Let us turn once more to the
word of God and the chapter that we read in the prophecy of Ezekiel,
Ezekiel chapter 34. And reading again, verses 11
and 12. For thus saith the Lord God,
behold I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out. "'As
a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day "'that he is among
his sheep that are scattered, "'so will I seek out my sheep,
"'and will deliver them out of all places "'where they have
been scattered "'in the cloudy and dark day.'" And in particular,
I want to concentrate this evening on the words that we have here
in verse 12. Ezekiel 34, 12, "'As a shepherd
seeketh out his flock in the day but he is among the sheep
that are scattered. So will I seek out my sheep and
will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered
in the cloudy and dark day. And I want to speak on the subject
really of the gathering of the scattered sheep, the gathering
of the scattered sheep. We have it previously, of course,
At verse five and verse six, they were scattered. It says,
because there is no shepherd, and they became meat to all the
beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered
through all the mountains and upon every high hill. Yea, my
flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none
did search or seek after them. And I remarked this morning,
Last week, when Zoom failed, my fear was that we were going
to be scattered. And the words that came to my
mind were those that we were looking at earlier in chapter
16 of John's Gospel. And that 32nd verse, Behold,
the hour cometh, yea, is now come that ye shall be scattered,
every man to his own. And the Lord goes on, and shall
leave me alone, and yet I am not alone, because the Father
is with me. And so I felt it profitable to
take that verse there in the Gospel according to St. John
for our text. I'm really continuing on the
same theme this evening as we turn to this chapter back in
the Old Testament, the gathering of the scattered sheep. As I
said, did fear that that would be the case last week, that there'd
be no service at all. In the goodness of God, our brother
Peter Wilkins was able to find another platform. And so we did
have our services by the courtesy of Webex. But these are strange
days. These are virtual services, as
I said this morning. They're not real services that
we're holding at the moment. This is not, in any sense, proper
corporate worship. There's no true gathering. We
long that we might soon be able to gather again in that right
fashion. The Church is a gathered company.
But we thank God for this merciful provision. We're not completely
scattered. And as I say, that was my fear
last week. And it's good that we can again
come together like this this evening. So let's turn to this
particular verse, this 12th verse here in the 34th chapter of Ezekiel. As a shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep. and will deliver them out of
all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark
day. And we trust that even in these
days the Lord is seeking out his sheep. And there are those
who have been ordained to eternal life who, in the goodness and
the grace of God, are being brought into his kingdom. Well, as we
come to consider the verse, I divide what I say into four parts. I
have four points And the first thing is to consider the shepherd
himself. And clearly there is a comparison
being made here in the verse, as we see from the opening words,
as a shepherd. God likens himself to a shepherd,
and the work of a shepherd. It is the Lord God himself, of
course, who is speaking, These are not the words of Ezekiel.
As we see in the opening verse, the word of the Lord came unto
me, says the prophet, came unto me saying. And so he is speaking
the words of God. He is the mouthpiece of God.
He's one of those holy men of God that Peter speaks of, who
spake as they were moved by the Spirit of God. And how evident
it is that the Lord himself speaks in the previous verse. Verse
11, thus saith the Lord God, behold, I, even I. And there's an emphasis there
because you will see that the word even is in italics. It's been introduced by the translators. It literally says, behold, I,
I will both search my sheep and seek them out. Oh, it is the
Lord God who, is that one who is the good shepherd. And when
we come to consider God, and that's what we're told to do
there in verse 11, behold, fix the eye, consider, look upon
this, behold eye, eye, we're not to consider God in some abstract
fashion. We're not to rely upon our own
powers We cannot find God out. Can't say by searching, find
out God. Can't say find out the Almighty
unto perfection. It is higher as heaven. Deeper than hell. Well, what
can we know? We can only know God as God is
pleased to reveal himself. When we come to consider God
and the greatness of God and the glory of God. Remember those
questions that he puts back in In Isaiah, in chapter 40, and
again in chapter 46, he asks the question, to whom will ye
liken me? There in Isaiah 46, five, to
whom will ye liken me and make me equal and compare me that
we may be like us to the Lord God? And he speaks of the folly
of the, Idol makers, they lavish gold out of the bag, weigh silver
in the balance, iron, gold. He maketh it a god, they fall
down, yea, they worship. They bear him upon the shoulder,
they carry him, they set him in his place, and he standeth
from his place, he shall not be moved. Yea, one shall cry
unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
Oh, remember this, says the Lord God. Remember the former things
of old, for I am God. And there is none else, I am
God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times of things that are not yet done, saying,
my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Yea, I have
spoken it, I will also bring it to pass, I have purposed it,
I will also do it. This is the great God. But how
we are to consider him? How has God revealed himself?
