Our blessed Father in heaven. Holy is your name, Father. We ask, Father, that our prayers would come before your throne like incense. We pray that our evening prayers would be like the evening sacrifice. We ask that you would put a guard over our lips. Guard the door of our mouths. Keep us from saying things that dishonor you. Or that grieve your Holy Spirit. Help us to speak only the things that are praiseworthy and good and pure and holy. Father, we proclaim together and confess together that your son, Jesus, has all authority. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. And though the land of Tibet be filled with darkness and demonic teachings, the light of Christ has the authority to pierce that darkness. And we pray that that would happen this Christmas and this year. That many would be born again in Tibet. Lord, we would beg you for our own children. We pray that you would open their eyes. Open their ears. Let them see the glory of heaven and all the things that the world doesn't show them. Let them forsake the world, Father. And cling to the truths of heaven. The realities of of the gospel of heaven. Your glory and your son's glory. Lord, we are not. We are not great, wise, strong. We are poor and weak and broken and needy. We pray that you would visit us with your holy word this morning. In Jesus name. Amen. We are searching through the Bible for the shepherds of Christmas. Why did God bring shepherds to the manger? And so we're trying to understand the shepherds of Christmas. And our search takes us to the book of Zechariah this morning. So this is Zechariah, chapter 11, and we'll begin with verses four through six. This is the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord, my God, feed the flock for slaughter, whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt. Those who sell them say, Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich. And their shepherds do not pity them. For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord. But indeed, I will give everyone into his neighbor's hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land and I will not deliver them from their hand. Thus far, the reading of God's holy word. God has marked out a flock. For the slaughter. That is not the message that America wants to hear at Christmastime. At Christmastime, America wants to hear about money jingling extravagantly at Wall Street. And America wants to hear about politicians singing Holly Jolly like on Capitol Hill. Today's America, America today wants to hear about multiculturalism and hedonism at Christmastime. And so the America of today does not want to hear the name of the sovereign Lord proclaimed at Christmastime. You can't even say Christmas anymore. You have to say seasons, greetings or something like that. But this is very much about Christmas. The eleventh chapter of the Prophet Zechariah is very much about Christmas because the shepherds of the Christmas account in the Gospels, if you read the Gospels very carefully, it's not only the Gospel of Luke that mentions shepherds. There's another gospel that also mentions a shepherd of Christmas. These shepherds in the Gospel accounts of Christmas point to, they're there for the good shepherd. They're signs of the good shepherd of Christmas. God is the good shepherd. He's the shepherd of his people. And that's why the shepherds come to the manger. And so here in the 11th chapter of Zechariah, there's a shepherd, but he has marked out part of his flock for the slaughter. He, the good shepherd who once lay like a little lamb. In the feeding trough of the manger. He's also the shepherd, he's the lamb is the shepherd. who is marked out part of his flock for the slaughter. Zechariah 11, 4-5 again. Remember, this is the Shepherd of Israel speaking. This is the Shepherd of Christmas speaking. He says, Thus says the Lord my God, feed the flock for slaughter, whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt. Those who sell them say, blessed be the Lord, for I am rich and their shepherds do not pity them. And then verse seven says, so I fed the flock for slaughter. It's a flock marked out for slaughter, in particular, the for the poor of the flock or the afflicted of the flock. I took for myself two staffs, staffs, the one I called favor. The shepherds staff, you know, the one I called favor and the other I called union. or bonds, and I fed the flock." So, Israel is the flock, the flock of sheep, and Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is their Good Shepherd. Yet, part of this flock, in fact a large majority of the flock, has been marked out by the Good Shepherd for slaughter. These have been appointed for the slaughter. And this is much like the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah says, that because the flock has rebelled against its shepherd, it is now marked for the slaughter. Jeremiah 12 3 says, pull them out like sheep. For the slaughter. And prepare them. For the day of slaughter. In the New Testament, James is talking about the rich Christians who are who are neglecting the weak in the church, and he says in James 5 5, You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury. You have fasted your hearts as in a day of slaughter. So you're part of this flock that's been marked out for the slaughter. Why is this? Why would the good shepherd who loves his sheep mark out a large majority of the flock for the slaughter? And the answer to this is that the flock, the sheep have come to despise their shepherd. The sheep hate the shepherd. That's why. What would we think about a dog who just happens to