Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-02-13

| title of The Good Shepherd" has
Sripped the ina gination and thought
| OF the Christians during all the cen
turtles of the church's history. We
owe the teaching of this lesson to the
| results of the Lords healing the man
born blind, which was the subject we
considered last week. The manifest
| injustice of the Pharisees. who
! claimed to be the shepherds Of Israel.
| in communicating the former blind
| man for his loyalty drew Jesus to the
, side of the religious outcast. The
Master understood the mental suffer
| ing of the one. who had been adj
judged to be socially and religiously
on plane with the leper, because
of his testimony to the Lords power
among men. Jesus revealed Himself
as The Good Shepherd with its
| message OF salvation. security and
! sustenance in an effort to give conSo-
lation and to fill His new recruit with
! courage SO that he would continue
faithful to his declaration of his per.
sonal faith in Christ as the Son of
God.
The shepherd with his flock is a IA
| miliar figure to the people OF the
Holy Land. Abraham entered Pales-
tine as shepherd and throughout all
the Old Testament history Gods care
tor His people was frequently illus
trated by the figure of the shepherds
care for his flock. Meyer has pointed
out that it has been used 500 times
in the Bible in that way. Possibly
the Master may have pointed TO some
shepherd with his flock when He
tried 10 encourage the man who had
been born blind. and instruct His dis
ciples concerning their future work
in the three related but distinct pic
lures that He painted Of the good
shepherd.
Jesus sought to arrest the attention
of His hearers by His Verify,
verify" SO that He might drive home
His rebuke Of the selflshness and
rapacity of the Pharisees. Against
the dark background of their heart
iessness and falseness, our Lord
painted the charming picture of His
own tender. self sacrificing love, and
the purpose Of His divine mission on
earth in the parable OF the good
shepherd. He drew IA sharp disttnc-
ton between the Pharisees, as the
| false shepherds. and Himself. is the
true shepherd.
False and True Shepherds.
Jesus did not declare Himself al the
beginning of this allegory as the
Good Shepherd, but, step by step, He
advanced in the development of His
thought and the association Of His
high claims, preparing the way for
the reception of Himself and His
truth. He outlined the character OF
the Pharisees in a single sentence.
They recognized at once the simple
sta tement of facts. But. like many
modern men. they applied to others
the Masters charges of being a thief.
The difference between the false
and true shepherds is found in their
method. motives and voice. The
Lord. evidently, found in the imagery
of the prophets the characteristic
of the Pharisees, who had usurped His
authority when they excommunicat-
ed the healed man. They had fed
themselves" when they should have
ted the fiocks first. They had scat
tered Them instead of shepherding
the flock. They had Slaughtered"
the poor flock. and yet held them
selves guiltless" They We're like
thieves in their deceit and like rob-
bers in their violence and selfishness.
The people were sheep without a
shepherds care. because the Phari-
critical efforts were being detected by
the multitude. who recognized their
falsenesS in speech and service.
Jesus claimed for Himself that He
possessed the marks of the True
Shepherd. He had come in fulfill
ment Of the prophets. Both jeremiah
and Ezekiel delighted to call the One
who was to appear THE Shepherd"
Christ was the true Shepherd, who
had been introduced by the Baptist.
He had come to call men back to God
and to help them make the most Of
life By sacrificing His own life for
men, the Lord has supplied the deep
est needs of the human soul. Saliva
ton from sin. abundant spiritual life
and a constant fellowship with God are
assured all who obey the voice Of
! the Master. the true Shepherd.
Christ knows each soul individually
when they enter into the fellowship
entrance.
Jesus the Door.
The Pharisees did not grasp
Christ's reference to Himself as the
true Shepherd and to them as the
false leaders of men, Jesus explained
the significance "by translating the
announcing as a truth Of solemn i'm
port that He is the door of the sheep
mot Of the fold), thereby setting aside
the authority Of the Pharisees and
other self-constituted guardians Of
the flock, who refused to accept His
mediation" DR.. H. H. Jessup tells of
seeing a shepfold in Syria without a
door. These folds are usually built
of stone. taken from the ruins of
ancient buildings, or are made by
dense hedge. as high as a man, the
robbers or wild beasts from getting
in at the sheep, which enter the
sheepfold through an opening, that is
closed at night by a door, which only
| the porter or Waterman within can
open. Noticing its absence, DR..
Jessup asked. Where is your door,"
The shepherd placed himself in the
opening and answered. Il am the
door," Christ is the living door and
| only means Of access to God.
! Christianity rests its claims to be
the true and only way Of salvation
| open for men upon the lords sacri.
fetal blood. He entered once into
the holy place, having obtained
| eternal redemption" for those that
enter by faith in Him. as their
! Saviour, in the way of life. The door
that He opened was not limited by
| the narrow wall of Jewish theocracy
or the barriers of national exclusive
| ness. IF any man enters in" has the
ring of the universal gospel of grace
that opens the privileges of the king
dom Of glory Of which Christ is the
door. He has commissioned His fol-
lowers to carry to every man and ma
| ton the invitation for men to enter
and find life. liberty, protection and
sustaining grace through Him.
Jesus then turned their thoughts
back to the picture Of the shepherd
life so that He could emphasize His
beneficent and disinterested purpose