People at the time thought Jesus was God #

²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

John 20:28 (NRSV)

Salutation

¹ Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
² May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

2 Peter 1:1-2 (NRSV)

¹¹ For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

2 Peter 1:11 (NRSV)

Jesus said he was God #

²⁷ My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ The Father and I are one.”

John 10:27-30 (NRSV)

This explains that Jesus is God.

⁶ O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! ⁷ For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice! ⁸ Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

Psalm 95:6-8 (NRSV)

³⁹ See now that I, even I, am he; there is no god besides me. I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and no one can deliver from my hand.

Deuteronomy 32:39 (NRSV)

Jesus quoted two scriptures when proving this point. The first was from John 10:27 where he said his sheep hear his voice. This references Psalm 95:6-7 when God called his follower sheep and said they will listen to him.

Jesus was hanging on the cross was described in Psalms #

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹ After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Matthew 27:27-31 (NRSV)

The Crucifixion of Jesus

³² As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. ³³ And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ³⁴ they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵ And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; ³⁶ then they sat down there and kept watch over him. ³⁷ Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

Matthew 27:32-37 (NRSV)

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵ From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ⁴⁶ And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Matthew 27:45-46 (NRSV)

Plea for Deliverance from Suffering and Hostility
To the leader: according to The Deer of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? ² O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.
³ Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. ⁴ In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. ⁵ To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
⁶ But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people. ⁷ All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads; ⁸ “Commit your cause to the LORD; let him deliver — let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”
⁹ Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother’s breast. ¹⁰ On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been my God. ¹¹ Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
¹² Many bulls encircle me, strong bulls of Bashan surround me; ¹³ they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; ¹⁵ my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
¹⁶ For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled; ¹⁷ I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me; ¹⁸ they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.

Psalm 22:1-18 (NRSV)

Psalm 22:1 maps to Matthew 27:46 Psalm 22:7 maps to Matthew 27:29 Psalm 22:16 maps to Matthew 27:29 Psalm 22:17 maps to Matthew 27:29 Psalm 22:18 maps to Matthew 27:35

Once saved always saved vs not #

The easiest quote to use to try to prove the once saved always saved is Isaiah 18:12-14. This verse it suggests that Jesus will not loose his Sheep. This breaks down when you look at John 10:27-28

¹² What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴ So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

Matthew 18:12-14 (NRSV)

¹² Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.

Hebrews 3:12-14 (NRSV)

Verse 14 explains that we will be part of Christ is we remain with him until the end. This implies that one can fall away from Christ.

¹⁷ But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree, ¹⁸ do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember that it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹ You will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you. ²² Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. ²³ And even those of Israel, if they do not persist in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree.

Romans 11:17-24 (NRSV)

This uses a vine as an analogy. Those that believe will be added in. Those that do not believe will be removed.

²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overpowered, the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹ For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was passed on to them. ²² It has happened to them according to the true proverb,
“The dog turns back to its own vomit,”
and,
“The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud.”

2 Peter 2:20-22 (NRSV)

This says that if we fall and turn away from the light and head towards darkness then it would have been better to not be a Christian then to be one then fail to be one.

Persecutions Foretold

⁹ “Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. ¹⁰ Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. ¹² And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.

Matthew 24:9-14 (NRSV)

This uses torture and persecution, but this suggests that apostates will not be saved.

⁴ For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, ⁶ and then have fallen away, since on their own they are crucifying again the Son of God and are holding him up to contempt. ⁷ Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. ⁸ But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and on the verge of being cursed; its end is to be burned over.

Hebrews 6:4-8 (NRSV)

This describes Christians who latter left the faith as crucifying Christ.

⁴ You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Galatians 5:4 (NRSV)

He is saying that people who have previously had faith can loose their faith.

¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, ²⁰ you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

James 5:19-20 (NRSV)

If they were saved previously is the only context for being brought back to faith and saving from Hell.

⁷ but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 1:7 (NRSV)

²² and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Matthew 10:22 (NRSV)

We need to endure and have faith until the end.

¹⁶ And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

Mark 4:16-17 (NRSV)

Those who do not have strong faith will fall away. This only makes sense if it is possible to fall away.

²⁶ For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

Hebrews 10:26-27 (NRSV)

Jesus sacrifice applies only if we do not willfully sin after knowing the truth. This allows for Jesus sacrifice not being applies after it first would have.

2Peter 2:1

False Prophets and Their Punishment

¹ But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will even deny the Master who bought them — bringing swift destruction on themselves.

2 Peter 2:1 (NRSV)

There will be people who bring Christians our of faith that leads to their destruction.

⁴ For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of deepest darkness to be kept until the judgment;

2 Peter 2:4 (NRSV)

Here we see the angles getting ent to hell. Why would God not send a christian who denies him to heaven? That can be you if you listen to false teachings.

¹³ Even Simon himself believed. After being baptized, he stayed constantly with Philip and was amazed when he saw the signs and great miracles that took place.

Acts 8:13 (NRSV)

¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 8:18-19 (NRSV)

²¹ You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God. ²² Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness.”

