Isaiah 53: 6:
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
The Savior referred to those who would follow Him as His “sheep.” (John 10: 27.) However, Isaiah’s use of “sheep” here is not about those who would follow Him, but rather those who would scatter, find other shepherds, or lose their way altogether. Isaiah’s “sheep” are disorderly and have gone “astray.”
The bookends of these two messages – Isaiah’s sheep, who are astray, and Christ’s, who “hear His voice” – are two sides of the same coin. Until “ALL” of us have been, or to some degree, have gone “astray,” we are unprepared to “hear His voice” and be gathered by Him.
We have turned away from the True Shepherd and gone into our “own way.” That errant “way” is appealing to the ego, the mind, the imagination, or the traditions we need to control us because they are safe, tested or handed to us by those whom we trust. Whatever the reason for choosing our own way, it is nevertheless ours. We must leave it, respond to the True Shepherd’s “voice” and gather again to Him.
It is His “voice” whenever He sends a true messenger, empowered with a message from Him. It is not His “voice” when the messenger has not been sent or empowered with a message from Him.
The “iniquity of us all” in finding ourselves in these strange paths has been laid upon Him. He has found His way back from every error man can make. He has solved every dilemma, confronted every error, overcome every false and tempting doctrine the devil has thrown at you. He can solve your imponderable problems. He knows the answers. He has overcome the iniquities of every false, evil or prideful teaching ever given to any man or woman.
He can lead you back to the light, because He has remained true to the light throughout. Therefore look to Him.