Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd. For the Jews, the image of a shepherd brought back memories of two of
their greatest leaders; Moses and David. As a shepherd, Moses met God in the
wilderness in a burning bush and received his call to lead the people of Israel
out of slavery. It took courage to return to the palace of Pharoah and demand
him to let Israel go, it took strength and perseverance to lead Israel for 40
years on their journey to the Promised Land. David grew up working as a shepherd and it shaped his character. 1
Samuel 17 tells the story of David meeting King Saul while the giant Philistine
Goliath was mocking the men of Israel. David told Saul, “Your
servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and
carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it
and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its
hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the
bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has
defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the
lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
This picture of a shepherd is not of a meek and mild boy, but of a fierce young
man filled with bravery and confidence who trusted God above all! The story
ends with David killing the giant with a stone from the creek.
Lucy Lind Hogan reflects on what Jesus is
getting at when he calls himself the Good Shepherd, “He is not only describing what a good
shepherd does and will do. He is making the claim that he is the good shepherd.
Therefore, it must have seemed quite strange and startling for Jesus’ friends
and followers to hear Jesus tell them that he was the good shepherd. After all,
they knew who the good shepherd was — God. The scriptures were filled with
images of God as the shepherd of the chosen people… Psalm 23 talks about God,
saying, “The Lord is my shepherd.” The Psalm
paints the picture of a loving, caring God/shepherd providing food, comfort,
and shelter. They knew that they were “your people and
the sheep of your [God’s] pasture,” in Psalm 79. The prophet Ezekiel had
told them that God was angry with shepherds who took advantage of and abandoned
their sheep. God declared, “I myself will search for my
sheep, and will seek them out. . .. I
myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says
the Lord God.” How could Jesus say that he was the good shepherd? Are we
to conclude that he was, in fact, God?”
Jesus
isn't just any shepherd; he calls himself the "good shepherd,"
using a word that speaks to being morally
beautiful, noble, competent, useful and beautiful in character. When you
look at his teaching and life and compare them to the people and leaders we
look up to today, we quickly see the moral nobility, the practical wisdom that Jesus
taught and lived. When sharing who Jesus is, I will often ask the person who
they admire and want to be like. Then I will share with them who Jesus is and
what he taught, Jesus always comes out ahead because Jesus deeply loves you and
wants you to flourish. While in Montreal I had the opportunity to talk to a
number of Muslims about who Jesus is on a regular basis. An older man from
Pakistan often invited me to come to talk to his Muslim neighbours about Jesus.
We would talk about the differences between what Jesus taught and how he lived
and what Mohammad taught and how Mohammad lived and they always had to admit
that Jesus always came out ahead in nobility and morality. A number of them began
to call themselves Muslim Jesus followers! One of the things that attracted
them to Jesus was the image of Jesus as a shepherd; someone focused on
providing for, protecting, and caring for his sheep, including caring for them
when they were injured or sick, and even dying in order to protect his sheep.
This is a completely different image than Mohammad or Allah. This is a level of
dedication to us that they had never heard of before.
Jesus
talks about "laying down his life for the sheep." He’s heading
towards Jerusalem, to the cross and his death. He’s beginning to seriously
prepare his followers and disciples for his coming death, pointing to why this
needs to happen. Jesus needs to die for his sheep so they can have life, and
he's willing to face the danger, fear, and even death, unlike a hired man
because it’s his sheep he’s doing this for. Men hired to look after other
people's sheep are willing to live for the sheep, help them find food and
water, but when danger comes and their own lives are at risk, they will leave
the sheep to the terrors of the wolves, lions, or other predators; he's not
willing to die for them at the cost to his own family and loved ones.
