The Behaviour of the Sheep and Goats
Recorder comments:
The first thing concerning these following passages that must surely move us. is Jesus' one-pointed focus on the needs of the people who were following him. In the normal human way, He could have felt annoyed by the fact that the people had upset all his plans for solitude in which to pray and recharge his batteries. He could have thought to himself that if they wanted to hear him teach and were so insistent about it, he would cetainly teach them and make abundantly plain what they needed to know to help themselves.
Instead, he abandoned his self-protective attitude and whole-heartedly thought about the feelings of these persistent followers and how He would teach them in such a way as would leave an indelible impression in their minds.
He asked the 'Father' for inspiration and he was led to use the sheep and goats grazing nearby as a means of illustrating the differences in behaviour between people. He would show how the sheep were co-operative and the goats were not. Therefore, although the shepherd cared equally for the safety of sheep and goats, he could only give his consistent attention to the sheep because they listened to his voice and remained within the scope of his protection. whereas the goats did as they pleased. However, this did not mean that the shepherd had forsaken the goats. It meant that the shepherd was obliged to allow the wilful goats to follow their own inborn instincts. The shepherd could not force them to be obedient as were the sheep.
By referring to the animals in this way. comparing the animals behaviour to that of human behaviour, he indicated that the animating life within animals was comparable to the animating life within people, and it was possible to discern that the impulses within humans and animals were identical in their most basic form.
In this way, did Jesus attempt to show people that the 'Father' was universal, ever present in all living things throughout creation.
To discover the work of the 'Father', Jesus did not go out into the heavens, to conjure up pictures of a Deity with power of life and death over people according to their behaviour but he called attention to lowly domestic animals to show that they were as much part of Jehovah's creation as were all people.
In this way, Jesus tried to help people get rid of their fear of a punishing God and help them to see that if things did not always go well for them, it was because thjey were not living in constant harmony with the Laws of Existence governing the universe.
CHRIST continues:
So it was, that when I was besought by the people to teach them, what could I do but sit down on a rock above them - and teach.
I was determined that, if they had come this far to hear me, they would hear something they would remember and possibly speak about all their lives.
I knew that despite all I had told them about the ‘Father’ and ‘Father Love’, they were still apprehensive of rejection by ‘God’. Although I had tried to help them understand that the ‘Father’ of which I spoke, was not the personalised ‘God’ which they worshipped, I knew very well that they were confused. Although I had told them again and again that the ‘Father’ was within them, they were still worried that they might incur punishment from on high by believing my words.
What should I teach them that day, I asked the ‘Father’? Then I noticed the goats and sheep feeding on the hillside under the vigilant care of their shepherd and my message for the day entered my mind. I stood up and shouted so that my voice would carry to the back of the crowds:
‘You see these sheep and goats feeding on the hills. The sheep are in one place and the goats in another.
‘Consider the sheep. They are patient and non-aggressive towards each other even when huddled tightly in a corner of their pen. They feed quietly, never claiming ground which is not theirs, leaving the pasture closely cropped but not damaged, allowing the grass to recover after they have passed over it. Most importantly, they listen to their shepherd’s voice. Therefore, he takes good care of them. He guides them into the best pastures and he sleeps with them at night that they may not be threatened or attacked by dogs or robbers.
‘Look at the goats, how they scramble and leap over the rocks and get themselves into awkward or dangerous places. They tear at the brambles and the foliage of trees. They are despoilers. Were it not for their use to mankind, there would be no place for them other than to be tethered all day or put out into the desert.
‘I look at you below me, and I know that amongst you are many sheep - and, also among you are many goats.’
There were a few angry murmurs but, on the whole, people good-naturedly jostled and ribbed one another, pointing out the ‘goats’ and laughing and nodding.
It was good to see them laughing and so I continued;
‘You can tell the sheep by their homes, the way they treat their neighbours, and the way they are regarded by all in their community. You can likewise tell the goats - are they likely to have many friends?’
There was a loud roar from the crowd: ‘No -o-o-o!’ followed by much laughter.
‘Does the shepherd follow after the goats and care for them - or must they look after themselves and come home by themselves to be milked at night?’
Again the crowd laughed and shouted various replies, some of them very amusing and witty.
