What is it you would like for me to do for you?

The Gospel reading for this past Sunday was Mark 10:46-52

46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.
49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.
50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.
51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

There is a lot in this story about the power of God and the faith that receives it. I thought about that as the pastor preached on this very section.

I only want to consider one verse in this post, and that's verse 51. The KJV has it, What wilt thou that I should do when to thee? While that captures the Greek well enough, I confess people today might stumble over it. The ESV has it, What do you want me to do for you? And I admit, while it's not bad, it just sounds harsh, almost irritated, to my ears, What do you want? And that's clearly not what Jesus was saying.

It's all in this word translated wilt thou. The word can refer to purpose or to desire. When it comes to translating the Bible, I prefer a concordant or word for word literal translation (as far as makes sense in English), but here is a time when perhaps a dynamic equivalence would make it clear. I would translate it like this, What is it you would like for me to do for you?

By saying, Have mercy on me, the man was indicating he wanted something, he had a request for Jesus. And when Jesus spoke to him he was acknowledging that and asking the man, “What can I do for you? How can I help you?”

At first glance that may seem kind of silly. The man was blind, obviously he would want his sight, yet Jesus asked him, What is it you would like for me to do for you? This teaches us an important spiritual principle: It is important, it is necessary, that we speak out what we want God to do. It's not enough to simply say, “Help me, Lord,” “Have mercy on me Lord,” “Give me grace...” We need to be specific. Not just, “Bless my family,” but, “Save them, deliver them, heal them, sanctify them...” We need to make specific requests.

We not only need to make specific requests, but be persistent – he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. Began to cry out, meaning he was repeating this over and over. At first he received no response. He cried out and got nothing back. Then many charged him that he should hold his peace. Everyone around him sought to deter him, “Stop that. It won’t work.” How discouraging. How did he respond? He cried the more a great deal. He would not give up until he had Jesus’ attention. Persistence.

We can’t forget faith. Jesus said to him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. He cried out in faith. Faith to recognize Jesus as thou son of David. Faith to cry for mercy, faith to persist, faith to make a specific request. When I pray I need to make a specific request, I need to believe God for it, and I need to pray until I receive from Him. Amen.

And if it's important for me to articulate my request, this is also a principle when ministering to others - I need to get them to tell me what they want before I pray for them.

When I was Pastor in Pensacola, FL, Don Robson was pastor of the church in Elberta, AL, 30-40 minutes away. He told me of a Sunday when he had offered to pray and anoint with oil anyone who wanted to be healed. A few people responded and he was praying for them. It was his custom to ask them, “What are you believing God for?” He asked a woman who had come forward and she said, “I have a condition and the doctor said it would take three surgeries to correct it. I would like for you to believe God with me that it would just take one surgery.” Now Don told me he would have prayed for no surgeries, but he joined her in prayer and faith that one surgery would be sufficient. (It was!) But you see, it was important to ask her, “What are you asking God for, what do you want from the Lord?” Because it was different than what Don was thinking, and you can’t agree in prayer when you are asking for different things.

We had five churches all within 45 minutes of each other on the Gulf Coast, we used to have men's rallies, women's rallies, youth rallies. The youth rallies were a day of games, food, music, and a message. I remember one particular rally, the evangelist was pleading with the young people to come to Christ. His closing illustration was a story about somebody who had gone to church, heard the gospel, not responded, and died in a car crash on the way home. He gave the invitation and several young people responded. I was one of the counselors for the day and I met an elementary-aged boy and took him off into a room to pray. I asked him right off, “Why did you come forward?” He said, “I don't want to die in a car crash on my way home.” Oh man! I don't remember how the rest of that time went but I do know that I had to start at the beginning and clear up his misunderstanding. And I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't asked him, “What are you asking God for?”

When someone asks me to pray for them, I need to ask them, “What is it you would like for Him to do for you?” and go from there.

