When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. (Matthew 25:31-33)

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In John chapter 10, Jesus presents Himself as the good shepherd. He tells us of how deeply He loves His followers (up to the point of giving up His life for them) and how He wants a relationship with them.

What about the sheep? How can we relate to that animal that Jesus used in His metaphor?

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — just as the Father knows me and I know the Father — and I lay down my life for the sheep.
[…] My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:14, 15, 27)

Jesus presented Himself as a good shepherd who was willing to give His life for His sheep. But not only that, He also establishes a relationship with His flock.

In the verses I quoted above, Jesus makes a comparison of the relationship between Him and His Father (they are one) with the relationship between Him and the sheep, that represents His followers.

So He offers a relationship where we can know Him so deeply, so there is no way that we could mistake Him for someone else.

The sheep has a sensible hearing, much better than most animals, so it doesn’t mistake the voice of their shepherd for other person.

In several of His sermons and public addresses, Jesus referred to Himself as the “good shepherd” and to his followers (the Church) as His flock. Back then, shepherding was a common activity, so people were able to fully understand the meaning behind His comparisons.

However, nowadays, specially if you’ve always lived in a big city like I have, you may not be able to grasp all the implications of this illustration.

First of all, nowadays we tend to think of shepherding as a job. The shepherd takes care of the sheep during the day, then late afternoon he puts them all inside a safe place and go home to watch TV, or something like that.

But Jesus wasn’t talking about someone’s job, but about someone’s reason to live. A relationship so strong that the shepherd would be willing to lay down his life for any of his sheep.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)

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Today we celebrate the birth of a very special person. Actually, the most special person ever.

He was so special that His birth divided human history in two parts.

He was the fulfillment of many promises given by God.

He was the only human ever who never sinned.

He was the one who never had any debt to pay, but He took our debt as His own and paid them all.

He is God with us. He came to show us God and lead us to Him.

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I’d like to share with you today a Christmas story. It was shared by Paul Harvey in his radio show, but its author is unknown.

Now the man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a scrooge, he was a kind, decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus story, about God coming to Earth as a man. “I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he’d feel like a hypocrite. That he’d much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

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One of the most important events in Christianity was when God came down to earth as a man, Jesus Christ.

 “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” (John 6:41)

He came  down to earth into a fragile human body.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (John 1:14)

In doing so, He was also able to experience first hand what it is like to be human:

Secular was a word that was never meant to exist. When God created heaven, earth and all creatures, everything was meant to be in perfect harmony with their Creator. He was supposed to be part of our daily lives, involved with us in a perfect relationship.

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But man chose to change the direction of the original plan and now we have two categories for everything we interact daily: secular and religious.

We have secular jobs, secular artists that we enjoy, secular books we read, secular TV shows we watch, etc.

Imagine for a moment that the Fall didn’t happen.

“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18)

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This is what a rich young ruler wanted to know. He claimed to be a good person and to follow all God’s commandments, but he still felt that it wasn’t enough. So when he met with Jesus, he asked what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.

Maybe you’re asking the same question now…

When Jesus answered, his answer disappointed the young man: “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Luke 18:22)