Good News #301: My Lord Jesus’ Power, Strength, and Might is For Me – to Protect, Comfort, and Provide – My Life and Those of My Family!
Some christians have been told that when they sin, the Lord will use the hook at the end of His staff to pull them and then beat them with His rod.
This is a disgusting imagery of our Lord Jesus… and this picture is more than enough to traumatize children who hear about it. No wonder people grow up not knowing whether our Lord is really good or whether He has mood swings.
I wonder if they read Psalm 23 which talks about our Lord being The Good Shepherd because verse 4 is very clear — His rod and His staff COMFORT the sheep.
Being beaten by the rod and staff is certainly NOT comforting.
To understand this psalm verse, let’s talk about shepherding.
Oftentimes, a shepherd would have to move his sheep from pasture to pasture.
When a sheep starts going astray from the flock, the shepherd would immediately use his staff to nudge the sheep back into the flock.
When a sheep falls into a ditch or pit or slips down a cliff, the shepherd will put the hook of his staff around the belly of the sheep to pull it out of the ditch or the cliff.
The shepherd’s staff is used to lead sheeps back to the flock and to save them from ditches, pits and cliffs… not to beat sheep with.
Additionally, sheep have many natural predators like lions, bears and wolves. This is where the rod is put to use.
The shepherd’s rod is used to defend the sheep from its predators… so that when a lion gets hold of a sheep, the shepherd would go after it and maim or kill the lion with the rod — David (who wrote Psalm 23) is a good example of a shepherd who protects his sheep from the bear and the lion.
The gospel is this — our Lord Jesus is a Good Shepherd.
He is not a beater. He is a Comforter.
Jesus uses His power, strength and might to protect us, not beat us.
✨❤️✨❤️✨❤️✨❤️✨❤️✨
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
Psalm 23:4
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
