Wednesday 29 July 2026

Psalm 89:19-37

Background
Verses 1-5 describe a familiar feature of rural life in the ancient Middle East. Our attention is focused on the gate or door of a village sheep pen, which may have been used by a number of small flocks. Each night the door is kept shut and the pen guarded to ensure the flocks’ safety; each morning, each shepherd calls his own sheep with a unique shout or whistle and leads them through the gate to good pasture.

The disciples recognise the story Jesus tells, but cannot fathom its significance (verse 6).

Verses 7-10 unveil Jesus’ interpretation, revealing his distinctive role in relation to the people of Israel and their history. Like a gate, Jesus is God’s agent for ensuring the safety of God’s people in threatening times. It is through Jesus alone that God’s people are called to contribute to wider society, finding nourishment for themselves by their witness to and active service for their neighbours. This double offering means abundant life for God’s people (vs 9-10).

Verse 8 is not dismissive of Jesus’ predecessors. It draws on a semitic habit of speech. If someone is uniformly excellent, and in comparison others are poor or at best only very good, they said: the former is perfect, the latter are rubbish. So Jesus surpasses all who came before him, from Abraham to John the Baptist.

Only in the wider gospel is Jesus’ mission clarified and extended. Jesus uniquely embodied the limitless generosity of God’s Spirit – God’s offer to share divine self-giving love with the whole of humanity. This larger truth came into focus in Jesus’ suffering and death; and the gift to believers of the very Spirit that had filled the heart of Jesus.

To Ponder:

• ‘Through Jesus, God’s love holds us and sustains us through every situation’. Are you convinced of that? If so, how will you encourage others to discern that truth for themselves? If not, to whom will you speak, to guide you in your search for that conviction?
• What at this stage in your life is the most important form of service for your neighbour that you offer? How can you facilitate conversations in your congregation that enable members to share their often hidden acts of kindness and service, to encourage one another?

Prayer
Lord, we thank you that all who trust Jesus are held securely in God’s love and are called to become agents of Jesus’ offer of new life to the wider world. Amen.

Bible notes author: The Revd David Deeks
David is a Methodist supernumerary presbyter, living in Bristol.