Isaiah 53:6

Midweek 4

Theme: Stray Sheep

⁶All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

Is there a member of your family who is a stray sheep? Such a person is different from the rest of the family. He or she strays from what the rest think is the proper or desirable course in life. A stray sheep goes his own way instead of following his family’s expectations.

A stray sheep may be the one person in the family who became an artist instead of an engineer, for example. Or he may be the adventurous one who is always trying out new things, or the one who is always getting into trouble. Let us consider the words of our text: “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” Does that describe us today? Look around at our society or even our own lives. We have to admit that there are times when we are like ancient Israel during the time of the judges: “Each one was doing what was right in his own eyes.”

In our society today we value individualism, freedoms and pluralism even to the point of autonomy and anarchy. Instead of emphasizing common values or our interdependence upon one another; or instead of accepting a universal and absolute standard of right and wrong according to God’s law, we prize our right to go our own way and do what we want to do without responsibility or accountability to anyone.

As a result we are in some ways like a flock of sheep without a shepherd. We all scatter as we pursue our own agendas. Instead of sticking together as one flock united by common bonds and a common commitment to follow the same path, we disperse over the hills as we each seek our own greener pastures.

Judged by God’s law, each of us is a stray sheep. We find ourselves wandering around in life. Instead of following Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd, we turn away. We want to do things our way. We have our own ideas about how things should be run and are often to stubborn to change our ideas even when they are in conflict with what God himself demands. We find ourselves stranded on the edge of a cliff, or even fall prey to a wolf. We stray from God’s will and do what pleases us in spite of God. We do what we think will please others people to look good in their eyes, rather that what pleases God. We are more concerned about being popular, or liked, or “cool” than we are about doing what God wants. Sometimes we do what makes us feel good. Sometimes we do what is convenient, or provides the least amount of effort or bother. We do what is to our advantage rather than what God expects of us. We are stray sheep. We have gone astray.

We are not alone in being stray sheep. Jesus Christ too was a stray sheep, though in a very different way. Jesus did not conform to the expectations of his contemporaries. The people of his time had certain ideas about how the Messiah was supposed to act and what he should do. Jesus paid no attention to human traditions and expectations. Instead, he chose to follow the will of his Father—and did so without ever straying from it in any way. He chose a path in life which no one else had ever trod. He fulfilled the prophecy of our text.

Many of Jesus’ contemporaries thought of him as a stray sheep—a friend of sinners, a blasphemer, a non-conformist who deserved to be crucified. Jesus hung with the rift-raft. He went around with the wrong crowd. He was criticized for talking to women. He was called a drunkard for going to wedding banquets. He was despised for talking to Samaritans because they were a different race. He was considered a sinner for receiving publicans and harlots.

But Jesus was, in reality, the sinless, unblemished, perfect, Lamb of God. God, the Son, became one of us—a sheep—in order to be sacrificed for our salvation. Whoever heard of a Shepherd who humbled himself to become a sheep, destined for slaughter? Yet that is what Jesus Christ did. He took the form of a Servant and was obedient to death. The Good Shepherd became the sacrificial Lamb—the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. “Yahweh caused to fall on him the iniquity of us all.”

In an earlier chapter, Isaiah prophesied, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” That is the kind of sheep we are now in God’s eyes. We are no longer blemished, stained sheep—the kind of sheep which God declared unacceptable to be brought to the temple. Rather, our wool has been washed clean so it gleams, white as snow. God deems us to be like the Lamb of God—Jesus Christ., the sinless, unblemished, perfect Lamb of God. We are scrubbed spotless by him, cleansed by his blood, adorned with his righteousness.

We have wandered around in life. We have been like sheep going astray, but now we have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. Jesus has led us into the fold of his salvation. Our Good Shepherd calls to us by his name and leads us through life toward heaven’s pasture. We recognize and respond to His voice. He leads us in the paths of righteousness for the sake of his name. He brings us to green pastures and restores our souls. Now we have a purpose and direction for our lives, as we follow the Lamb once slain.

Amen.