Has he not revealed himself in the person of his only begotten
Son? No man hath seen God at any time.
The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he
hath declared Him. Christ is that one who is the
image of the invisible God. He is that great I Am. And we remember how in John's
Gospel we have that revelation of the significance of that statement,
I Am that I Am. And amongst those I am words
that we have in John's Gospel, Christ says, I am the good shepherd.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. As a shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day, but he is among his sheep that are scattered.
So will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all
places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark die. Or this is the purpose of Christ
coming into this world. And now we see him time and again
making that abundantly clear in the manner of his teaching
and his instruction. We have a fourfold gospel. How
remarkable it is that we should have such a gospel, not one gospel,
but four gospels, laying such an emphasis upon that that's
recorded concerning Christ coming his work, his death, his resurrection. And what does he say in the course
of his preaching? In Matthew 18, verse 11, he says,
the Son of Man is come to save that which was lost. I think
if a man have a hundred sheep and one of them be gone astray,
doth he not leave the ninety and nine and goeth into the mountains
and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he
find it verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more over that sheep
than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. For this is
that one who is the good shepherd, that one who comes to seek his
sheep, that one who comes to save his sheep. And now in this
chapter in Ezekiel there is Such a remarkable contrast being drawn. How the prophet, as he comes
to speak the word of God, must prophesy. And what is he to say? Verse 2, son of man, prophesy
against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say unto them, thus
saith the Lord God unto the shepherds, Well be to the shepherds of Israel
that do feed themselves. Should not the shepherds feed
the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool,
ye kill them that are fed, but ye feed not the flock. The disease
have ye not strengthened? Neither have ye healed that which
was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither
have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have
ye sought that which was lost, but with force and with cruelty
have ye ruled over them. And so it goes on, this solemn
word that is spoken against the prophets or the shepherds, it
says, the shepherds of Israel. But who are they? They're prophets.
It says the ones who should be the shepherds, the prophets,
speaking the word of God, the priests, offering those sacrifices
that were prescribed under the Levitical law, and the princes,
the kings. We see quite clearly in the Old
Testament that there were these three offices amongst God's ancient
covenant people. And it's these who are being
rebuked. They are not doing that that
they were supposed to be doing. They were not fulfilling their
offices as prophets, as priests, and as kings. There were many
who were false prophets. There were many priests who were
unfaithful men. There were many princes, many
kings who were such wicked men. And see how the prophets, the
faithful prophets such as Ezekiel or Jeremiah, how they speak out
against these men. Look at the words that we find
at the beginning of the book of Jeremiah the prophet. There
in Jeremiah chapter 2, verse 8. He says, the priests
said not, where is the Lord? And they that handle the law
knew me not. The pastors also transgressed
against me. And the prophets, prophesied
by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. For which these men, these wicked
men then, that Ezekiel, the faithful servant of the Lord, is here
speaking against. But there was one, there was
one who did fulfill his office. There was one who was a true
shepherd. And how we see it, of course,
in King David. King David, the man after God's
own heart, yes, he was a sinful man. But he was a man so wonderfully
saved by the grace of God. And he was raised up to be The
king there in Israel, see how he is spoken of at the end of
Psalm 78? It says he chose David, also his servant, and took him
from the sheepfold, while he was a shepherd's boy, took him
from the sheepfold, from following the ewes, great with young, he
brought him to feed Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance. So he fed them according to the
integrity of his heart and guided them by the skillfulness of his
hands. And here is the promise, you
see. There were these wicked men, these wicked prophets. But
what does the Lord God say here at verse 23 in our chapter? He says, I will set up one shepherd
over them, and he shall feed them. Even my servant David,
he shall feed them. And he shall be their shepherd,
and I the Lord will be their God. and my servant David, a
prince among them, I, the Lord, have spoken it." Now, David was
dead. David was dead. And yet here
is a promise of one who is going to be raised up. Who is this?
