The Shepherd's Heart for Overlooked People
Daily Scripture
Ezekiel 34:1-8, 11-12; Luke 15:1-7
Ezekiel 34
1 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 Human one, prophesy against Israel’s shepherds. Prophesy and say to them, The Lord God proclaims to the shepherds: Doom to Israel’s shepherds who tended themselves! Shouldn’t shepherds tend the flock? 3 You drink the milk, you wear the wool, and you slaughter the fat animals, but you don’t tend the flock. 4 You don’t strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the injured, bring back the strays, or seek out the lost; but instead you use force to rule them with injustice. 5 Without a shepherd, my flock was scattered; and when it was scattered, it became food for all the wild animals. 6 My flock strayed on all the mountains and on every high hill throughout all the earth. My flock was scattered, and there was no one to look for them or find them. 7 So now shepherds, hear the Lord’s word! 8 This is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, without a shepherd, my flock became prey. My flock became food for all the wild animals. My shepherds didn’t seek out my flock. They tended themselves, but they didn’t tend my flock.
11 The Lord God proclaims: I myself will search for my flock and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out the flock when some in the flock have been scattered, so will I seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered during the time of clouds and thick darkness.
Luke 15
1 All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. 2 The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose someone among you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them. Wouldn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the pasture and search for the lost one until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he is thrilled and places it on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Celebrate with me because I’ve found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes both heart and life than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to change their hearts and lives.”
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Jesus, God in the flesh, came to this planet on a very real rescue mission. Drawing from the image in Ezekiel 34, he told a story about a shepherd who lost one sheep from his flock. That was only 1% of the flock, but the shepherd cared deeply about any lost sheep. He dropped everything, searched until he found that sheep, and felt great joy when he found it. Jesus’ critics thought he should write off the human “lost sheep” (Luke 15:2), yet in Jesus, God was fulfilling Ezekiel’s promise personally.
- Pastor Bruce Larson wrote, “A shepherd once explained to me that sheep nibble their way into lostness. They move from one tuft of green grass to the next, sometimes right through a hole in the fence. When they’re done nibbling, they can’t find the hole and they’re lost. Some of us know what that is—to nibble ourselves bit by bit into the far country.” * When (even now) have you been the lost sheep, not sure how to get home? Who has God called to find and help lead you home?
- Ezekiel wrote at a time when Judah’s rulers had failed their spiritual responsibility—tending themselves rather than the flock God entrusted to them. As one scholar noted, Ezekiel’s metaphor “focuses on the remedial duties, caring for the sick and finding the lost.” ** We all know what it’s like to feel overlooked or lost at some point. Who around you might feel that way right now? How might you extend the shepherd’s care to them?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you that you’ve never seen me (or anyone) as a “disposable asset,” as someone who doesn’t matter. Give me your heart for everyone in your human family. Amen.
GPS Insights
Katy Nall
Katy Nall, who serves as the Program Director of Missions for Resurrection West, wrote today's Insights. She is a mom of two and loves to be outside in the sunshine, especially if it involves mountains or ocean. She loves hiking, reading, learning, and connecting.
You know, the Pharisees weren’t necessarily mean people, but when we read Scripture, we don’t look back on them with much kindness. We think of them as ungracious rule followers. Jesus himself criticized them ruthlessly, with good reason. Yet, when you think about it, they did not have bad intentions. The Pharisees loved Scripture. They loved tradition. They probably had great small groups! They cared deeply about preserving what was good, true, and holy. Honestly, I totally get that.
Every church loves its longtime members—the people who know “the way we have always done it.” Every ministry has traditions that matter. We all enjoy the comfort of familiar faces, shared life, and knowing exactly where we belong. Those things are gifts from God! But when Jesus walked the earth, he made a habit of disrupting comfortable religious people’s lives by bringing in “outsiders” and issuing calls to action. Luke tells us that tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus, and the religious leaders grumbled, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Another way to say that is this: Jesus welcomed people who threatened the comfort of the existing community.
Jesus loved the people who were already there, but his mission was always bigger than preserving what already existed. The movement of God has always moved outward, toward the people who think there isn’t a place for them at the table. In Ezekiel 34, after condemning the shepherds who tended themselves instead of the flock, God boldly declares, “I myself will search for my flock and seek them out.” God refuses to abandon people who have wandered or been overlooked. It’s almost as if he coined the phrase, “I’ll do it myself”! The beautiful and challenging truth is that Jesus invites us—commands us, really—to join him in that work.
Healthy community matters. Friendship matters. Small groups matter. Caring for one another matters. But if all of our energy goes toward protecting our own comfort, our own traditions, and our own place within the community, we may miss the very heart of the gospel. The question for us today is not whether we love the people already here. Of course we do! The question is whether we are willing to make room for the people God is still bringing—the new volunteer who doesn’t know how things work yet, the neighbor who is lonely, the student who needs a Confirmation mentor, or the person who has been away from church for years and is just waiting for a sign to come back (pssst… that might be you!). The movement of Jesus has always been making room for one more chair at the table and carrying one more lost sheep home on the shoulders of a rejoicing Shepherd!
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Bruce Larson, The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 26: Luke. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc. 1983, p. 235.
** John Walton, study note on Ezekiel 34:4 in NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook (page 7590). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