Jesus is not a hired hand; the sheep are his and he has a
relationship with them based on compassionate love. This is why Peter tells the
people, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he
cares for you." Erik Herrmann helps us
understand what knowing Jesus’ voice is like by sharing a scene from his own
family, “When Christ says that the sheep hear the voice of the shepherd and
know him by his voice, one could find analogies in the world of shepherds and
sheep, but that is not its immediate or lasting import. Rather our affections
are drawn to the kind of intimacy found between the likes of mother and child.
My one-year-old might be happily sitting on my knee, when suddenly he hears the
voice of his mother and, naturally, all is lost! He is nothing but squirm and
scramble, in order to follow the voice that continues to shower him with
incomparable love.”
Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori asks, “Who calls us by name? Loved ones, friends, co-workers, and
probably the receptionist at the doctor's office. Most of us guard our names
from strangers, in the same way that we guard our passports or ID cards.
There's an intimacy that comes with being known by name that even the raging
extroverts among us don't grant to everyone. Notice how many online comments
are made under pseudonyms - those who make attacks or less than kind
observations prefer to do it anonymously.” Jesus knows each of our names;
calling us by name with unconditional love to be part of his sheepfold, to
trust in him, and follow him. Calling each other by name, especially a personal
name shows you care about the person. The Montreal youth called me PJ, for
Pastor Jake. It was special because they felt free to call me by a personal nickname
instead of my title. Jesus is our personal shepherd in much the same way.
Jesus is our good shepherd and he’s also the
lamb of God; the sacrificial lamb sacrificed on the cross for his
sheep. He becomes a sheep like us, taking our place. Jesus experiences the
temptation of sin at the beginning of his ministry when Satan tempts him to take
the easy way out instead of walking the often-difficult path of deep obedience
and trust in God the Father. Satan goes after Jesus because he knows that if you go after the shepherd, the sheep scatter and
become vulnerable and defenseless. We see this so often still today when a
church and pastor separate under hard circumstances. It can impact the members
of the church hard, even leading some to question their own faith and trust in
God. After Jesus' death, the followers of Jesus were shattered and afraid,
hiding. It's only after Jesus comes and reveals himself to them in the upper
room after his resurrection that the disciples rediscover their courage.
Neal Plantinga talks about how most children are able to go to bed at night without
worrying about the bills sitting on the kitchen counter, or the coming snow
storm, or about having a job to go to the next day. They sleep and dream
without fear. As adults we carry those worries and more with us for them. We
know what it feels like to lose a parent or parents, how a lump in a breast can
create panic and tears, how hard it can be when there is more month than
paycheque. We sometimes dream of returning to those simpler days when we had
someone else taking care of us, providing for us. Plantinga writes, “We
still live in a dangerous world. Wolves abound. We will never come
to a day when we will not need someone who will care for us no matter what.
We need someone who can see every wolf that runs our way and who will get
killed himself rather than abandon any one of us sheep as statistically
insignificant. We need someone with the vision and the wisdom to lead us
safely through the landmine-pocked landscapes of life in a world which is as
bewildering as this one often proves to be.” We need a good shepherd, we
need Jesus.
Jesus
sends the Holy Spirit to remind us that he’s our Good Shepherd. When you decide
to follow Jesus, you know you can trust Jesus because Jesus does everything out
of his deep love for you. Jesus knows you and when you open your heart's ear to
the Holy Spirit, the Spirit guides you in discovering who Jesus is; finding
that his words, his life, who he is fills you with trust, hope, and peace;
leading to a deeper faith and commitment to Jesus. The Holy Spirit helps us to
hear our Good Shepherd call us by name and gives us the trust and faith to
follow him.
Jesus,
our Good Shepherd, will carry you when you’re tired, will come after you when you’re lost. He
knows you by name and will provide for you, protect you, and guide you on safe
paths through life, leading you to quiet pastures where you can rest and
flourish when you trust in him as your good shepherd. The good shepherd became
a sheep, a lamb to be sacrificed for us, we as sheep are now called to become
shepherds ourselves to invite others to listen for the good shepherd’s voice
calling their name to become part of his flock.
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