What a blessed and faith inspiring question:

What is it you would like for me to do for you?

12:54 pm last Thursday

With a Wild Cherry Pepsi and a book, I made myself comfortable on my chair in the back yard, planning to enjoy some time outside. My phone rang. It was Dave. When you get a call in the middle of the day from someone you know is at work, you have a bad feeling as you answer.

“Hello?”

“Hey Dad. I was wondering if you could help me, I have a small emergency.”

Aimee had traveled down to Johnson City, TN the day before and was scheduled to drive back home today. She had in fact left. When she turned off the road into a convenience store for a snack, she noticed her car was smoking. Actually on fire! I mean, flames!

My first question was, “Is she OK?” He assured me she was not hurt physically but was  shook up, then explained what he was calling about. He was wondering if I could go up to Johnson City and get her. I told him I could and would but that I was five hours away. We decided to ask Debbie (Mary’s sister living in Johnson City) if she could pick her up and take her back to her house and then I would arrange to fly her home the next day. Debbie graciously agreed to our plan. And that was a LOT of grace - Dave thought Aimee was maybe twenty minutes into her trip, turns out she was an hour and twenty minutes in!

Then I called Aimee. She was rattled. I don’t blame her. In fact, I never once told her to calm down. I asked her if she was hurt in any way and assured her we would take care of her and make sure she got back to Debbie’s house and back home, but never once did I suggest she stop being upset. How could I? I’ve never been there.

I’ve had flat tires, blowouts, dead batteries, run out of gas, had a transmission die driving on the interstate, and more, but never, no never…. Wait, let me think about it … nope, never had a car catch on fire! Before this, I never even knew anybody who had their car catch on fire! She was shook up? Uh, yeah!

She told me she called 911. I can only imagine the conversation:

“This is 911. What’s your emergency?”

“My car’s on fire! Can you please send someone before it blows up!!”

“Where are you?”

“I’m at a gas station. Please hurry!!!”

Afterwards I was struck by the contrasts in all this. Where I am it’s a peaceful, calm, lazy, albeit hot, Thursday afternoon. Where she is her car is on fire and there are firefighters putting it out.

Praise the Lord she was not hurt, Debbie was able to bring her back to her house, and we were able to secure a ticket for a flight home the next day. Oh yeah, that weekend they were able to get a new car and it seems she is right on schedule with her plan to move down to Tennessee.

All this reminded me of another day and another fire. On March 30, 2013 I was asleep in the afternoon. I had worked the night before and had to work that night. I was peacefully and soundly sleeping when Tiernan burst into the room, “Grandaddy, wake up! Aunt Erica’s on the phone and her apartment burned down!”

Erica was living and working in South Korea. Somehow a fire started in her apartment while she was away and she lost everything. She was in Korea, we were in Carolina, and there was nothing we could do. Praise the Lord she was safe! That night I wrote a poem about it:

I was awakened today
Bad news from far away
“Wake up” I heard him say
“Erica’s house burned down today.”

And in a scene straight from a dream
There was Erica’s tear stained face
“My place burned up, I’ve lost it all”
That was the reason for the call

The blessing of Skype –
I can hear right away
The curse of being far away -
There’s nothing I can do today

How do you remember everything you’ve lost?
How do you figure up how much it costs?
This is hard, but how can I really know how rough?
I sit surrounded by all of my stuff

God had mercy on my child
And now may He give her grace
And wipe those tears from her face
And fill her heart with His love


I'm trying to figure out how to wrap this up and all I can think of is the preacher we heard one Sunday. He was the special speaker that day. He preached for a while then announced, "Well, I guess I'm done." Well, me too!

While mowing the lawn

While mowing my yard, with a push mower, I have plenty of time to think. I mean, how long does one need to focus on, “Am I mowing a straight line?”

