Di Good Shepherd

For di night wey dem born Jesus, di first visitors na shepherds, wey still dey smell of sheep and hillside. Thirty years after, di baby wey dem find go stand up for Jerusalem and talk say, I be shepherd too. Di good one.

Everybody for di world of Jesus know shepherds. For di hills around Bethlehem and Jerusalem, flocks dey graze all year. For night, dem fit keep plenty flocks together inside one sheep pen wey get stone wall, with only one entrance and one gatekeeper. For morning, every shepherd go come call, and im own sheep go come out meet am. Jesus don just heal di man wey dem born blind, and some of di religious leaders of Israel don drive di man comot from di synagogue because e follow Jesus. So Jesus tell one story about shepherds, and about leaders wey no care for di sheep.

Anybody wey climb enter di sheep pen through another way, over di wall, Jesus talk, na thief and robber. But di one wey enter through di door na di shepherd. Di gatekeeper go open for am, and di sheep go hear im voice. E dey call im own sheep by name and e dey lead dem come out. When e don bring all of dem out, e go waka for dia front, and di sheep go follow am, because dem know im voice. Stranger, dem no go follow; dem go run from am. Di people wey dey listen no understand. So Jesus explain.

I be di door for di sheep, e talk. Anybody wey enter through me go get salvation, e go enter and comot and find grass to chop. Di thief dey come only to steal, to kill and to destroy. But I come so dat dem go get life, and get am full full. Then e talk am clear. I be di good shepherd: di good shepherd dey give im life for di sheep. Hired man, wey no own di sheep, go see wolf as e dey come and e go run, and di wolf go scatter di flock. E no really care. But di good shepherd go stay.

I be di good shepherd, Jesus talk again, and I know my own, and my own know me, just as di Father know me and I know di Father. And I dey give my life for di sheep. Then e look pass di crowd wey dey im front. I get oda sheep, e talk, wey no be from dis pen. I must bring dem too, and dem go hear my voice, and na one flock, one shepherd go dey. And nobody dey take my life from me, e talk. Na me dey give am by myself. I get power to give am, and power to take am back again.

Di people wey dey listen to Jesus know di prophet Ezekiel. Many hundreds of years before, Ezekiel condemn di leaders of Israel as shepherds wey dey feed demself instead of di flock. Then God promise: I myself go search for my sheep and find dem. And e promise to put one shepherd over dem, im servant David. Bethlehem na David town, and David be shepherd boy for there.

Di Good Shepherd. You go find am for John chapter ten, verse one to eighteen. Di baby wey di shepherds find for Bethlehem na di shepherd wey know every one of im sheep by name. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. For all di noise wey dey around you, how you fit learn to recognise di voice of di Good Shepherd?