Hey, Cobblestone,
Of all the Gospel encounters in Scripture, the intersections
of Savior and Need-Saved, none carries as much groan factor as the Jews who had believed in him (John
8:31) in John’s Gospel. It’s like an Olympic diver springing from the high
platform with great grace, executing every move perfectly, and then throwing arms
and legs to the air to end in a crushing belly-flop. The crowd groans, as if
they had borne the impact themselves. As if.
You and I get to be spectators to this Gospel scene for about
ten more seconds; then we ourselves shall spring from the platform and see what
happens.
For some weeks now we’ve been meditating on the Twenty-Third
Psalm, taking it a phrase (or so) at a time. Here’s what we have in-pocket so
far:
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in
green pastures.
He leads me beside
still waters.
He restores my soul (verses 1-3a).
So far, so good –
we are well tended sheep with every reason to believe we will continue as such.
And then the psalm takes an odd turn:
He leads me in paths of
righteousness for his name’s sake (the rest of verse 3).
When I finally determined years ago to memorize all of Psalm
23, this is the sentence I most often couldn’t recall – kept skipping over to
the valley of the shadow of death part. Notice in conversation – or at
funerals, where Psalm 23 is most often referenced – and you’ll discover that
the second half of verse 3 is the part most often left out. To understand why,
let’s go back to Jesus, teaching in the Jerusalem temple so long ago:
So Jesus said to the
Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my
disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set
you free” (John
8:31-32).
Here’s the rub: Jesus was offering freedom – true and
everlasting freedom – but on his terms only. The people bristled:
They answered
him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.
How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” (verse 33).
Given the choice of receiving freedom on Jesus’s terms or
clinging to their false freedom, the people took Door #2. The encounter did not
end well; Jesus kept telling them truth…
So they picked up
stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple (verse 59). So close, and then – smack! – and the crowd
groans.
Receiving the freedom Jesus offers seems easy enough at first
glance. The second glance will undoubtedly reveal that it’s on his terms, and
there are no other terms to be had. He offers the freedom to be led and cared
for – shepherded – by him. If we’re going to receive true freedom, we’ll need
to be OK with that.
If the second half of Psalm 23:3 engenders anything at all in
us, I hope it’s a prayer – a prayer in which we give ourselves a few handy
reminders, a prayer that has its crescendo in praise… something like: “Who
leads? The Lord leads. Where is he leading me? In paths of righteousness. Who
gets to decide what righteousness is? He does. Why is he leading me in these
paths? Ultimately, for his name’s sake. Oh, thank you, Jesus, Shepherd and
Overseer of my soul! Keep on leading, and I will follow.”
The King of Glory came to bail us out of the mess we’d gotten
ourselves into, true. But he also came to establish himself as the great high
priest, tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. He came to set the
deceiver up for eternal damnation. He will come and put every enemy under his
feet. He is Shepherd, yes, and he is King forever – and he will share his glory
with no one. Mighty handy to remember when the true Armageddon is raging;
mighty handy to remember when it comes time to throw Satan into the lake of
fire forever; mighty handy to remember in this very moment…
for his name’s sake.
Grace and Peace (on the Shepherd’s terms),
John
