“He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so He opened not His mouth.” (Isa 53:7, NKJV)
In the previous teaching we pointed out that throughout the Old Testament God presents himself as Shepherd, situating his children as sheep to which He tends, feeds and protects. We discussed the prophetic promise of the Scripture quoted above, which predicts that He will identify with his sheep to such a degree that He will become a sacrificial lamb in their stead.
The four gospels are awash with references to sheep and shepherds. In this way the prophetic ministry of John the Baptist commences with these words – “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The most famous passage concerning shepherding is found in John 10 where Jesus explains the sheep analogy in detail, then clearly states –“ I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.” (verse 14).
Another important statement is made just before Jesus multiplied the fish and loaves of bread. When his disciples plan on sending the hungry masses home Jesus reacted contrary to what they had expected – “And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd …” (Mark 6:34). We clearly see Jesus having the heart of what 1 Pet 5:4 calls the Chief Shepherd. Through this miracle at least 15 000 people experienced that He truly is a Shepherd who comes to seek out the sheep that are scattered – He experienced all they had experienced. He truly became one of them – a sheep.
Later we find another famous passage, here from John 21:15-17, where Jesus spoke to Simon Peter and thrice challenged him with the question – “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” With every answer Peter gave, Jesus in turn stated “Feed my lambs; Tend my sheep; Feed my sheep.” Note – all within the central metaphor of a shepherd and his sheep.
But it is actually Acts 8 from verse 27 that really interests us. Here we find the tale of the eunuch, a servant of the Ethiopian court who is sent to Philip. What was he wrestling with? The passage from Isaiah quoted above! And Philip explained to him exactly who Jesus is – the Lamb of God. Is it to be considered coincidence that the first Christian convert happens to be a black eunuch outside Palestine, who happens to read this passage and asks Who is spoken of here? Because Acts 8:33 speaks of humiliation, and descendants. What was milling through the man’s head? The humiliation of his castration, that he was silent as a lamb brought before an executioner, the fact that he will never have any descendants? He completely identifies with this Jesus – he understands exactly what it means to be a lamb.
Thus he does not hesitate to identify with Jesus in all things – in essence he immediately asked to be slaughtered like the lamb – he desired to be baptized in His baptism. He wanted to be slaughtered. He wanted to die. He understood that which Paul would only later put into words in Rom 6:4 – “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
“If he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a longlived seed …” (Isa 53:10, DRB). The eunuch could happily be on his way again – instantly he had acquired descendants.
- Sela: Pray about Joh 12:42 within the context of your life? Has your seed germinated? Where are your descendants?
- Read: Num 6; Ruth 1; Ezec 7
- Memorize: Num 6:22-26