The other day I got to thinking about all the streams of Christian thought that have influenced me. The Bible of course is the first and most important, but I think everyone recognizes that there are various streams within an orthodox viewpoint (and yes, I hold to the traditional, historic, apostolic faith). Here are the ones I thought about while pushing my lawn mower back and forth across the yard.

The Ante-Nicene Fathers. This may not really be a stream, since I never met them personally. I’ve only read their works, but these men had a huge impact on me. I was drawn to them because they are the closest witness we have to the Apostles. And these brethren really aren't a stream, they're more like the trunk of the tree.

The Charismatic Renewal. Especially the earlier years. Baptism with the Spirit, spiritual gifts, healing, deliverance, expectation of answered prayer, worship, victorious living, and a big and present Savior. I was always astounded when people criticized the renewal as shallow and lacking in-depth teaching, for I found a lot of in-depth teaching, full and rich. Oh not so much theological, but aimed at living the abundant and victorious life.

The Holiness Movement. They also believed in baptism with the Spirit, although a little different emphasis than the charismatic renewal. Heart purity and victory over sin as normal expectations. And the matter of separation from the world. Again, this stream was mostly experienced via their books. This would include the Keswick Movement and all the Higher Life, deeper life emphases.

The Christian and Missionary Alliance. The C&MA is one branch of the Holiness Movement, with an emphasis on the expectation and possibility of sanctification. The Alliance, especially the older writers, taught an expectation of victory over and deliverance from sin, and overall had a more balanced view of holiness. Healing, deliverance, prayer, answered prayer, and a big and present God... What a deep stream! They also saturated me with missions: the whole gospel, for the whole man, for the whole world. And an emphasis on the second coming of Christ, tied into the missionary endeavor.
The Christian & Missionary Alliance is truly that, an alliance of people who agree on the basics of the faith and agree to disagree on many of the details that divide others (for example, Calvinism vs Arminianism). Our fellowship was built on Jesus, the four-fold gospel, and taking this gospel to the ends of the earth. The point being we don't have to agree on every detail (eternal security, rapture etc) to fellowship and work together. The teaching was also sound, deep, full of life, and glorified Jesus.

The charismatic renewal and the Alliance are also revivalistic. Which explains why I believe in renewing and reviving movements of the Spirit, and that we should be in prayer for revival.

I have also noted for a long time that the movements that influenced me the most are also restorationist movements, intent on restoring the spiritual life emphasis of the Apostles.

Calvary Chapel. Pastor Chuck taught me the importance of expository preaching (preaching and teaching through whole books of the Bible). And of course the worship. The charismatic renewal, of which Calvary Chapel is a stream, taught me the importance and beauty of worship. Movements of the Spirit are always marked by joyful singing (all of the above!), consequently, I know so many good songs!

Anyway, this is what I was thinking about as I cut the grass the other day. And still, I managed to mow in straight lines. Well, straight enough!

Take heed to thyself, lest thou forget

A couple of weeks ago I had an opportunity to preach and there were a couple of firsts for me. We are attending

which is a church plant of the

I've never attended an Anglican Church, so obviously this was the first time I have ever preached in an Anglican Church.. This was also the first time my text was taken from the lectionary. We usually have three scripture readings appointed each Sunday. Our Old Testament reading for that day was Deuteronomy 4:1-14 and I chose that for my text. Since we are currently not recording the messages I will offer my notes (the light version!).

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Take heed to thyself, lest thou forget

Deuteronomy 4:1-14

Overview of chapter
This is a great chapter! Moses is preparing them for a renewal of the covenant . . .
1-14 Hearken and take heed lest thou forget
15-24 Take heed you make no images of God  v 24
25-40 When you stumble 29-31 ... Conclusion 39-40
41-49 Cities of Refuge
We will concentrate on 1-14. We will look first at what the passage meant to Israel and then ask if it says anything to us.

1  Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do [them], that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.

hearken – big word in the Old Testament. “Listen, pay attention, obey”
Similar to when we say to our children, “Listen to me!”

statutes — The laws which concern the worship and service of God.

judgments — The laws concerning your duties to men.
So these two comprehend both tables, and the whole law of God.

