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WHAT DOES
IT MEAN TO BE A SHEEP? Jesus made the analogy that humans
are like sheep, and He referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd. David thought of himself as a sheep under
the care of The Lord. These analogies
cause us to wonder about our basic nature.
If we have similar characteristics to the sheep then this says
something about our basic design. When
we think about it, we humans are so very much like sheep. We struggle with the constraint
problems. We rebel against the fences
that bind us into our pens. We jump
when we should be still. We are still
when we should be moving. We ignore
the existence of others and blame them for all the confusion. We think having a Shepherd is a frightening
thing because we would rather be independent.
We are difficult to train, even in the simple lessons, and pretend we
have all the answers. We feel the
teaching methods, of pain and peace, are so unfair. We live a day at a time with no knowledge about
the future, and we have only a very primitive attitude about the past. We consume our moments with attempts to
satisfy our desires, and are always in a perpetual state of
discontentment. We cloud our reality
with bursts of enthusiasm, with a pretense of a zeal for life, and then a
clatter of noise causes us to hide in fearful thoughts. We are in so many ways in our nature
similar to the sheep and the lambs. Believe
it or not, we were designed this way.
God’s plan is to grow us up from nothing into the way we should go
[Proverbs 22:6], as new creatures holy and acceptable in our nature and soul
[2 Corinthians To be
referred to as having the nature of a lamb or a sheep is usually considered
an insult. This characteristically
little animal is usually never associated with glory or honor. The lion or the horse holds the distinction
of representing honor and participating in glorious feats. Even the dog is held in higher esteem for
its love and faithfulness. The
thoughts that come to mind relating to a lamb or sheep are mutton, wool, and
maybe sacrifice. The ranking of the
lamb or sheep falls close to the bottom of the hierarchical scale in honor
and glory. Even something infamous as
a serpent conjures up fear and respect for its stealth and cunning. The most
important thing about the nature of the lamb or sheep is that it represents
the planned nature for all of God’s children.
It does not matter whether or not we like this analogy. God works with His elected children this
way. He is giving us some clues about
how He works with us as a caring loving Good Shepherd. Jesus refers to His role in this temporal
life as taking the part of a The Good Shepherd [John Jesus uses the lamb and sheep
reference often, and it is recorded around a dozen times in the Gospels and
sheep are mentioned in some 179 verses in the Bible (KJV). The Gospel of John devotes Chapter 10 to this
metaphor about the “Good Shepherd” and two kinds of sheep --- His sheep and
the scattered sheep. One of the most
famous Psalms in the scriptures is about how King David thought of himself as
a sheep under the care of The Good Shepherd [Psalms 23:1-6]. It is not intuitively obvious that the
nature of the lamb has any similarities to the nature of a human. Both the natural and developed nature needs
close examination before the similarities begin to emerge. The analogy of the lamb or sheep as a
figurative representation of two natures, the old
and the new. However, we feel about
it, in this analogy we must find it significant that the nature of the sheep
is used so numerously in the scriptures; there must be a good reason. Even contextual location of this chapter
in the Gospel of John appears, also, to have significances. The metaphor about the sheep, in this
chapter, is part of an important trilogy of chapters, relating to the John
14:6 as their theme. Jesus is The Way,
Chapter 9, The Truth, Chapter 10, and The Life, Chapter 11. We find a lesson on how our blindness is
healed by the Master and a lesson about our eternal resurrection surrounds
this chapter, which identifies His children as His sheep, a profound truth. Being aware, learning how to live, and
having the promise of eternal life are tied together in these three
chapters. These instructions, also,
seem to be reminiscent of the Apostle Paul’s mysterious verse in Romans, “And
those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified;
those He justified, He also glorified” [Romans This lesson is introduced with
Jesus’ assurance that His words contained in this metaphor are the absolute
truth, which is not an extreme form of relative truth. This subject of absolute truth is avoided
in most quarters because it requires an absolute source before it can be
meaningful. Jesus is the only source
for absolute truth [John 14:6]. This
is “the
truth that will set you free” [John There are
three prudent concepts represented in this John 10:1 verse. The concepts are truth, security, and
control. These concepts are particularly
meaningful to us in our temporal domain.
We are limited in our recourses in translating these concepts in the
spiritual domain, but can assume they will be important there also. The Scriptures, however, are helpful in
giving us some appreciation for the scope of these concepts and this
verse. The word
“Truth,” for instance is used some 274 times in the Bible always in a direct
or indirect reference to God’s actions, a human aspiration, or as a divine
attribute [Malachi 2:6 and Matthew We all seek
to attain security in many ways for our own reasons, yet, in our hearts, we learn
over time that our security rests in God’s will. We can take comfort in the promises in His
word, which tells us that we can be safe in Him [Isaiah 63:7, Psalm 119:116,
Matthew The walls
of our sheepfold, the gate, and the promises of this security, clearly tell
us that This Good Shepherd is in control.
