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, why is there a transition from Paul in his benediction of Hebrews 13:20-21 asking for the Shepherd to “equip you with everything good for doing his will” to the elder explaining to John in Revelation 7:13-17 that the Shepherd will “lead them to springs of living water” and what does that transition mean to us?

In your opinion, how are the ones that Jesus says in John 10:11-18 “will listen to my voice” and the ones that the elder in Revelation 7:13-17 “washed their robes and made the white in the blood of the Lamb” related?

In your opinion, why do both the people who approached David to ask him to be king in 2 Samuel 5:1-5 and the elder who describes the relationship of the people in the white robes to Jesus in Revelation 7:13-17 both use blood in their statements?

In your opinion, what do these passages from 2 Samuel, John, Hebrews and Revelation teach us about the passage that opens Psalm 23, “the Lord is my shepherd”?

In your opinion, how do these passages guide us in responding to the voice of the good Shepherd calling us today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 24, 2016 – Teachings from the Rock – Shepherds and the Chief Shepherd

Shepherds and the Chief Shepherd

Ezekiel 34:7-16 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.

¹¹ “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. ¹² As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. ¹⁴ I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁶ I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

Who is called to hear the “word of the Lord” (verse 7)?

Why has the Lord’s flock been plundered and become food for wild animals (verse 8)?

What did the shepherds do instead of searching for the flock (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why will the Lord hold the shepherds accountable for the flock (verse 10)?

What will no longer be food for the shepherds (verse 10)?

Who will search for the sheep and look after them (verse 11)?

Where will the sheep be rescued from (verse 12)?

Where will the sheep be pastured after they are brought out of the nations and the countries (verse 13)?

What kind of pasture will the sheep feed on (verse 14)?

Who will tend the sheep (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why bind up the injured and strengthen the weak but destroy the sleek and the strong (verse 16)?

How will the Lord shepherd the flock (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

John 10:11-18 - New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

What does the good shepherd do (verse 11)?

Who abandons the sheep and runs away when he sees the wolf coming (verse 12)?

Why does the man run away (verse 13)?

In your opinion, how does Jesus the good shepherd know His sheep and how do they know Him (verse 14)?

Who knows the Father and is known by the Father (verse 15)?

What does Jesus do for the sheep (verse 15)?

In your opinion, who are the other sheep that are not of “this sheep pen” (verse 16)?

When Jesus brings in these other sheep, how many flocks will there be (verse 16)?

Why does the Father love Jesus (verse 17)?

What does Jesus have the authority to do (verse 18)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how does the way Jesus identifies Himself in John 10:11-18 show that He is the answer to the prophecy God gave in Ezekiel 34:7-16?

1 Corinthians 2:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

How did Paul not come to the Corinthians as he proclaimed the testimony about God (verse 1)?

What was the only thing Paul resolved to know while he was with them (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says he “came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling” (verse 3)?

What does Paul say his message and preaching were without (verse 4)?

What does Paul say his message and preaching were with (verse 4)?

Where does Paul want the Corinthian’s faith to rest (verse 5)?

Where does Paul speak a message of wisdom (verse 6)?

What are the rulers of this age coming to (verse 6)?

What is “a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how was the message of Jesus, who says in John 10:11-18 “I am the good shepherd . . . and I lay down my life for my sheep” then powerfully proclaimed by Paul who said in 1 Corinthians 2:1-7 that he “came in weakness with great fear and trembling”?

In your opinion, what causes the difference between the shepherds of Israel that Ezekiel has a message for in Ezekiel 34:7-16 and Paul who is acting as a shepherd to the Christians in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 2:1-7?

1 Peter 5:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: ² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

In your opinion, why does Peter describe himself to the “elders among you” as a ‘fellow elder’ and also as ‘a witness of Christ’s sufferings’ (verse 1)?

What will Peter share with the elders (verse 1)?

Why should the elders watch over the flock that is under their care (verse 2)?

What should the elders not pursue (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between “lording it over those entrusted to you” and “being examples to the flock” (verse 3)?

How is Jesus described (verse 4)?

When will the elders “receive the crown of glory that will never fade away” (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is Paul in his ministry to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2:1-7 an example of the type of shepherd that Peter is appealing to the elders to be in 1 Peter 4:1-4?

In your opinion, how can the elders that Peter is calling to be “shepherds of God’s flock” in 1 Peter 5:1-4 be like the “Chief Shepherd” as Peter calls Jesus instead of the hired hand that Jesus in John 10:11-18 says “abandons the sheep and runs away”?

In your opinion, what can the shepherds that Peter is talking to in 1 Peter 5:1-4 learn from the shepherds that the Lord is holding accountable in Ezekiel 34:7-16?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, John, 1 Corinthians and 1 Peter tell us about bad shepherds, good shepherds and the one who calls Himself the “good shepherd”?

In your opinion, what do these passages show us about ourselves today?

Next, back to Peter 5:5 – (sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)