Hearken to the statutes and judgments and do them. 

2  Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Don’t add to the Word. Don’t remove anything from it. Just do it.

He is talking about the written Word. Then he suddenly changes direction.

3  Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.
4  But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God [are] alive every one of you this day.
Now he appeals to their experience. Balak, Balaam, Phineas ...

5  Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
6  Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
7  For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
8  And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
He returns to the authority of the written Word. “Keep and do them; for this is your wisdom.” (6)

7  For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? AMEN!

9  Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;
Now the other half of his charge. This verse is powerful:

- this passage we are looking at begins with an imperative, hearken, and here we find, Take heed to thyself, keep thy soul diligently 

- lest thou forget what thine eyes have seen:  their experience

- thou
Ah, the KJV, with its thee and thou and ye and you! What’s up with this? Is it some kind of archaic ‘holy speak’? No. It is actually very helpful. It is the way older English differentiated between 2nd person singular (thou) and 2nd person plural (ye). In the first 8 verses he has been addressing Israel as a people, and in v 9 he speaks to the individual. It is neat to follow this in the chapter:

Hearken to the written Word and don’t forget your experiences with God.

Now, this is the Old Testament, the Law, does it have anything to say to us today? As Paul said, Much in every way!

1st HEARKEN TO THE WRITTEN WORD 
Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture

Listen to it, Pay attention to it. Be intent on doing it. How blessed we are! We have it read every Sunday. We have it preached. Don’t forget what you’ve heard. Don’t forget what you’ve been taught.

Don’t add to it or diminish it. Real problem today – diminishing it, taking away from it as in, "This is no longer part of the Word"; "This no longer applies to us"; "We have a new way to explain this".

Don’t forget the faith we declare every Sunday (Nicene Creed)

2nd DON’T FORGET YOUR SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES

Is it even biblical to put such stress on experience? Yes.

Philippians 4:9  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.  

Take prayer. The Bible has a lot to say about prayer. A lot! But what is the best way to learn to pray? With others in a prayer meeting.

Now, let’s consider some specific examples of this.

Romans 5:5 the love of God shed abroad in our hearts

Romans 8:16 the witness of the Spirit

1 Corinthians 11:20-22 Lord’s Supper – not all experience is good; theirs was wrong and they needed to repent so they could experience the truth (see also James 4:1-3)

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 And such were some of you 
We are the fellowship of the used to be. We all have a story of how we came to Christ. Have you come to Christ?

We had a song we used to sing:

Once I was a sinner
But Jesus set me free (3x)
Singing glory, hallelujah
Jesus set me free

And I'm gonna sing, sing, sing
And I'm gonna shout, shout, shout
I'm gonna sing, I'm gonna shout
"Praise the Lord!"
When those gates are open wide
I'm gonna sit at Jesus' side
I'm gonna sing, I'm gonna shout
"Praise the Lord!"

1 Corinthians 14:26 Have you received a spiritual gift? Exercised a gift? No? Ask God for them.

Galatians 3:2 Received ye the Spirit . . . Have you been baptized with the Spirit?

Galatians 3:5 worketh miracles among you – at the very least, answers to prayer

Amen! We are people of the Book, but we are not simply people of the letter: Say the right thing, pronounce it correctly, give the right answer to each question. No. We have a relationship with the resurrected and living Jesus! John Wesley expressed it well:

What Christianity promised is accomplished in my soul. 

This is experience. We can demonstrate the truth of the faith from the Word and from the history of the church, but the easiest and most powerful is when we experience it. As Wesley said:

How plain and simple is this -- 'One thing I know; I was blind, but now I see'! 

So, Hearken to the Word and don’t forget what thine eyes have seen. And once again in the words of John Wesley, let thy testimony be

What the Scripture promises, I enjoy.

