Teacher upon teacher traveled and taught throughout the streets and synagogues before Jesus began His ministry. But I feel like Mark 6:34 captures the difference separating Jesus from all the other teachers of the Law…his compassion. He not only knows us but knows what we need. We need a Shepherd to guide us through this difficult and ever-changing world. We need a Shepherd to tend, protect, comfort, and care for us. A Shepherd who would give up His own life for the sake of His sheep. That’s a teacher, unlike any other teacher, sharing a message, unlike any other message. Father, please help me enter into Your rest, trusting You and Your provision as the Perfect Shepherd that You are.
“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.”
Mark 6:34
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
John 10:11-15