‘And so is it with you who are sheep and those of you who are goats - you are protected by the ‘Father’ if you are sheep, and you are not protected by the ‘Father’ if you are goats, because you are obstinately following your own desires every day and possibly leaving a trail of destruction behind you. Tell me - can the ‘Father’ protect the people who are goats?’
The crowd was silent but listening intently.
‘Will you say then, that the ‘Father’ is angry with the goats and will not protect them, or will you rather say that just as the shepherd cares for his sheep and would care for the goats if they would allow it, the ‘Father’ loves sheep and goats equally but is powerless to protect equally because of the goats’ natural behaviour?’
‘Also, consider the feeding habits of sheep and goats. Sheep are content to eat grass only, for which their stomachs are perfectly designed, but the goat will eat anything he comes across, having no respect whatever for his constitution’. So is it with people who have no regard for what they will feed their minds with, since they have no fixed goal or clear purpose. Like goats, they do not recognise when mental food is harmful or is taking them in the direction they should not go in their daily lives or whether it will lead them into harmful myth or dangerous fallacy.
They roam, picking up the mental equivalent of brambles, old shoes, bits of cloth, leaves, thistles, weeds, for they lack good sense’.
A man called out to me: ‘Master, what if a person who is a sheep, makes a mistake, and gets himself into trouble, will the ‘Father’ then abandon him?’.
I asked him a question by way of answering him: ‘What does the shepherd do when one of his sheep falls into a pit, or tumbles over a cliff, or gets caught in brambles? I will tell you. The shepherd leaves his flock and swiftly seeks out the missing sheep and will not leave it until he has brought it to safety. So is it with the ‘Father’ - not even a sheep can avoid doing wrong in one way or another, but rest assured that the ‘Father’ immediately responds to its bleating and rescues it. And if a goat should begin to behave like a sheep and heed the shepherd’s voice, then he too will come under the protection of the shepherd and will be cared for even as sheep are cared for.’
‘So it is with you and the Kingdom of Heaven - the Kingdom of ‘God’.’
Several voices called out, asking me to tell them what I meant by the ‘Kingdom of God’.
‘What I am telling you is unlike anything you have yet heard from any prophet at any time.
‘Do not try to understand what I am saying by thinking of what you have been told by your Teachers. They can only repeat from the scriptures and have no personal knowledge of the Kingdom of God or Heaven.
‘God is not contained within any one place but is everywhere as are the heavens and air above you.
‘The Holy Word spoke truly when it says “In God you live, move and have your being.”
For the Kingdom of God is above, around and also within you - and you can enter the Kingdom of God.’
People shouted impatiently: ‘But what is it?’
‘It is a state of mind and heart which is fully possessed by ‘God’ - your ‘Father’. When you are in this state, the ‘Father’ is the head of your body and directs everything you do and all of your life.’
Some of the people grumbled. ‘How can that be?’.
‘It is possible to be so emptied of self - of selfish desires, enmities, angers, jealousies, greed, vindictiveness that only ‘God’ is left in control within your mind and heart.’
‘What happens then?’ asked a woman.
‘Then you enter into the ‘State of Being’ which is ‘God-directed’. It is altogether beautiful and glorious. It is love, it is generosity, it is caring for other people as you care for yourself, it is non-judgemental since you accept other people exactly as they are, knowing that they too are ‘God’ children and are equally in the ‘Father’ care. It is happiness beyond measure, beyond description, it is joy in the beauty of the world, it is life unlimited and increased energy, it is health and it is the fulfilment of your every need before you even know that you have such a need.’
‘Why do the Rabbis not tell us these things?’ Several voices complained.
‘Because I alone have seen the ‘Father’, I alone know how the world has been made and the laws of existence. And because I know all these things, you have but to come to me and ask and I will reveal all that has been given to me. I tell you truly - as many of you as believes - and understands - and seeks to put my words into daily practice - will be saved from the tribulation that mankind endures. You suffer because you do not understand how you have been created, and the true purposes for which you were born.
‘You were born to be sons and heirs of the ‘Father’, you were born to enjoy all that the
‘Father’ is in Itself, and all that It can give you. But you turn your backs on all the glory of the kingdom and try to find pleasures in earthly things. Whilst you do this you will never find the Kingdom of God nor enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.’