hate and turn around and bite his kind and loving master? What would we think of the dog? Or what would we think of a donkey that would spurn his affectionate and compassionate master? What about a human child? an actual human child who would rebel against his meek and tender-hearted father. If the father is meek and tender-hearted, what would you think of a child who would despise his father? Well, what then of Israel, the flock, who has come to despise her gracious shepherd? He's a good shepherd, and yet the sheep have come to despise and to hate him. He's despised by his own flock. God has been good to his flock. He has been long suffering with Israel for about a thousand years. Under the Mosaic covenant, God has shepherded his people Israel. And yet Israel, being hardened by her worship of false gods and all of her Canaanite sinful practices, has now come to despise the good law of her good shepherd. And so now the time has come for the compassion of the good shepherd to end. No more compassion. No more pity. Zechariah 11, 4 through 6, Thus says the Lord by God, Feed the flock for slaughter, whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt. Those who sell them say, Blessed be the Lord, for I am rich and the shepherds do not pity them. For I, that's God, I will no longer pity. No more compassion, no more pity. I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land, says the Lord. But indeed, I will give everyone into his neighbor's hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land and I will not deliver them from their hand. So God's compassion, God's pity as the good shepherd has limits. It does have limits. His flock is despising him. His flock has been despising him for a long time. He's summoned the flock to repentance. The flock refuses to repent. And so, therefore, he will no longer pity. No more compassion. No more pity. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying we should pray about that, says the apostle. And God says no more pity. They've committed the sin that leads to slaughter. And so he will have them cut off. And there's a mystery here in Zechariah 11.8. I'm not exactly sure what this means. Zechariah 11.8 says, I cut off, so he cut them off, I cut off the three shepherds. So he's the good shepherd. He cuts off three shepherds in one month. And then he says, my soul loathed them and their soul also abhorred me. And the question is, who are the shepherds? And when in history did God cut them off? And I think there's a lot of mystery here. I personally do not know the answer to those questions. I don't know who the three shepherds were. I don't know when they were cut off. I'm sure there's a historical fulfillment, but I don't know what it is. However, what is clear, what is clear in Zechariah is that God will cut off the wicked shepherds who are shepherding his people, and he will cut them off in a very dramatic way, because this verb, to cut off, is the verb that's used of the Canaanites. When the Canaanites were in the Promised Land, God cut them out of the land. He cut them off. from the land. And so now Israel, the flock of God, dwelling in the land of God, will now be cut off as well. Exodus 23, 23, this is the Canaanites being cut off. For my angel will go before you and bring you into the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I will cut them off. And the same way that the Canaanites were cut off from the land, now the flock of God, the people of God, will be cut off from their own land. This is the flock doomed for slaughter. Meaning that the flock of God has out-sinned the long-suffering of God. That's wickedness. When you can out-sin the patience of God and the long-suffering of God, that's wickedness. And yet, the good news is that not the whole flock is doomed for slaughter. There is a remnant, there's a small, tiny portion of the flock that is not set aside for the slaughter. They shall be saved. Zechariah 11, 7 says, So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular, and here's the part that's not going to be slaughtered, in particular, the poor or more literally the afflicted of the flock. So we're talking about poor, believers here, but more than that, these are the ones who are being persecuted for the sake of righteousness. They're afflicted because of their faith, because they're outspoken Christians, as it were. So I took for myself two staffs, the one that I called favor and the other I called union, and I fed the flock. So there are two parts to the flock. The vast majority of the flock is marked out for slaughter. And then there's this small, tiny portion remnant of the flock. that is faithful, the afflicted, and they shall be saved." These are the meek and the humble of the flock. These are the ones who fear God. The afflicted are the ones who know and love their shepherd. They don't despise their shepherd. And so the shepherd shall save them, this small remnant, from the slaughter. As it says in Zechariah 7.10, these are the ones that God loves, this small, poor, afflicted bunch. Zechariah 7.10, do not oppress. And here they are, the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the afflicted. There they are, the afflicted. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother. So God loves these afflicted ones. And these are the pious poor. These are the righteous afflicted. And this, I think, is why Jesus comes into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Jesus chooses to enter triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey, not in pomp and might and splendor, but weak and afflicted. And he does this because it shows that he's identifying with this small, special remnant of the flock. Just as they are afflicted, so too Jesus comes into Jerusalem afflicted. Zechariah 9, 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you! He is just and having salvation, afflicted. So he's part of that. He identifies with the afflicted portion of the flock and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. So he's identifying with Zechariah chapter 9 and then that pushes into Zechariah chapter 11. So who is it that loves God? Which sheep of the flock actually love their shepherd? Zechariah says, it is the afflicted of the flock, the truly faithful ones, the humble of heart. These are the ones upon whom the shepherd looks with favor. So those who are suffering for the sake of righteousness. These are the ones he loves. Isaiah 66, 2, in many ways one of the most important verses on the Christian heart in the Old Testament. God says in Isaiah 66, 2, but on this one I will look or will I look on him who is afflicted and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at my word. This is the portion of the flock that shall be saved. The good shepherd, then, is a just shepherd. He's a righteous shepherd. Those who are afflicted in their hearts who love him, these he loves. He loves those sheep. But those who are proud in heart. Who abhor and despise the commandments of their shepherd. These he will not endure. Zechariah 11, 8, I cut off. the three shepherds in one month. And then it says, my soul, this is God, my soul loathed them and their soul also abhorred me. So they. Meaning the large portion of the flock marked for slaughter, they actually despised their shepherd, they hated them. They're part of the flock. But they hate their shepherd. They despise their own shepherd. They abhorred God. In the New Testament, it's the same. It doesn't change. It's the same thing. In the New Testament, there's a flock. And Jesus is a shepherd. And the flock is divided into two parts. In the New Testament, the flock is divided between goats and sheep. That's how it's separated. It's a mixed flock. Before Jesus comes, the flock is all mixed up. You can't tell who's who. And then the shepherd comes in his final shepherding judgment, and he separates the flock, and he marks out part of the flock for the slaughter, and the other part of the flock he loves and he saves. The goats are the proud and the self-centered. They despise the commandments of the shepherd. The sheep are those who love the shepherd. They fear the shepherd and love his commandments. And so, the good shepherd separates them. Matthew 25, 41-43, Jesus speaking, then he will also say to those on the left hand, this is the portion marked for the slaughter. Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you did not take me in. Naked, and you did not clothe me. Sick and in prison, and you did not visit me." In other words, the portion of the flock marked for the slaughter cared not for the afflicted. They didn't care for the afflicted ones of the flock. They didn't take care of God's children. God is the Good Shepherd, but the wicked of the flock despise Him. And in turn, the wicked of the flock, therefore, despise the real sheep, God's true sheep, the afflicted of the flock. So, according to Zechariah chapter 11, God is a despised shepherd. The large portion of the flock despises their own shepherd. And therefore, His true sheep, the real sheep, are despised sheep. They hate the shepherd, and so they will hate His sheep. If the world hates us, Jesus said, it is because the world hated him before it hated us. They hate him first and they hate us next. If the world despises the true shepherd of Israel, then it follows that the world will also despise the true sheep of Israel. Are you then despised by the world? Does the world hate you because you grieve at Christmastime over the ways in which the world indulges in sin and in its blasphemous refusals to give glory to Jesus at Christmas? Do you weep while the world rejoices? Have you been put out of the flock? of popular modish contemporary Christianity because of your unfamed loyalty to the shepherd. Do you know what it means to be afflicted for the sake of following Jesus? Well, remember, Zechariah says, remember that there is a large portion of the flock of Christianity that is marked out for the slaughter. If the shepherd of your soul has allowed you to be persecuted by members of the flock of Christianity, or scorned by them, then it is His mark of love upon you. He has allowed you to be wounded. He has done so lovingly only to save you and to separate you from the coming wrath. He wants you to be separate from the large portion of the flock that's marked for slaughter, so He allows you to be persecuted and wounded. Truly, truly, there are many sheep that name the name of Jesus as their shepherd at Christmas time, who will not inherit the pasturelands of heaven. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the pasture lands of heaven. And if you disagree with that statement, you've just disagreed with the Apostle Paul. Rather, those who despise their shepherd by spitting in the face of his commandments will be proved at the judgment to be disloyal sheep. They call him shepherd, shepherd, but do not do his will. They are not led by his rod. nor by his staff, they do not submit themselves to his lordship, they will not subject themselves to his discipline, they refuse to confess him with their mouths, they refuse to pledge allegiance to the wrathful shepherd of the eleventh chapter of Zechariah, they refuse to confess Jesus publicly and unashamedly before all men, and therefore they are not the true sheep of God. They may claim the name of Jesus at Christmas time, but they are not the true sheep of God. They are a flock marked out for the slaughter. They presumptuously expect to find green pastures at the final judgment, but in reality, at the final verdict, they will be given over to the everlasting slaughter. This is the reality of the American church at Christmas time this year. He then is a despised shepherd. Even at Christmas time, the Son of God is despised. by a large portion of his own flock." This is shocking, but I think what's even more shocking is the extent to which the shepherd is despised by his own flock. It's the extent that's so shocking. Zechariah 11, 10 through 13, "'And I took my staff called Favor, and I cut it in two.'" So he has this shepherd's staff and he saws it in half. that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. So it was broken on that day. Thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me, this is the ones who know the shepherd, knew that it was the word of the Lord. Then I said to them, if it is agreeable to you, now he's speaking to the other part of the flock, give me my wages. And if not, refrain. So they weighed out for me or for my wages 30 pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, throw it to the potter. That princely price they set on me. So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter. The shepherd is despised by his own flock. God is despised by the very people who claim to worship him. And yet the shocking thing is the extent to which he is despised. And this great extent of the flock despising its own shepherd is proved by the price at which they value him, or do not value him. Again, Zechariah 11, 12, Then I said to them, If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages. This is the good shepherd speaking. And if not, refrain. So they weighed out for my wages. What are you going to pay, Jesus? 30 pieces of silver. How much is the good shepherd worth in the eyes of Israel? What is the value of Jesus? Their response to him is to devalue him so much so that it actually belittles him. The flock of God belittles God. Israel belittles Christ. Israel says to Christ, to Jesus, you're worth about 30 pieces of silver. That's how much you mean to us. And this is more than just a major insult. This is a devaluation of God. to the point of telling Jesus that you're not even worth as much as a free man. You're worth more like the price of a slave. Because in Israel, in ancient Israel, under the Mosaic Code, the value of a free man for his working value, his economic value, was 50 shekels of silver. Leviticus 27.3 says, if your valuation is of a male from 20 years old up to 60 years old, and of course Jesus was in that age bracket, Then your valuation shall be 50 shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. But Israel doesn't think Jesus is worth that much. Instead, he's like a slave. Exodus 21, 32 says, if the ox gores a male or female slave. He shall give to their master. 30 shekels of silver. And the ox shall be stoned. So why the 30 pieces of silver? Well, the answer is that that's the valuation of Christ by Israel. He's not worthy to be called a teacher in Israel. He's not even be he's not even worthy to be valued as a free man. Rather, he's worth about as much as a common slave. This is what Israel thinks of her shepherd. And therefore. The Lord is angry. The Lord takes these 30 pieces of silver and throws them to the potter. Zechariah 11, 13. And the Lord said to me, throw it to the potter. That princely price, of course, that's that's that's holy sarcasm. They said on me, so I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord. for the potter. But why the potter? Why take the 30 pieces of silver and throw them to the potter? Why does the good shepherd take his payment and throw it to the potter? Well, the reference to the potter harkens back to the prophecy of the prophet Jeremiah. And Jeremiah tells the people that because they have rejected their shepherd, they are now marked out for the valley of the slaughter. This goes back to the slaughter. Jeremiah 18, 1 through 2, the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house. So you throw it to the potter. And there I will cause you to hear my words. And then there's the prophecy of the potter. And then in chapter 19, verses 1 through 2, we return to the potter. Thus says the Lord, go and get a potter's earthen flask and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests and go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom, which, by the way, in Greek would be Gehenna. which is by the entry of the potsherd gate, and proclaim there the words that I will tell you, and then verse 6 says, Therefore behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, this is all about the potter, that the place shall no more be called Tophet, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter. Why the potter's house? Well, the potter's house is a prophecy about Israel's rejection of God, and subsequently, the coming valley of slaughter. There is a portion, a vast portion, the major portion of the flock that is marked out for the valley of the slaughter. Israel has devalued her shepherd. He's worth about 30 pieces of silver. And therefore God has marked out Israel for the valley, the slaughter that will take place in the valley of the son of Hinnom. I say that it is shocking, it is infinitely shocking to think upon Jesus, the eternal Son of God, being devalued by the chief