Why, this is David's greatest son. This is that one who is
the true seed of David. This is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, David, the very name David, as I've said so many times, means
the beloved. But who is truly the beloved
of the Lord? See how in Matthew 12, that promise
of Isaiah 42 concerning the Lord's servant is taken up, Matthew
12, 18, it's taken up, it's applied to the Lord Jesus Christ, behold
my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved. My Beloved, in whom
my soul is well pleased, I will put my spirit upon him. Oh, he is that one who is the
Lord's David. He is the Beloved. What does
the Father say at the baptising of Christ, the heaven's opening,
the Spirit descending upon him in the form of a dove, and that
voice of the Father, this is my Beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased. And then again, and it's repeated
in the Mount of Transfiguration, when those favorite three, Peter
and James and John, hear that voice again from heaven. This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye it. Oh, he is that one who is the
true prophet. He is that one who is the prince
of all preachers, anointed to preach the gospel. to the poor,
that one who is the good shepherd. And he is the one, then, that
is being spoken of here in our text. As a shepherd seeketh out
his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all
places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. I see how he is the one who clearly
seeks the sheep. He seeks the sheep, he goes after
the sheep. He goes where those sheep are. And this was the case, of course,
with the prophet Ezekiel himself. He was a shepherd in Israel.
He had that office of a prophet, and he was a faithful prophet.
And what do we see back in chapter 3 and verse 15? How he is taken
in the spirit to those who are by the river Kaibar. He goes
to those who are in exile, those who are in captivity. And he
says, I sat where they sat. Or he goes just where the people
are, and he sits there among some seven days of study. He
has a ministry to perform, and we're not to overlook the historical
context in which this whole chapter is set, because it sets, at that
period of Israel's history and it speaks of how they will yet
be restored and brought again into that land of promise. Look
at the words that follow. Verse 13, God says, I will bring
them out from the people and gather them from the countries
and will bring them to their own land and feed them upon the
mountains of Israel by the rivers and in all the inhabited places
of the country. He'll bring them a guide into
the possession of the land they've been taken away for 70 years. Verse 27, the tree of the field
shall yield their fruit. The earth shall yield her increase
and they shall be safe in their land and shall know that I am
the Lord when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered
them out of the hand of those that serve themselves of them.
And they shall no more be a pride to the heathen neither shall
the beast of the land devour them, but they shall dwell safely,
and none shall make them afraid." It's restoration. It's that literal
restoration from all those years of languishing in exile, captives
in a foreign land. Well, that is the historical
context, as it were. But you know, It's only recently
it struck me, or it was brought to my attention, I should rather
say, with regards to biblical interpretation. So many of the commentators depend
heavily, when it comes to Old Testament scripture, upon the
writings of the Jewish rabbis and their interpretations. Calvin,
for example. Or Dr. Gill, we know, well, certainly
Dr. Gill was a great Hebraist, If
you ever consult his commentary, you'll see he often has regard
to the opinions of the various rabbis, and that was also the
case with John Calvin. But the interesting thing is
that the person who seems to take least notice of the Jewish
interpretation of Old Testament scripture is Dear Martin Luther. And so often his interpretation,
I would say, is much more evangelical. He sees Christ when it comes
to, say, the Book of Psalms and David. David, of course, is writing
of himself and writing of his own experiences. Psalms are wonderfully
experimental, but ultimately, they direct us to Christ, and
I think that Luther brings that out so strikingly, and it's important
that we notice that here. Yes, we take account of where
it was that Ezekiel was ministering, and what was the point and purpose
of his ministry in those days, and we sought to say something
with regards to that context, but ultimately, here, it is the
Lord Jesus Christ that we're to serve. He is that one who
is the good shepherd, And as I said, Ezekiel, as a faithful
prophet, goes where the people are, and so too the Lord Jesus.
When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his
son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that
were under the law. He comes where his people are,
he's a man. And he comes as a man and he's subject to that law
of God, that holy law of God. Again, we're told quite clearly
in Hebrews chapter 2, for as much as the children were partakers
of flesh and blood, he likewise took part of the same. Verily he took not upon him the
nature of angels, but he took upon him the seed of Abraham. Oh, the reality of the Lord's
human nature. How How important that is. He is bone of our bone. He is flesh of our flesh. He's
a real man. A man there is. A real man. And that man who lived in this
world and died upon the cross at Calvary, he's now risen and
ascended, a glorified man, but he's still a man. Touched with
the feeling of our infirmity. tempted in all points like as
we are yet without sin. We sought to say something of
it this morning. There he was, the disciples besook
him, they fled and scattered, and he was left alone. But what
does he say? And yet I am not alone, because
the Father is with me. Oh, the Father was with him.
