Jesus is our Shepherd from Jesus as seen by John

 Little sheep are cute. The image from Psalm 23 is loved. But there is something about being called sheep that chafes at the modern American. After all, sheep are not the brightest bulb in the package and if not led properly, they will probably do something stupid -- Something like the Bible says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;. . .(Isaiah 53:6a.)" Of course we like the freedom to do things our way -- we certainly aren't sheep and we don't need a shepherd -- or do we.

Even though I was raise for a while on a sheep ranch, my favorite story about sheep took place in Chula Vista during the 70s. Our church, First Baptist, was conducting Daily Vacation Bible school and we needed a lamb for an object lesson. One of our members had a ranch in the Otay area and agreed to loan us a lamb. Now you can picture the little lamb that we wanted, but what we didn't know was that sheep are lambs until a year of age; this was no cuddly lamb -- he was an ornery sheep! 

We picked him up in the Westby van (a Dodge 20 passenger van) and deposited him in a penned run behind the education building. All went well until it was time for him to go back to the ranch. We dutifully backed the van up to the pen and coaxed the "lamb" to the gate and then tried to lift him into the van. He got away, ran under the van, continued through the parking lot and into the center of 5th Avenue whereupon he turned right and started to cross E street (a major intersection in the town). He paid no attention to the traffic lights. But he wasn't the real problem, the real problem was that about 100 screaming children took off after the "lamb"  -- cars were screeching to a halt as sheep and children ran a block or so down the street. We didn't use live lambs anymore!

Yet sheep give us a good lesson; the listen to their master, they stay in the flock and follow their shepherd. Actually these are good qualities. The lesson on Jesus as our shepherd is found in the first 21 verses of John 10:

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

   “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

   “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

 The Jews who heard these words were again divided.Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” 

Jesus starts off this passage by giving a lesson about Robbers, Shepherds and Sheep. First he describes robbers. They sneak in -- they are up to no good -- and the sheep run away from them. Later in the passage, Jesus will point out who the robbers were, here he just announces that they are thieves and the sheep are smart enough to stay away. Shepherds on the other hand come in by the gate. The watchman knows the shepherd -- and so do the sheep. Notice that the shepherd calls his sheep by name and then the sheep follow him. I like this aspect of the picture of Jesus as my shepherd -- he knows our (my) name. Being in the flock is even better than "Cheers" where everyone knows your name.

Jesus then goes on the describe himself as the gate; this is a look ahead at the next chapter where he calls himself the "way, the truth, and the life." He says that all who came before him are the thieves and robbers. Here he is not talking about the prophets such as Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah etc. He is discussing people like the Pharisees who don't really see what God is doing, they don't hear his voice, but they teach the traditions and ultimately lead the people astray. Jesus states that, thankfully, the sheep didn't listen to them. Finally, Jesus finishes this part of the teaching by stating that all who enter by the gate; through him; will be saved.

Finally, Jesus states the real point; he is the Good Shepherd. He is this shepherd because he lays down his life for the sheep. Of course, this is pointing to the cross where he literally lays down his life for the sheep. He is our protector and our provider (look at Psalm 23). His sheep know him -- again, the key to the Christian life. He also states that he has other sheep that aren't in this sheepfold. Since he is talking to Jewish people, he is referring to Gentiles; us. We are the other sheep. Of course this also is applicable in  our day -- Jesus has has people in many places and we can't deny that they belong to him. There is only one flock and one shepherd, so we need to stop concentrating on labels and differences and embrace our brothers and sisters who worship the same shepherd as we do. Finally, he says that the Father loves him because he lays down his life. He also insists that he has the authority to do this; and he also has the authority to pick up his life again -- the resurrection. In fact, he is only doing what the Father commanded him to do.

Now don't be shocked, but the Pharisees didn't buy the story. They started to argue about whether he was demon possessed, insane or godly (after all he healed a blind man). I guess the big point of the story is don't be a Pharisee; be a sheep! Learn to recognize his voice, listen to that voice and do what he says. Another lesson is to the leader. Leading is not about being in charge, it is about sacrificing yourself for your people. May we under-shepherds be Good Shepherds and may the rest of us be good sheep.