ALL WE LIKE SHEEP HAVE GONE ASTRAY!!!

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR A SHEEP TO GO ASTRAY?

Sheep gone astray means to wander off the right path or subject; to wander into evil or error; the expression alludes to sheep that wander off from the rest of the flock. But in this content it represents humanity in the form of sheep; we have all turned to our own paths rather than faithfully following our Shepherd.  Because of that great deficiency, we have need of a Savior and in God’s grace Christ pays the penalty of our sins by causing the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

THE FALLEN HUMAN NATURE

Using powerful rural imagery familiar to his listeners, Prophet Isaiah focuses upon an embarrassing aspect of fallen human nature. An untended sheep can wander off quite quickly into danger and must always obey the shepherd’s voice if they are to be safe. The people of Isaiah’s day had long ignored their divine Shepherd, and had become entrapped by vice, immorality, and the worship of false gods (Isa. 53:6), “All we like sheep have gone astray;  We have turned, everyone to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  Near Eastern peoples commonly lived by ancestral tradition rather by rule of the law, and therefore it was comparatively easy for the Israelites to forsake the Sinai covenant and live according to the dictates of pleasure or personal ambition. Atonement must be made to allow the sinner to be reconciled to God, and accordingly a substitute for humanity has been appointed by God to bear the sin of the world. The divine lamb who removes sin is none other than Jesus Christ, whose atoning work is so clearly prefigured in this verse.

BEHOLD THE LAMB! (John 1:29)

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold! The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”  John the Baptist, the appointed forerunner of Christ, proclaimed publicly the identity and mission of Jesus. If any of his hearers were expecting him to identify Jesus as Messiah they were disappointed, because John referred to Him in specifically sacrificial terms which could hardly be misunderstood. As the divine Lamb, Christ had to undertake for humanity the task performed by the very first sacrificial Passover Lambs.  While still in bondage in Egypt the Israelites were saved by the destroying angel because the lamb’s blood had been smeared on the doorposts of their houses. Christ’s mission was to pay the penalty for sin, shedding His blood on the cross as the atonement for mankind. The Father accepted this sacrifice, which redeemed the world from sin and enabled all who respond in repentance and obedience to Christ as Savior and Lord to express forgiveness and salvation.

 ALL UNDER SIN

All we like sheep have gone astray. We have actively all gone the wrong way. Prophet Isaiah explains that all of us have become like one who is unclean; none are exempt from the universal curse of guilt. As Apostle Paul reiterates,” There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.”  Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shade blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known.” There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Rom. 3:10-18). “We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.”(Rom. 3:23). John the Apostle adds in his epistle, “If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1John 8-10) Beloved, let us make it a routine if not on a daily basis to confess our sins to our Maker, who through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ shall cleanse us from all sin and filthiness.

THE “ORIGINAL SIN”

In theological terms, the idea that “all we like sheep have gone astray” is sometimes called “original sin” The intake from prophet Jeremiah: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9). God created humanity perfect, but our first parents, Adam and Eve, in pride and rebellion disobeyed the command God gave them. This sin of Adam is passed down to the whole human race, and the root of sin is present with us already at conception. This “original sin” leads to actual sins, whereby we follow through on our natural inclination to do wrong. We are held personally responsible for our sins and will have to account for them to God. And as we all know brethren the wages that sin pays is death. But because of His love for us, Christ however, who did no sin, paid the penalty for our sin by His death on the cross. If we confess our sins, God will forgive us and give us the gift of life over death and consider us as righteous in His sight. John the apostle encourages both in his gospel as well as his first epistle that there is hope to those who turn to the light. (John 3:20-21) “For everyone practicing evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” In his epistle he declares that, “If we walk in light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sins. (1 John 1:7). From the beginning of creation God has revealed Himself as the one who illumines a darkened world. When Jesus His anointed Son, came to dwell among mankind, He was proclaimed as the true Light for everyone coming into the world (John 1:9). As Jesus walked in the light of God’s redeeming love, so the believer is urged to follow His steps and share the radiant of God’s grace. Light dispels darkness and enables us to see our surrounding clearly. The believer then becomes more aware of the presence of temptation and sin, while at the same time experiencing the fellowship of other Christians who are following the daily walk of faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord of life. The Christian church, Christ’s body on earth, is the community of the New Covenant, formulated to provide the spiritual nourishment and fellowship necessary for proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. The common bond of all Christian relationship is the cleansing blood of Christ.

Precious and Loving Father, I thank You for The Precious Blood of Jesus Christ Thy Son which He shed  on the cross to redeem us from the “Original sin” and the remission of sin. Thank You, Righteous Father; receive all the Glory, Honor, Dominion, Majesty, Adoration, Reverence, Power, Magnification, Blessings, Praise and Worship. Amen.

“Grace to you and Favor from our God and Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen and Amen and Amen.”

 

 

 

 

1 Comments

  1. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9).

    ReplyDelete