God was unhappy. The spiritual leaders of his people had failed. The Lord rebuked them through the prophet Ezekiel. They were not strengthening the weak, healing the sick, bandaging the injured, bringing back the strays, or seeking the lost (Ezekiel 34:4).
The language God used was taken from the world of shepherds and sheep. David’s 23rd Psalm made this comparison famous: “The Lord is my shepherd.” God’s people are his sheep. He protects them, provides for them, and guides them as a shepherd does his flock.
God’s desire for his people is expressed in the list he gave Ezekiel. The Lord wants those who are weak to be strengthened. He wants those who are sick to be healed. The injured must be bandaged. These three actions are related. We could summarize them with these words: Help those who are hurting.
The final two items on the list are also related. Bring back the strays and seek the lost. The strays are those who were formerly in the flock. They have wandered away for some reason. As a result, they are in danger.
This category seems especially relevant in our COVID-altered culture. The stresses and strains of the pandemic scattered many people who were formerly participating with a local church family. As shepherd of the flock, the Lord wants those who are scattered to be gathered. He wants them to be in fellowship again.
Just as surely as sheep need a flock, Christians need a church.
Last on Ezekiel’s list is God’s desire to seek the lost. We can think of the lost as people who have never been part of the Lord’s flock. They have never been eternally saved and adopted into God’s family. The Lord wants them to be found, to be saved. He wants them to hear the good news about salvation by faith in Christ. He wants them to become followers of Jesus.
Jesus exemplified the actions listed in Ezekiel 34:4. He used his miraculous power to help those who were hurting. People came to Jesus by the thousands, bringing friends and family members who were sick. Jesus healed them. He gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk, cleansed those with leprosy, and more.
Jesus also brought back the strays and sought the lost. The religious leaders harassed Jesus because he ‘rubbed elbows’ with tax collectors and sinners. He assured them his mission was to those in need of salvation. He came to seek and to save the lost.
Jesus portrayed his mission in pastoral terms. He is like a shepherd who has a hundred sheep and loses one. He leaves the ninety-nine and goes looking for the one lost sheep. He rejoices when he finds it. In the same way, Jesus said, there will be more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who is found than over ninety-nine righteous people who are already saved (Luke 15:1-7).
“I am the Good Shepherd,” Jesus said. “The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Jesus is fully invested in God’s people. His personal sacrifice on the cross at Calvary proves fully and forever his deep and eternal love for his flock.
It is the wolf who scatters the flock, the Enemy. To this day, our adversary is feverishly working to scatter the flock, to divide believers from their church families, and to keep unbelievers from hearing the gospel.
Jesus has honored his followers with the great task of making disciples of all nations, of all peoples. He has entrusted Christians with God’s mission to gather a people for himself. We gather the lost by proclaiming the good news about salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Jesus is our message. He is the Savior. Jesus is our authority. All authority in heaven and on earth is given to him and he has commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus is also our power. He promised to be with us even to the end of the age. The Spirit of Christ enables us to successfully carry out the work of seeking the lost.
In a dark world filled with confusion and deception about the meaning and purpose of life, we have the greatest mission, the greatest message, the greatest authority, and the greatest power. Victory awaits us!
May God’s Holy Spirit always inspire us and enable us to seek the lost,
Brother Richard
brotherrichardsblog.com 