The grammatical tense and mood indicates that Jesus is speaking of
both His control in the temporal as well as His absolute eternal
control. This continuous absolute
control is fundamental in God’s creation and plan. His word tells us that “all things” are
being worked for the good of His children [Romans The idea of
the Shepherd caring for His sheep is compatible with this continuous control
concept. As any shepherd has a reason
for owning sheep, God has a purpose for each and every member of His flock
[Romans The
management of His sheep is controlled by the walled sheepfold and with only
one gate into the fold. The access
into this fold is controlled by the Shepherd as the next verse states, “For
a shepherd enters through the gate.” There is a singular manager of the sheep,
who has a unique and a precise method of managing each and every one of His
sheep in this enterprise. There is
just one gate, and this one and only shepherd has been assigned management of
this gate. The existence of this gate
is a central fact in the metaphor is emphasized to mark it as being
significant. This passageway
partitions the sheep from the outside world and the shepherd decides on all
of the passages through this gate.
This seems to emphasize the singularity in ownership, the control, and
the future intentions of the shepherd.
The message seems to point to the role of Jesus who comes into this
life to give hope of truth, security, and control over the life of His sheep. David, the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, spent his early years
working as a shepherd. He probably
learned about sheep from his father, who was an owner of many sheep, and his
six brothers, who were trying to pass the shepherding skill on to their
younger brother as fast as they could.
David, at the end of the sibling line, was left to tend the sheep
while everyone else was out doing the honorable and “manly” things like making war [1 Samuel
17:15]. David knew sheep and he was a
skilled shepherd who was protective of his sheep. Later when he wrote Psalm 23, these words
have a special meaning to him and can be to us when we identify with this
enigmatic animal. Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall Not be in want. He makes me lie down in green
pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my
soul. He guides me in paths of Righteousness For His name sake, Even though I walk Through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil, for you are
with me, Your rod and your staff, they
comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup
overflows, Surely goodness and love will
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in house of the Lord
forever. If the Lord is the Shepherd then
those who belong to the Lord are His sheep.
David is not being derogatory in this statement, but he is making a
simple realistic observation. He saw
similarities that helped him to understand his own feelings and his feelings
towards others. He saw the life of
sheep and the sheep’s relationship playing out into something that was
meaningful to him. He could easily
empathize with the shepherd’s concern for the sheep, in their helpless
state. He wanted the best for these
sheep in this hostile environment. David had
learned about the sheep’s undesirable tendencies, and he had been taught how
to train these wayward creatures to become productive, using good sheep
management. He, as a good shepherd,
understood their needs and desires were not controllable by their own will,
but they had to be taught the difference between right and wrong. He knew these sheep were incapable of teaching
themselves anything. He knew if they
were left to their own devices then these sheep would soon become lost in the
wilderness, and eventually they would be eaten by some predator. He knew these sheep could be taught if his
methods were gentle and proven to be effective by generations of
shepherds. The tools of his trade,
including the rod and staff, were always applied with gentle love and
understanding. His responsibility was
to control, teach, and maintain the sheep in these hostile surroundings. This is what a good shepherd does. The primary
message of the Psalm is clear. The
Shepherd takes on the responsibility of providing all that is needed in the
sheep’s life. The Hebrew word here is
interpreted in NIV as “not be in want” but really, this word more accurately
means “to lack” or “to be deprived” of something. In other words, when the sheep have a need
the shepherd is there to provide for that need. The shepherd defines what is needed. The sheep do not decide based upon
something that is wanted, but the shepherd always decides what is needed or
lacking. These needs
are: (1) food (“green grass”), (2) water (“quiet” or still and not rushing),
(3) protection (“restores my soul”) from harm, and (4) teaching (“in paths”)
the difference between right and wrong, which is defined according to His
Word (“names sake”). These promises of
the basics are then emphasized. Harm
is defined as death and evil. The
teachings will include some pain at the right time for the right reason; this
type of pain can actually be comforting [James 1:2]. The distribution of needs will include also
celebration and peace in the mist of trouble.
Always, no matter what, there is the soothing oil of the Spirit that
brings the truly abundant life, which lasts forever. We need to
get over our attitude of being insulted.
We are like sheep. We need to
thank God He made us this way because this design was a part of His plan, all
for His honor and glory. |