I sang on the way to the beach

On the way down to Edisto, Ryan was reading his devotional and I started to sing. One song just led to the next song. Maybe you can sing too!

Let there be glory
And honor and praises
Glory and honor to Jesus
Glory and honor
Glory and honor to Him


Give unto the Lord
O ye mighty
Give unto the Lord
Glory and strength
Give unto the Lord
The glory due his name
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 29:1)


Exalt the LORD our God
Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his footstool
worship at his footstool
Holy is he. Holy is he. (Psalm 99.9)


Thou art my God
And I will praise Thee
Thou art my God
I will exalt Thee
O give thanks unto the Lord
For He is good
For His mercy endureth forever (Psalm 118:28-29)


For Thou Lord, art high
Above all the earth
Thou art exalted
Far above all gods
For Thou Lord, art high
Above all the earth
Thou art exalted
Far above all gods

I exalt Thee! I exalt Thee!
I exalt Thee, Oh Lord!
I exalt Thee! I exalt Thee!
I exalt Thee, Oh Lord!  (Psalm 97:9)


Thou art worthy
Thou art worthy
Thou art worthy, O Lord
To receive glory
Glory and honor
Glory and honor and pow'r
For Thou hast created
Hast all things created
For Thou hast created all things
And for Thy pleasure they are created
Thou art worthy, O Lord (Revelation 5:9)


When we reached Columbia I saw a billboard:

Forgive my sins

Jesus

Save my soul

I made a (pretty good) song right on the spot and sang it for the next several miles:

Forgive my sins, Jesus
Save my soul (2x)

Save my life, Lord
I'm out of control

Forgive my sins, Jesus
Save my soul (2x)

Fill me now with
Holy Ghost oil*

Forgive my sins, Jesus
Save my soul (2x)

*Oil is pronounced so as to rhyme with soul and control

I am the resurrection

Salvation Pictures in John

Chapters 11 & 12

I’m going through the Gospel According to John, seeing how Jesus spoke to people, and seeking to answer the question, How did he describe his offer of and our need for salvation? You can read the introduction here.

The pictures we have seen so far: new birth, serpent in the wilderness, living water, bread from heaven, rivers of living water, light, slavery, freedom, of God, of the devil, I am, the light of the world, the door of the sheepfold, the good shepherd. Today I am looking at chapters 11 and 12. This will be the final post because this is the end of the public ministry of Jesus - in 13-17 he is with the disciples and in 18-21 he is crucified and resurrected.

Chapter 11
The entire chapter is devoted to Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Utterly amazing!
When Jesus came to Bethany, he was met by grieving Mary and Martha. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

What an amazing declaration! Martha declared her orthodox faith, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus replied, "I am the resurrection.” This is astounding! And rich! He is not spiritualizing the resurrection, denying that there will be a literal resurrection of the dead at the last day; he is saying he is it. It happens because of him: he says when; he is the force behind it. He is life itself: everything lives because of him. He gives life to whom he will; resuscitating, reviving, resurrecting. There is coming a resurrection at the last day, but only because Jesus will be there, in fact it happens when he returns in power and glory. But life from the dead, both spiritual and physical, can happen where ever he is because he is the resurrection, he is the life! I’m trying to express this, but I confess, this is truly mind-boggling!

Chapter 12
1-11 Mary anoints Jesus
12-19 Triumphal entry
20-26 Some Greeks seek to see Jesus, Philip and Andrew tell Jesus. He says to them:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will the Father honour.

He uses the picture of a seed to explain being his disciple: You must die to yourself if you want eternal life. He doesn’t use the word believe, but this is what it means to believe on him: hate your life in this world; follow him; serve him.

Wow! This is certainly nothing like we hear today! What does he mean by hate your life? Saying no to your will in order to say yes to his will; remembering his will is life everlasting. He says this again in a different way: serve him by following him. The disciples literally, physically followed him; we follow him by conforming our lives to his teachings. This is all captured by the picture of a seed dying in the ground to its former manner of life so that it can sprout to a new and fruitful life.

