“Jesus, The Divine Shepherd”

Scripture: John 10:11-21

Last week, we began to look at the concept of Christ as our shepherd by considering the issue of a gate, and how the gate is important in keeping the sheep safe and secure. Today, we take a look at the shepherd – what makes a good shepherd, and what makes for a bad shepherd. As we read last week in verse 7, the best shepherd becomes the gate that keeps the dangers of earth away from his flock. Jesus is that kind of shepherd.

But there must be more than just being the “gate”, opening to only his own flock, keeping danger at bay, keeping others away.

Read John 10:11-13

It seems that it is more than just the actions – our reading tells us that it is more about the attitude. It isn’t so much the “what”, as it is about the “why”. Is it about you, or is it about the sheep? Jesus compares the shepherd to an employee who is hired to do the job. The one who identifies with the flock cares deeply for them, while the hired man only cares about what he will receive from the job. It’s about commitment. But the question is “How do we become committed?”
Over the years, I've had a number of bosses – some were good and some not so good. As I reflected on the passage for today [not in comparing them to Jesus, of course!], I realized that the poor bosses seemed to demand commitment to the task at hand, while others made it possible for you to become committed. I remember one particular research project that I had been given – to determine the potential for energy sales from 3 very specific promotional programs. As I delved into the processes, I discovered that first, each one had some very serious drawbacks, and second, that the incremental energy sales for all three would be minimal at best. So I wrote my report based on what I had discovered, believing that I had provided a realistic and honest evaluation of the project. However, I later learned that management was very upset with the report, as it was perceived that I had intentionally thrown a “wet blanket” on these sales programs, instead of developing a positive approach to each one.
To say the least, management’s definition of “commitment” was a little different than mine!

Commitment is not the same as personal gratification, it isn’t about satisfying your own needs. It is about having the courage to do what is needed, even at your own expense. In Jesus’ characterization of the “hired hand”, he never tells us that there is any indication that the man doesn’t do an acceptable job on most days. He tells us that when the going got tough, the one who had no stake in the flock had no lasting focus on the sheep – it was all about himself. The good shepherd, on the other hand, would stay and even die for the benefit of the sheep, if that is what was required.

So what connection would a good shepherd have to have with the flock to give so much of himself?

Read John 10:14-18

It seems that, first and foremost, that it’s all about a relationship.
First, Jesus tells us that he knows each of the sheep and each of them know him. The flock can’t be seen as a group – they must see be seen as individuals. It can’t be about the wool or the milk or the meat - it must be about their well being. It can’t be about what the sheep can give to the shepherd – it must be what the shepherd can give to the sheep.

Second, Jesus is prepared to lay down his life for those who will follow him. What other god, in all of history, has ever been willing to do that? He would sacrifice his earthly life, so that his own would not have to sacrifice their heavenly life. Jesus never saw his life among us as a time to be honored. To the contrary, he knew that it would be a time of hatred and condemnation and extreme pain – emotional as well as physical. And he claimed all of the humiliation that earth could throw at him so that we might be honored through all of eternity.
The sheep always come first - always.

Third, he has “sheep” that are different than the obvious ones. This is his reference to the gentiles, who would be strongly objected to by the Jews. He assures his “flock” that these others also know his voice, and that they also follow his leading, and that it is his plan, one day, to bring them all together and make them one flock, under one shepherd.
He gives an absolute sense of unity to all who follow his voice.

Without this drastically different and innovative approach to leadership, the leader is simply another definition of the old expression “What’s in it for me?”

And we, as dumb sheep, are in a drastic need for a different kind of leader – after all, the ones we follow in this world will always fail us.

Don Everts writes in “The Smell of Sin”
Consider the runaway sheep. Confused, short-sighted, blind to wolves and cliffs and jagged rocks, the runaway sheep dumbly fumbles his way around. If he trips and falls on his side, he could just lie there and die. He would never figure out why the field has suddenly gone sideways. He has no capacity, in and of himself, to regain his equilibrium.

While still upright, he follows his nose. And his nose doesn’t know much. The lone sheep is a picture of cluelessness, which is why “sheep without a shepherd” was a common metaphor for helplessness in the Hebrew Scriptures. Mark says that Jesus was sad, for “they were like sheep without a shepherd” (6:34).

Everts continues:
We’ve all had times in which panic sets in. It’s that shaky feeling of having no idea where we are or which way is up. We just want everything to make sense — for the wildly spinning room to just stop, for the sun to rise again.

“Sheep need a shepherd,” writes Everts. “We always have and we always will.”

Read John 10:19-21

Most of us, I believe, recognize the need for a new kind of leader – a different kind of savior! The problem is that many people want to be the ones who get to define what the leadership style is all about! We want the shepherd to be made in the image of the sheep, and not the other way around. And that attitude hasn’t changed one iota since the beginning of time!

Why are we so opposed, so reluctant, so afraid to let the Lord make these incredible changes in our life? We know that our way doesn’t work – it never has! And yet, we continue to cling to the “same old – same old”! Psalm 23 gives us every reason to turn to the Lord, and many passages speak of the folly of not turning back, of the people as “sheep without a shepherd”, such as Mark 6 and Ezekiel 34:5 – “So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered, they became food for all the wild animals.” This doesn’t paint a very rosy picture of the people’s efforts to make their own way in the world, and yet, we continue to try.

There is only one answer to our conflict of life verses death – turn to Christ, the perfect Shepherd, who is the only one who can, and has, and will, turn the defeat of death into the victory of life. And what does it require? To simply turn these pitiful, miserable, limited and temporary lives over to the one and true God. We really are like sheep – “confused, short-sighted, blind to wolves and cliffs and jagged rocks, and we dumbly fumble our way around”. And the more we try, the further away we get. In giving up the things we can’t keep, we will gain the very things we can never earn.

We can go our own way and face the jagged rocks, or we can turn to the wonderful Shepherd, who is constantly concerned for our best. And each of us has to make our own choice.