Acts 8:21-23 (NRSV)

Paul said that he should repent because he has sinned greatly against God implying he lost salvation and the way back was repentance.

Salutation

¹ Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Philippians 1:1 (NRSV)

Shining as Lights in the World

¹² Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

Philippians 2:12 (NRSV)

Paul tells them to work out their salvation in fear and trembling as if they can loose their salvation. This is after previously calling them saints.

1 cor 9:27

²⁷ but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9:27 (NRSV)

Paul talks about the putting away his past desires (punish body and enslave it) in order to maintain salvation.

sheep #

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:6 (NRSV)

Within context this is more about Jesus being the savior of the world

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰ “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. ^{11 12} What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴ So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

Matthew 18:10-14 (NRSV)

Jesus Is Rejected by the Jews

²² At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; ²⁶ but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ The Father and I are one.”

John 10:22-30 (NRSV)

In this passage Jesus explains that the ones who are his sheep are those who listen.

⁶ O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! ⁷ For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice!

Psalm 95:6-7 (NRSV)

³ Know that the LORD is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Psalm 100:3 (NRSV)

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:6 (NRSV)

¹¹ He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

Isaiah 40:11 (NRSV)

The Divine Shepherd
A Psalm of David.

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; ³ he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me.
⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.

Psalm 23 (NRSV)

Israel’s False Shepherds

¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ² Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them — to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? ³ You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. ⁴ You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. ⁵ So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. ⁶ My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.
⁷ Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: ⁸ As I live, says the Lord GOD, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: ¹⁰ Thus says the Lord GOD, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand 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, so that they may not be food for them.

God, the True Shepherd

¹¹ For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. ¹² As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. ¹³ I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. ¹⁴ I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. ¹⁶ I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
¹⁷ As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats: ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? ¹⁹ And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled with your feet?
²⁰ Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, ²² I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
²³ I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken.
²⁵ I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild animals from the land, so that they may live in the wild and sleep in the woods securely. ²⁶ I will make them and the region around my hill a blessing; and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. ²⁷ The trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase. They shall be secure on their soil; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and save them from the hands of those who enslaved them. ²⁸ They shall no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall the animals of the land devour them; they shall live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid. ²⁹ I will provide for them a splendid vegetation so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the insults of the nations. ³⁰ They shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord GOD. ³¹ You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture and I am your God, says the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 34 (NRSV)

church over scripture #

²⁰ built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

Ephesians 2:20 (NRSV)

¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:11 (NRSV)

Baptism is needed for salvation #

⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.

John 3:5 (NRSV)

²¹ And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you — not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

1 Peter 3:21 (NRSV)

³⁸ Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38 (NRSV)

Dying and Rising with Christ

¹ What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:1-4 (NRSV)

¹¹ In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; ¹² when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2:11-12 (NRSV)

⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each.

1 Corinthians 3:5 (NRSV)

⁴¹ So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

Acts 2:41 (NRSV)

³³ I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

John 1:33 (NRSV)

¹⁶ John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Luke 3:16 (NRSV)

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Matthew 3:11 (NRSV)

³¹ They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Acts 16:31 (NRSV)

¹² when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2:12 (NRSV)

¹⁵ And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. ¹⁶ The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned.

Mark 16:15-16 (NRSV)

¹² But when they believed Philip, who was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

Acts 8:12 (NRSV)

¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

Acts 11:16 (NRSV)

⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 1:5 (NRSV)

⁸ I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Mark 1:8 (NRSV)

¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20 (NRSV)

Two Kinds of Shepherds

⁴ Thus said the LORD my God: Be a shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. ⁵ Those who buy them kill them and go unpunished; and those who sell them say, “Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich”; and their own shepherds have no pity on them. ⁶ For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the earth, says the LORD. I will cause them, every one, to fall each into the hand of a neighbor, and each into the hand of the king; and they shall devastate the earth, and I will deliver no one from their hand.
⁷ So, on behalf of the sheep merchants, I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. I took two staffs; one I named Favor, the other I named Unity, and I tended the sheep. ⁸ In one month I disposed of the three shepherds, for I had become impatient with them, and they also detested me. ⁹ So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die; what is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed; and let those that are left devour the flesh of one another!” ¹⁰ I took my staff Favor and broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. ¹¹ So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep merchants, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. ¹² I then said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out as my wages thirty shekels of silver. ¹³ Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it into the treasury” — this lordly price at which I was valued by them. So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them into the treasury in the house of the LORD. ¹⁴ Then I broke my second staff Unity, annulling the family ties between Judah and Israel.
¹⁵ Then the LORD said to me: Take once more the implements of a worthless shepherd. ¹⁶ For I am now raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for the perishing, or seek the wandering, or heal the maimed, or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.
¹⁷ Oh, my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be completely withered, his right eye utterly blinded!

Zechariah 11:4-17 (NRSV)

definitions #

Theotokos - Mother of God. This is in reference to Mother Mary the mother of Jesus.