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"I will not feed you"

Text: Zechariah 11:9

THE DECISION OF THE SHEPHERD

The tension between the shepherd and the sheep was obviously high. The decision of the shepherd was obvious.

“Then I said, ‘I will not feed you.
Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish.
Let those that are left eat each other’s flesh.'”
Zechariah 11:9

1. The fateful decision made

a) The shepherd would not feed the sheep.

b) His efforts were rejected anyway.

2. The results were drastic

a) The dying will die.

b) The perishing will perish.

c) Those who had not died yet would feed on each other.

d) This was a grim picture indeed!

APPLICATION OF THIS TEXT

The Lord Jesus once declared to His disciples the decision He made concerning the religious leaders of His day. This is an application of Zechariah 11:9.

“Then His disciples came and said to Him,
‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?’
But He answered and said,
‘Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.
Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind.
And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.'”
Matthew 15:12-14

1. The Disciples of Jesus

They reported that the Pharisees were offended by the teachings of Jesus.

2. The reply of the Lord Jesus

a) The Pharisees were not planted by His Heavenly Father.

b) They would be uprooted.

c) They are to be left alone. They were blind leaders leading the blind!