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