Happy Thursday, {{first_name | everyone}}!
Today, we’ll see that what Jesus says in this verse as the answer to one of the most loaded promises God ever made. Excited to dig in!
In today’s email…
🌅 The Old Testament chapter that unlocks this verse
🤝 Why "I came" is a divinity claim
🧹 Community spotlight!
MEMORIZE 🧠
___ _____ _____ ____ __ _____ and ____ and _______. I ____ ____ ____ ___ ____ ____ and ____ __ __________.
John 10:10
CONTEXT 📕
The chapter is Ezekiel 34.
The prophet Ezekiel is writing to Israel during the Babylonian exile. The nation has been ripped apart and dragged into captivity, and Ezekiel is telling them why.
The kings and priests — the people God appointed to shepherd the flock — fed themselves on the sheep instead of feeding the sheep.
They ate the fat. They wore the wool. They butchered the strongest animals for their own tables. They left the weak weak. They left the sick sick. They left the lost lost. They scattered God's flock.
So God speaks. The verdict is one of the heaviest passages in the prophets:
10 Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.
11 For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
Then a few verses later:
"And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd."
Two promises in the same chapter:
God himself will come and shepherd his people, and
God will raise up a son of David to be that shepherd.
And for 600 years, Israel waited.
Then Jesus opens his mouth in John 10 and says: "I am the good shepherd."
He is claiming both promises in one breath. He is the God who said, "I myself will come." He is the son of David Ezekiel said God would raise up. Both. At once.
And verse 10 is the moment he names his mission inside that claim:
"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."
Jesus isn’t just using a comforting image in John 10. He is claiming to be the fulfillment of Ezekiel 34 — the God who said, “I myself will search for my sheep,” and the promised Son of David who would shepherd them.
In Him, both promises become one.
So when Jesus says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly,” he is declaring that the God who promised to come…has come, in person, to save His sheep.
This is the arrival of the Shepherd Israel had long been waiting for.
APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃♂
I learned about Jesus when I was sixteen. A handful of friends my own age were Christians and didn't treat me like an evangelism project. I noticed they had something I didn't. They weren't louder or more impressive. They were just different.
So I started asking questions.
And they were willing to answer. They didn't dodge or get weird about it. They just talked, honestly, about who Jesus actually was to them.
That simple moment changed the entire trajectory of my life. And I'm sitting here writing Malachi Daily today because of a few sixteen-year-olds who told their friend the truth about Jesus when he asked.
Ezekiel says God’s sheep were scattered, left without care, exposed and wandering. That hasn’t changed. Which means there are people in your life right now who are still wandering, still looking, still not knowing the Shepherd.
So here’s the question:
Who is one person you know that might be ready to hear?
Reach out. Start a simple conversation. And when the door opens, point them to the Shepherd who came to find them.
🙏 Pray
Jesus, you are the God who promised to come. And you came. You sought me out and you’re still seeking out lost sheep. Help me be someone who points others towards you. Give me courage to tell them about the one who sought and found me when I was completely lost. Amen.
COMMUNITY FEEDBACK ❤
Love, love it, such a blessing to me. Glory to the Most High!
- Lyndia
Loved today's lesson, as I do every day's lesson. Each day my spirit leaps with joy as I read, absorbing the word of our Lord with renewed understanding. Thank you for your teachings!
- Jane S
This is a great way to dive into scripture. Not only does it provide context. It it also gives historical reference so you can get an idea chronologically where it is occurring in the Bible. I also love how it provides so many different ways to support learning. Coming from a teacher, that’s super important for retention. Well done!
- F.M.
SHOUT-OUTS 📣
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ANSWER KEY ✅
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:10
If you missed any of this week’s emails, you can read them here:
Blessings,
The Malachi Daily team 🙏
Today’s Contributors
Payton is a husband and father in Vero Beach, FL. He serves as the Email Marketing Manager at Faith Driven Entrepreneur and helps Christians master storytelling through his newsletter, Christian Story Lab.
Kieran is a husband and father living in NJ. In addition to Malachi Daily, he writes a personal newsletter about the intersection of faith, fatherhood and entrepreneurship.
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