And God is with all who are in the Lord Jesus. That's a great
comfort for him. Oh, the Lord Jesus Christ is
that one who is able to minister to us. What a pattern he is to
us. Even there he was conscious that
we must tread that winepress of the wrath of God alone. Yet
the Father was there to sustain him. For without Christ, you
see, is one who in seeking his sheep comes just where they are.
We read of God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh and for sin. He comes in the likeness of sinful
flesh. He hath made him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. Oh, he comes to minister to poor,
needy sinners, and he gathers As he seeks his people, so he
gathers his people. He delivers them out of all places
where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. Or when his people are brought
to see themselves, to understand themselves, when they're brought
under the conviction of their sins, when they're at the witch's
head and they know not what to do. He comes to seek and to save
that which is lost. He tells us quite plainly, they
that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that
are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners unto
repentance. And how tenderly he gathers those
sheep to himself. Oh, how graciously he brings
them all to him. Look at the language back in
Isaiah 40, in verse 10. The Lord God will come with strong
hand, and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is
with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock
like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead
those that are with young. Well, this is the manner of his
ministry. We've referred already to that
parable. He's made this parable unto them. the parable of the
sheep, the 99, that the Lord's leaving those safely in the fold
and going off to seek that lost sheep. That's his ministry. How does he call? He calls his
own sheep by name and leads them out, it seems. He knows them
individually, personally. Why? They were all given to him
in that eternal covenant of grace. And so he comes to seek. and
he comes to say. But then, as we consider the
ministry of this shepherd, here we see how he also searches and
he separates the sheep. In the previous verse, behold
I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out. He doesn't just seek them, but
he searches them. And that searching, in a sense,
has to do with his separating of them. The verb search here has the
meaning of distinguishing between the good and the bad, between
the true and the false. Look at what we read later in
verse 17. As for you and my flock, but
I said to Lord God, behold I judge between cattle and cattle, between
the rams and the he-goats. Verse 20, behold I, even I, will
judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
Again at verse 22, I will judge between cattle and cattle. This
is the way in which He searches them out. It's a thorough searching,
and it's a separating. Now, we know that ultimately
the separation will come, of course, in the final judgment. As the Lord says in the course
of His ministry, there in Matthew 25, verse 31 following, when
He comes to be the judge, the Lord Judgment has been committed
into the hands of God's Son. He is to return in power and
glory. He will call all before Him.
The books will be opened and He will make the separation between
the sheep and the goats. He will set the sheep on His
right hand and the goats on His left and send each to their appointed
place. The final judgment, that great
day that is yet to come. But we know that even now in
the day of grace, the Lord Jesus Christ also separates. When John speaks of his ministry,
John the Baptist, who is the forerunner of Christ, preparing
the way before him, and we see him there in Matthew 3, he speaks
of Christ, whose fan is in his hand, he says, and he will throughly
purge his floor and gather the wheat, into the garner and beat
up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then cometh Jesus." You
read what we have there in Matthew 3, 12, and then into verse 13. Immediately upon John makes that
statement concerning Christ's ministry and the separating nature
of it, we are introduced to Christ. Then cometh Jesus. He comes to
be baptized. He is about to commence his ministry,
and what a ministry. And now that ministry is a dividing
ministry. And we see it so many times in
John's Gospel, how there was a division amongst the people
because of him. Or there was a division amongst
the people because of his teaching. And still it is the same now,
the glorified Christ that John Witnesses here on the Isle of
Patmos, his eyes, said John, were as a flame of fire. Oh, those burning eyes so, so
searching, how he looks into the souls of men. This is how
he searches the man. He looks into men's souls. He
knew what was in the heart of man. The Lord's ministry, such
A remarkable ministry. It's one of the marks of a true
prophet. As we read back in Jeremiah 15,
the prophet is told, if they take forth the precious from
the vial, thou shalt be as my mouth. And that discriminating
ministry was such a mark of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Searching, sifting, As he comes to the sinner, he
shows that sinner where the sinner is. He reveals to the sinner
just what he is. He comes to work that conviction
in the soul of the sinner, to work salvation and faith in the
heart. And we need that ministry, the
ministry of him who is the good shepherd, who knows how to minister
to his sheep, how to care for his sheep. Now we need that faith. that is real faith, that faith
that comes by the operation of God, to be brought to see our
complete and utter need, and that that need can only be met
in this one that is spoken of in our text, even the Good Shepherd.