© 2007 Recorder. All Rights Reserved.
www.christsway.co.za (English, French, Italian, Dutch)
www.caminodecristo. (Spanish)
The first thing concerning these following passages that must surely move us. is Jesus' one-pointed focus on the needs of the people who were following him. In the normal human way, He could have felt annoyed by the fact that the people had upset all his plans for solitude in which to pray and recharge his batteries. He could have thought to himself that if they wanted to hear him teach and were so insistent about it, he would cetainly teach them and make abundantly plain what they needed to know to help themselves.
Instead, he abandoned his self-protective attitude and whole-heartedly thought about the feelings of these persistent followers and how He would teach them in such a way as would leave an indelible impression in their minds.
He asked the 'Father' for inspiration and he was led to use the sheep and goats grazing nearby as a means of illustrating the differences in behaviour between people. He would show how the sheep were co-operative and the goats were not. Therefore, although the shepherd cared equally for the safety of sheep and goats, he could only give his consistent attention to the sheep because they listened to his voice and remained within the scope of his protection. whereas the goats did as they pleased. However, this did not mean that the shepherd had forsaken the goats. It meant that the shepherd was obliged to allow the wilful goats to follow their own inborn instincts. The shepherd could not force them to be obedient as were the sheep.
By referring to the animals in this way. comparing the animals behaviour to that of human behaviour, he indicated that the animating life within animals was comparable to the animating life within people, and it was possible to discern that the impulses within humans and animals were identical in their most basic form.
In this way, did Jesus attempt to show people that the 'Father' was universal, ever present in all living things throughout creation.
To discover the work of the 'Father', Jesus did not go out into the heavens, to conjure up pictures of a Deity with power of life and death over people according to their behaviour but he called attention to lowly domestic animals to show that they were as much part of Jehovah's creation as were all people.
In this way, Jesus tried to help people get rid of their fear of a punishing God and help them to see that if things did not always go well for them, it was because thjey were not living in constant harmony with the Laws of Existence governing the universe.
CHRIST continues:
So it was, that when I was besought by the people to teach them, what could I do but sit down on a rock above them - and teach.
I was determined that, if they had come this far to hear me, they would hear something they would remember and possibly speak about all their lives.
I knew that despite all I had told them about the ‘Father’ and ‘Father Love’, they were still apprehensive of rejection by ‘God’. Although I had tried to help them understand that the ‘Father’ of which I spoke, was not the personalised ‘God’ which they worshipped, I knew very well that they were confused. Although I had told them again and again that the ‘Father’ was within them, they were still worried that they might incur punishment from on high by believing my words.
What should I teach them that day, I asked the ‘Father’? Then I noticed the goats and sheep feeding on the hillside under the vigilant care of their shepherd and my message for the day entered my mind. I stood up and shouted so that my voice would carry to the back of the crowds:
‘You see these sheep and goats feeding on the hills. The sheep are in one place and the goats in another.
‘Consider the sheep. They are patient and non-aggressive towards each other even when huddled tightly in a corner of their pen. They feed quietly, never claiming ground which is not theirs, leaving the pasture closely cropped but not damaged, allowing the grass to recover after they have passed over it. Most importantly, they listen to their shepherd’s voice. Therefore, he takes good care of them. He guides them into the best pastures and he sleeps with them at night that they may not be threatened or attacked by dogs or robbers.
‘Look at the goats, how they scramble and leap over the rocks and get themselves into awkward or dangerous places. They tear at the brambles and the foliage of trees. They are despoilers. Were it not for their use to mankind, there would be no place for them other than to be tethered all day or put out into the desert.
‘I look at you below me, and I know that amongst you are many sheep - and, also among you are many goats.’
There were a few angry murmurs but, on the whole, people good-naturedly jostled and ribbed one another, pointing out the ‘goats’ and laughing and nodding.
It was good to see them laughing and so I continued;
‘You can tell the sheep by their homes, the way they treat their neighbours, and the way they are regarded by all in their community. You can likewise tell the goats - are they likely to have many friends?’
There was a loud roar from the crowd: ‘No -o-o-o!’ followed by much laughter.
‘Does the shepherd follow after the goats and care for them - or must they look after themselves and come home by themselves to be milked at night?’
Again the crowd laughed and shouted various replies, some of them very amusing and witty.
‘And so is it with you who are sheep and those of you who are goats - you are protected by the ‘Father’ if you are sheep, and you are not protected by the ‘Father’ if you are goats, because you are obstinately following your own desires every day and possibly leaving a trail of destruction behind you. Tell me - can the ‘Father’ protect the people who are goats?’