27-50 a conversation with the Jews follows
35-36 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.

46  I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

The picture Jesus used most often was light. He is the light and when we believe on him we are delivered from the darkness (of sin, ignorance of God, and death) and become children of light. This is not only beautiful, it is powerful.

Oh the images Jesus used in these two chapters: the resurrection, the life, a seed planted in the ground, light! And we can add these to the other visuals he used: new birth, serpent in the wilderness, living water, bread from heaven, rivers of living water, light, slavery, freedom, of God, of the devil, I am, the light of the world, the door of the sheepfold, the good shepherd.

Yes, Jesus spoke plainly at times, but he also told stories and often spoke visually. I am persuaded that if I have the opportunity to teach/preach in the future I need to be sure to use stories and visuals; especially the ones he used.

But though he had done so many miracles before them, 

yet they believed not on him 

Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him;

but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, 

lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

If you know it, sing and rejoice with me!

I am the good shepherd

Salvation Pictures in John

Chapters 9 & 10

I’m going through the Gospel According to John, seeing how Jesus spoke to people, and seeking to answer the question, How did he describe his offer of and our need for salvation? You can read the introduction here.

The pictures we have seen so far: new birth, serpent in the wilderness, living water, bread from heaven, rivers of living water, light, slavery, freedom, of God, of the devil, I am. 

Chapter 9
Jesus heals a man blind from birth, which causes quite a stir among the Jews. The entire chapter is about blindness and the refusal of the Pharisees to acknowledge him as Christ.

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. – Again, light. This appears to be one of the main emphases of Jesus.

39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
The man was literally blind. His blindness was physical as was his healing. But Jesus says this man is a picture of what he came to do. The Pharisees understand perfectly, Are we blind also? Jesus answers, “Yes, you are.” This fits so well with his emphasis on light, “I am the light of the world; I have come to give light to those who walk in darkness.”

Chapter 10
In 1-5 Jesus tells a parable about shepherds and sheep. They didn’t understand, so he gets to the point: I am the door of the sheep. Then he gets more specific, I am the good shepherd. As the shepherd he gives his life for the sheep; he knows his sheep and they know him.

The good shepherd – this is very powerful! He doesn’t say I am a good shepherd, but the good shepherd. He is referring to Ezekiel 34, where the Lord speaks about the then shepherds of Israel and how He will care for His sheep. After rebuking the shepherds for their lack of care he says, For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I will... I the Lord GOD will shepherd them. (the Lord GOD means the Lord Yahweh).

I will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.  
I will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel
I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick

The Lord GOD promised to shepherd his people – he is the good shepherd in the prophecy. When Jesus says he is the good shepherd, he is clearly referencing this passage, saying he is the fulfillment of this prophecy. What is really interesting is what Jesus goes on to say . . .

27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Talk about taking care of the sheep! Jesus really is the good shepherd!

29  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
30  I and my Father are one.
31  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32  Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33  The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
This is a rare occasion - the Jews understood completely what he meant!

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all – Amen! This is repeated throughout the New Testament, but does this being true detract anything from the Son? No. For as Jesus goes on to say . . .

I and my Father are one – literally this is, I and the Father are one. Not in person, for the Father must be a distinct person from the Son, and the Son a distinct person from the Father; and which is further manifest, from the use of the verb plural, "I and the Father", "we are one"; that is, in nature and essence, and perfections (John Gill)

One in nature, One in all the attributes of Godhead, and One in all the operations of those attributes: and so it is evident the Jews understood him. (Adam Clarke)

Jesus, the Son of the Father, is indeed the good shepherd spoken of in Ezekiel 34!

O how rich the teaching of Jesus Christ, the light of the world, the door of the sheepfold, the good shepherd. Amen!

If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

And many believed on him there.