Paul says of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
that as it is written in the glory of letting glory in the
Lord. He must have all that honor and
all that glory. He is that one then who is the
good shepherd searching them, separating them. And as Christ
works with his sheep, so they desire that ministry. They desire
that searching and that sifting by him. These sheep are those
who want to know that what they have is something real. Well,
he's had to ask, do we want something real, raw, in our souls? Do we want that that David wanted? Do we have that spirit of the
man after God's own heart? Search me, oh God, he says. And
know my heart, try me, and know my reins, and see if there be
any wicked way in me. And lead me in the way everlasting. Do we want the good shepherd
to lead us in that way everlasting? You know, David knew We just
sang, as I said, that paraphrase by Watts of Psalm 22. We're all
familiar with that song. The shepherd's song. The Lord
is my shepherd, says David. So what does he say? Thy rods
and thy staff, they comfort me. Oh God, you see, comes and he
instructs his people, sometimes even by his rod and by his staff,
he comes and he deals with them in the way of chastening. The
Lord's voice crieth unto the sinner. The man of wisdom shall
see thy name. Hear ye the rock, hear ye the
rock, and do not appoint it. It is a mark of those who are
truly the Lord, whom the Lord loveth. He chastened and scourged
every son whom he received. If ye endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons. Oh, the good shepherd, he has
his way. He knows how to search after
his sheep. and to separate his sheep, and
to discipline his sheep? Or are we those who do desire
that we might know him as that one who is truly our shepherd? And then finally, he comes as
that one who will feed. He feeds his flock, he satisfies
all the needs of his sheep. That's the promise that we have
there in verse 23, at the end of that verse. God says, I will
set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them. Even
my servant David, he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And how does David, how does
the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true spiritual guide, how
does he feed his sheep? He feeds them with himself. That is the food of those who
are the sheep of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do we feed upon the Lord
Jesus? Do we feed upon his person? All
the wonder of that person. He is God and he is man. That is the great mystery of
godliness. God was manifest in the flesh
unto us. The child is born unto us. the Son is given, the eternal
Son of God is given. Oh, is the eternal Son the only
begotten, that one eternally generated? The Son is given, but the child
is born, that human nature that was conceived by the Holy Ghost
in the womb of the Virgin, that holy thing that was taken into
union with the eternal Son of God, the mystery of it. Do we
delight to think on these things and meditate in these things?
We cannot really fully comprehend the wonder of it, that there
is one who is God, and he is man. Two natures in one person. Yet this is the food that satisfies
these sheep. They feed upon the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. They feed upon his Word. Well, it's his person, it's also
his work, it's what he came to do. And he declares himself there
in John's Gospel, as I said earlier, the I Am statements. I am the
Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his
life to the sheep. He sheds his precious blood.
He says, I am the bread of life. Verily, verily, except ye eat
the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ye have no life
in you. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. Oh, do we think upon
that, the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do we feed upon that
great sin-atoning sacrifice? Do we know what it is to receive
it? To see the wonder of it, how in the Lord Jesus Christ
we have such a revelation of God, and in all his holy attributes,
mercy and truth are met together, says the psalmist, Righteousness
and peace have kissed each other. No wonder Luther says that doctrine
is heaven. This is the doctrine of Christ,
the person of Christ, the work of Christ, or are we lazy? And
we don't want to trouble ourselves to consider these things and
to read these things and to meditate in these things. Nor we surely
should be those who would, if we know the Lord, desire to know
more of him and more of him. and more of him, and the wonder
of his ways. He comes to seek his sheep. And so what do the sheep do? They seek him. He's a seeking
shepherd, and they must be seeking sheep. You shall seek me, he
says, and find me, when you shall search after me with all your
hearts. Does he not say in the course
of his preaching, ask and it shall be given you? Seek and
ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone
that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth unto him
that knocketh, it shall be opened. Oh are we those then who know
what it is to seek him, to pray to him, to plead his name in
our prayers, that we might know more and more of him, that we
might be those who are truly gathered unto him. For unto him
shall the gathering of the people be those scattered sheep. Those who, as the Lord deals
with them, feel at times they're at the very ends of the earth,
full of confusion, and yet the Lord draws them and gathers them
unto himself. For thus saith the Lord God. As a shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered,
So will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of
all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark
day. For the Lord then be pleased
to bless this word to us tonight. Amen.