| “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” |
| —John 10:11 |
Were you ever attacked and someone rushed to your aid? Maybe it was when you were a child. Another child tried to beat you up, but your older brother or sister intervened. Yes, most of the time, day by day, that sibling was the source of your personal pain and annoyance. But, in the face of a threat from someone outside the family, your brother or sister proved himself or herself to be your champion and savior.
In the spiritual world, we can become attacked from every side. The evil one is always mounting subtle, or not so subtle, attacks against those who believe in the life-transforming power of God’s Son. As we come under such an attack, our brother, Jesus, is also our Savior. Why do I call him our “brother”? Because the writer of the letter to the Hebrew Christians tells us in Hebrews 2:11-15:
Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
So, Jesus is, indeed, our brother. And, not only is He our brother, He is also our Savior, Lord, King, and Protector. Notice what Jesus says, as recorded in John 10:11:
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Just as a human brother or sister might stand against those who would attack us, so Jesus stands against our enemy Satan, who desires to destroy us. Jesus protects us in the same way that a shepherd would protect the sheep given into his care. They are his sheep. He would die to protect them. And, in fact, Jesus did die for us. He died in our place on the cruel cross at Calvary. The Place of the Skull became a place of our Savior’s victory over sin, death, and Satan.
As we begin a new day, we should comfort one another with these words of truth and grace: Jesus is our Protector. He is our Brother. He is our Savior, Lord, and King. Hallelujah! Hallelujah, indeed!
Based on a blog originally posted on Wednesday, September 6, 2017
