Jesus, The Good Shepherd

    In New Testament times, Jesus himself said, "I am the good shepherd" who "lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11, 14). Jesus did not describe himself as "the brave cowboy." The cowboy rides a cutting horse, cracks a whip, and wields a shock prod. He forces the "herd" to go his way. Not so the shepherd. He depends on relationship. Jesus does not force us; he leads us. "When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice" (John 10:4).

As Jesus modeled it, a good deal of authentic shepherding is hands-on and personal.

    Some years back, my friend Roy stood on a ridge in Palestine, overlooking a long, narrow gorge. Below him, the gorge opened out into rolling, grass-covered pasture lands. A single trail meandered downward through the ravine to branch out into dozens of trails where the gorge met the valley floor. Several shepherds strolled down the gorge trail, chatting with each other, followed by a long, winding river of sheep. Roy stood amazed at what followed. At the forks of the trail, the shepherds shook hands and separated, each taking a different path into the grasslands. As the shepherds headed their separate ways, the mass of sheep automatically divided into smaller flocks, each stringing down the trail behind its own shepherd. When the shepherds were distanced from each other by considerable space, each turned to scan the terrain behind him for strays. Then one of the shepherds cupped his hands around his mouth and called in a strange, piercing cry, "Ky-yia-yia-yia-yia." A couple of stray lambs perked up their ears and bounded toward his voice. Then a second shepherd tilted back his head and called with a distinctly different sound. A few more strays hurried straight toward him. Yet another called his strays with a third distinctive sound. Each stray, hearing a familiar voice, knew exactly which shepherd to follow. My friend marveled, "None of the wandering sheep seemed to notice any sound but the voice of his own shepherd." This is what Jesus meant when he said, "My sheep hear my voice" but refuse to "follow the voice of a stranger."

    Jesus shepherded his twelve. They went where he went: weddings, fishing, temples, villages, fields, city streets, synagogues, sickrooms, everywhere. Day in and day out, they heard his voice way down in their souls. How different from some who aspire to be elders, but who have no flock. They have none who come for shepherding, none who listen to their voice, none who cluster around them.

The Gate

    Jesus continued, "I am the gate for the sheep" (John 10:7). Make up your mind, Jesus. What are you? A shepherd? A gate? This looks like a mixed metaphor to us, but first-century hearers saw a clear image of shepherds who had literally become gates. Roughly constructed temporary sheepfolds dotted the pastoral landscape, makeshift circles of brush and rocks piled into barricades four or five feet high to form safe little "fortresses" in the wilderness. Sheepfolds. But each circle was broken at one place, leaving a gateway into the fold. At the end of the day, the shepherd would take his place beside this portal to gather his flock into the fold. Each sheep passing under his rod for inspection would feel the shepherd's hands and hear his voice speak its name. "Good evening my friend, Yellow-wool. You look tired. Long day. Come in. And you, Ragged-ear... and Spotted-face..." until all the sheep were safely in the fold. Finally, as he bedded down for the night, the shepherd stretched his own body across the opening. The shepherd physically became the door! His body kept the sheep in and the dangers out. Morning, it is said, occasionally found sheep carcasses scattered around the fold, and the bleeding, battle-worn body of a shepherd lying near the gap. Jesus is both "the gate" and "the good shepherd" who "lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11).

    Good spiritual shepherds today imitate the Chief Shepherd. Like him they attract flocks through loving service and authentic relationships. They feed and protect their flocks. They know their flocks and are known and trusted by their flocks. They put their very lives on the line for the precious people they lead.

< BACK     PAGE 3     NEXT >

HEARTLIGHT(R) Magazine is a ministry of loving Christians and the Westover Hills church of Christ.
Edited by Phil Ware and Paul Lee.
Copyright © 1996-97, Heartlight, Inc., 8332 Mesa Drive, Austin, TX 78759.
Article copyright © 1997, Lynn Andersen. Used by permission.
May be reprinted and reused for non-commercial purposes only if copyright credits are appropriately displayed.
HEARTLIGHT and the flared heart design are service marks of Heartlight, Inc.