priests of Israel. When it came time to value Him, they counted His worth at 30 pieces of silver. Matthew 26, 14 through 16. Then one of the 12 called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priest and said, What are you willing to give me if I will deliver him to you? And they counted out to him. 30 pieces of silver. So from that time, he sought opportunity to betray him. How can you measure that? How can you measure the dishonor of that? valuing Christ at a slave's valuation. What kind of mockery is this? What kind of infinite mockery is this? It was thrown to the potter indeed. You can see why the Lord is angry. He's the good shepherd. So throw it to the potter. Who can measure? Think about it. Who can measure the wrath of the Father against those who would so devalue the blood of His only begotten Son? Is it only the valley of slaughter that awaits such mockers? Is it not also the valley of hell full of fire burning with brimstone? People who don't like the doctrine of hell don't understand the value of the blood of Christ. And yet, this is Christmas too. This also is Christmas that we get to share with sinners the good news of the forgiveness of sins. We get to say to them, Christmas means that the Word of God became flesh and made His dwelling among us. It says that the babe whom Mary held in her arms was the royal and divine Son of God, who is without beginning or end. Therefore, Christmas says that Jesus, the God-man, was pierced through on the cross, and His blood was not just of great value, but of infinite, divine value. It is that blood alone that can appease God's wrath against your sins. It is Jesus' blood alone that is valuable enough to pay the ransom price for your sins. Therefore, by that blood, your sins, though they be scarlet, may be washed white as snow. So what we're saying is, I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. I'm dreaming of a sinner's repenting kind of Christmas. I'm dreaming of a forgiveness of sins kind of Christmas. We say to the unbelievers at Christmas, if you are not a Christian, you still have today, which is the day of salvation, on which you may repent and put your faith in Christ and in that cleansing blood, that saving blood that can rescue you from the slaughter that shall come. That's what we say to unbelievers at Christmas time. But then, if I can speak to Christians, how much do you, dear Christian, value the blood of Jesus, which was poured out for the forgiveness of sins? If you are his sheep, if you're really his sheep, not just a pretending sheep, and if he's your shepherd, How much do you value Him at Christmas? Will the way in which you spend your Christmas day properly reflect how valuable He is? Do you value Christ, the nail-pierced shepherd? So much so that you are willing to forsake the world and turn your back upon the world in order to follow Him in full obedience wherever He may lead you. Do you value His voice? Do you value His presence? Since He was crushed for your iniquities, what valuation of worship will you ascribe to Him at Christmas? It's an invitation to worship, really. when we think about the value of the blood of the Son of God. So, what I see in Zechariah chapter 11 is Israel both despising her shepherd and devaluing him. And this, in turn, here's the result. If you devalue God, you despise God, and then you devalue God, here's the result. This makes you ripe for apostasy. Israel is now ripe for apostasy. She despises the Good Shepherd. She devalues the Good Shepherd. This makes her ripe for the deception of the Antichrist, or we might even call him the Anti-Shepherd. There's a deception coming. This false shepherd we might rightly call the anti-shepherd, and he's coming. Zechariah chapter 11. Now we move to the end of the passage, 10 through 11. And I took my staff called Favor, and I cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. So it was broken on that day. Thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew that it was the word of the Lord. And then verse 14 says, Then I cut in two my other staff, the staff called Union, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. So again, the pity of God It is no longer. The long-suffering of God has been out-sinned, and so God breaks covenant. This is frightening. Israel has despised and devalued God, therefore God, her shepherd, breaks covenant with her. The covenant is broken. And this means that she is now vulnerable to the great deception that is coming in the Antichrist. Zechariah 11, 15-16, And the Lord said to me, Next take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd, for indeed I will raise up a shepherd. So you don't want me as a shepherd? I will raise up a shepherd, the anti-shepherd, in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand, but he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear the hooves in pieces. This is the Antichrist. This is the Antishepherd. He is the one of whom the prophet Daniel spoke. Daniel 11.36 Then the king shall do according to his own will. He shall exalt and magnify himself. This is the Antichrist, the list of kings, but eventually, at least typologically, turns into the Antichrist. He shall exalt and magnify himself above every god. shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished, for what has been determined shall be done. An Antichrist is coming. An Antishepard is coming, because the flock has despised the Good Shepherd. The blessed Apostle Paul as well warns us in earnest about this deceptive Antichrist, this Antishepard who is coming. 