The crowd was silent but listening intently.
‘Will you say then, that the ‘Father’ is angry with the goats and will not protect them, or will you rather say that just as the shepherd cares for his sheep and would care for the goats if they would allow it, the ‘Father’ loves sheep and goats equally but is powerless to protect equally because of the goats’ natural behaviour?’
‘Also, consider the feeding habits of sheep and goats. Sheep are content to eat grass only, for which their stomachs are perfectly designed, but the goat will eat anything he comes across, having no respect whatever for his constitution’. So is it with people who have no regard for what they will feed their minds with, since they have no fixed goal or clear purpose. Like goats, they do not recognise when mental food is harmful or is taking them in the direction they should not go in their daily lives or whether it will lead them into harmful myth or dangerous fallacy.
They roam, picking up the mental equivalent of brambles, old shoes, bits of cloth, leaves, thistles, weeds, for they lack good sense’.
A man called out to me: ‘Master, what if a person who is a sheep, makes a mistake, and gets himself into trouble, will the ‘Father’ then abandon him?’.
I asked him a question by way of answering him: ‘What does the shepherd do when one of his sheep falls into a pit, or tumbles over a cliff, or gets caught in brambles? I will tell you. The shepherd leaves his flock and swiftly seeks out the missing sheep and will not leave it until he has brought it to safety. So is it with the ‘Father’ - not even a sheep can avoid doing wrong in one way or another, but rest assured that the ‘Father’ immediately responds to its bleating and rescues it. And if a goat should begin to behave like a sheep and heed the shepherd’s voice, then he too will come under the protection of the shepherd and will be cared for even as sheep are cared for.’
‘So it is with you and the Kingdom of Heaven - the Kingdom of ‘God’.’
Several voices called out, asking me to tell them what I meant by the ‘Kingdom of God’.
‘What I am telling you is unlike anything you have yet heard from any prophet at any time.
‘Do not try to understand what I am saying by thinking of what you have been told by your Teachers. They can only repeat from the scriptures and have no personal knowledge of the Kingdom of God or Heaven.
‘God is not contained within any one place but is everywhere as are the heavens and air above you.
‘The Holy Word spoke truly when it says “In God you live, move and have your being.”
For the Kingdom of God is above, around and also within you - and you can enter the Kingdom of God.’
People shouted impatiently: ‘But what is it?’
‘It is a state of mind and heart which is fully possessed by ‘God’ - your ‘Father’. When you are in this state, the ‘Father’ is the head of your body and directs everything you do and all of your life.’
Some of the people grumbled. ‘How can that be?’.
‘It is possible to be so emptied of self - of selfish desires, enmities, angers, jealousies, greed, vindictiveness that only ‘God’ is left in control within your mind and heart.’
‘What happens then?’ asked a woman.
‘Then you enter into the ‘State of Being’ which is ‘God-directed’. It is altogether beautiful and glorious. It is love, it is generosity, it is caring for other people as you care for yourself, it is non-judgemental since you accept other people exactly as they are, knowing that they too are ‘God’ children and are equally in the ‘Father’ care. It is happiness beyond measure, beyond description, it is joy in the beauty of the world, it is life unlimited and increased energy, it is health and it is the fulfilment of your every need before you even know that you have such a need.’
‘Why do the Rabbis not tell us these things?’ Several voices complained.
‘Because I alone have seen the ‘Father’, I alone know how the world has been made and the laws of existence. And because I know all these things, you have but to come to me and ask and I will reveal all that has been given to me. I tell you truly - as many of you as believes - and understands - and seeks to put my words into daily practice - will be saved from the tribulation that mankind endures. You suffer because you do not understand how you have been created, and the true purposes for which you were born.
‘You were born to be sons and heirs of the ‘Father’, you were born to enjoy all that the
‘Father’ is in Itself, and all that It can give you. But you turn your backs on all the glory of the kingdom and try to find pleasures in earthly things. Whilst you do this you will never find the Kingdom of God nor enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.’
© 2007 Recorder. All Rights Reserved.
www.christsway.co.za (English, French, Italian, Dutch)
www.caminodecristo. (Spanish)
Welcome to
iPeace.us
Latest Activity
© 2024 Created by David Califa. Managed by Eyal Raviv.
Powered by