2 Thessalonians 2, 9-11 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because, this is why they're given over to this, they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. They despised their shepherd. And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie. The true shepherd, Jesus, Jesus was the good shepherd, at Christmas time became a lamb. So too, the anti-shepherd, the deceptive shepherd, should try to make himself look like a lamb. Revelation 13, 11, then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns like a lamb. He makes himself look like Jesus. and spoke, but you know him by his words, he spoke like a dragon. However, here's the good news again. Here's the gospel again. The good news, according to the prophet Zechariah, is that God has power over this anti-shepherd. The good shepherd, Jesus Christ, shall in the end crush the anti-shepherd at the end of the age. When the final battle happens, the good shepherd shall crush the Antichrist. Zechariah 11, 17. Woe to the worthless shepherd, that's the Antichrist, who leaves the flock. The sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye. His arm shall completely wither and his right eye shall be totally blinded. He will be crushed. And this is fulfilled. The final fulfillment is in the book of Revelation. Revelation 19, 20. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet, that's the Antichrist, the Antishepard, who works signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. And these two, the beast and the Antishepard, the Antichrist, were cast into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone. So Christ conquers. It's heavy. Zechariah 11 is very heavy. But in terms of Christmas, this is a victory story. This is the account of the good shepherd Jesus Christ in his victory over Satan and Satan's beastly kingdom and Satan's human anti-Christ or anti-shepherd. Yes, the flock of God, a large majority of the flock of God, will be handed over in judgment to the deception of an anti-shepherd, but Christ Jesus shall conquer the anti-shepherd decisively. Which means that we who are of the afflicted of the flock, of the remnant of the flock, need not fear anything at Christmas time. Yes, there are still murderous King Herod out there who hate children and hate babies and are trying to kill Christians. The babies are vulnerable. The predators are ruthless. And yes, there are demonic lions stalking around out there who seek to devour God's sheep at Christmas time. But the gospel is that Jesus came to conquer all of those sharp toothed enemies. So when we celebrate Christmas in our homes, we celebrate by remembering the Incarnation, to be sure. The Shepherd of Israel, God, who is the Shepherd of Israel, the Son of God, took on lambhood at Christmastime. Christmas is the invisible shepherd taking on lambhood to walk amongst the flock. The shepherd took on sheephood. He, the babe in the manger, was God in human flesh, having come to share in our sorrows and to bear our iniquities, our sins. He, the shepherd, took on lambhood for us so that He could become the appeasing sacrifice for our sins. So certainly we celebrate that at Christmas. Yet at Christmas we also remember this. This is also Christmas. This babe in the manger also came to conquer. The babe came to conquer. He is the true shepherd of the sheep. and he will not suffer his kingdom to be overrun by the anti-shepherd, or the anti-Christ. Christmas, then, for us, is about a light that conquers darkness, and about a baby boy who conquers kings, and about a lamb who conquers lions. He is the good shepherd, and in his loving care we, the afflicted of the flock, need not fear any evil for the good shepherd. The good shepherd shall lead his sheep, his true sheep safely into the perfect and painless pastures of his everlasting kingdom. And this is what this is what so thrills me about the book of Revelation chapter five. When when when the saints are gathered around the throne of God in Revelation five and all is said and done and all the Christians have been gathered into the pastures of heaven and all the angels are gathered around all the elders and all the saints when they worship Christ. in heaven. It says that they will worship the shepherd in the form of a lamb. We'll gather around the shepherd, all of his sheep gathered around, looking upon him and saying, worthy is the lamb who was slain. To receive riches power, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, blessing. In other words, there shall be no devaluing of the Shepherd of Christmas in heaven, but heaven will be all about the eternal worth and the eternal value of the Shepherd of Christmas. So because it's Christmas week and we're coming to the Lord's table together, we have to ask the question as we come to the table, how valuable is it? How valuable is the sacrifice of the Lamb of God? Here's the doxology and then we'll go to the table. Praise be to God, our Father. Who alone values his only begotten son rightly. Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ. Who alone is the true shepherd of the church. Praise be to the Holy Spirit, who alone knows how to shepherd the afflicted of the flock all the way to the pastor lands of paradise. Thank you for joining us for the preaching of the Holy Scriptures. You can find more resources at our website www.GodCenteredUniverse.org You may also send correspondence to us at the following address, PO Box 461978 Aurora, Colorado 80046. God-Centered Universe is a faith-driven ministry that exists to encourage the Church in family-based discipleship and to call the Church to continue trembling joyfully at God's Word.