Articles on Spiritual Warfare
Articles on Prayer
Articles on Discipleship
Articles on Our Identity in Christ
Articles on the Heroes of the Bible
Safe Haven for Teens is a organization that focuses at this time on providing teens with a safe place to hang before school, where they get a free breakfast and a place to talk. In the summer we will be moving into providing a afternoon place for the teens to hang where they can do art, skate board, music and hang out. |
He Calls Us His Sheep
The most common metaphor that is found in the Old Testament to describe our relationship with God is the analogy of the shepherd and the sheep. One of the reasons that this was used so frequently was that the majority of the people during that time were shepherds, so it was easy for them to understand the meaning. The problem comes, however, for us of the 21st century who do not have a clue of what it means to be a sheep or even a shepherd in the land of Palestine. The language of Isaiah 40:11 will seem foreign to us as it says, "He tends His flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart, He gently leads those that have young." As I have studied the sheep of Palestine I found quite a different picture from what I have seen on television, of a dog chasing around these little helpless sheep in some big open field. In Palestine, it was very rare for a shepherd to have a sheep dog. The following paragraphs paint a picture of the sheep of Palestine for us to draw some conclusions of why God saw so many similarities between humans and sheep. I would then like to spend some time in John 10, which is the famous Shepherd and sheep chapter, from which we should be able to come to a better understanding of our role as the sheep under the protection of the Lord Jesus Christ and also the Biblical mandates of being submissive to the shepherds God has placed over us in our local churches.
The Palestinian sheep belong exclusively to the fat-tailed breed commonly known by Arabs as "Awasi." The Awasi sheep is long in body, of medium height, and powerful in build. It can withstand disease and the heat of summer as well as the cold storms of winter; it is satisfied with little and derives the utmost possible advantage from its poor food. The sheep are very well adapted to the climatic conditions, and they are useful for meat, fat, milk, and wool. The sheep are raised in flocks, and one shepherd can easily manage 50 to 100 sheep without any assistance. Many of the flocks include a few goats to stimulate the sheep to greater activity. The sheep seem to be pretty docile creatures, and they are very responsive to affection.
They become intimately familiar with their shepherd, and they usually respond to the simple voice of the shepherd without any hesitancy. The safety of the sheep is very important, especially at night. There are many wild animals and thieves that try to come and steal or kill the sheep, so it is of the utmost importance for the shepherd to protect his sheep because without the shepherd, the sheep would be helpless. A gatekeeper will stand watch throughout the night too guard a single doorway. In the morning when it is time for the sheep to leave their pen, the shepherd would stand at the door and simply call out his call, sometimes "Tahoo! Tahoo!" for his sheep, and each flock would be able to distinguish its shepherd. In many cases, the shepherd will give names to each of his sheep, and a shepherd will never drive the sheep but rather lead the sheep. You can usually observe a shepherd walking along as his sheep are following closely behind him.
According to John 10, the role of the sheep is to listen to the shepherd’s voice. They are to follow only the shepherd, and they do not heed the voice of strangers but rather run away from them. They enter by the door, are saved, go in and out, and find pasture. They obtain life and abundance from the shepherd, and they are totally dependent on him for provision, direction, and protection.
In John 10, Jesus proclaims that He is the Good Shepherd, which is a fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy in Ezekiel 34. As we learn what Jesus says about His role as a Shepherd, then we can better understand our role of following Him as sheep and also as He calls us to shepherd over His flocks as leaders. We need to understand what the responsibilities are of a shepherd especially so that we can be aware of thieves or robbers who might try to come and deceive us. A shepherd’s basic responsibilities are to feed, strengthen the diseased, heal the sick, bind the broken, bring back what had been driven away, and seek what has wandered off. Jesus describes Himself as both a door and a shepherd. This is a sign of ultimate protection in the fact that no one will be able to come and get to the sheep. The picture of the life of a sheep in Jesus’ flock is one of abundance; they can come in and go out in perfect freedom from all real harm and danger. Another aspect of Jesus as the Shepherd is that He stresses the importance of His knowing His sheep instead of His sheep knowing Him; this is in relation to the security we can find in Him. The care and concern Jesus our Shepherd has for us is so great that He is even willing to lay down His life for them.
There are also the bad shepherds, hirelings, thieves, and wild animals that we need to be aware of. Jesus was basically speaking to the religious leaders who had not cared for or protected the Israelites. The hirelings were those who only cared for the sheep as long as it was safe and they had no invested personal interest in the sheep. There were lots of thieves and wild animals that the shepherd had to protect the sheep from.
The question needs to be raised as to why God sees His created people as similar to sheep. Sheep have always been known for being dumb, but if they are able to know their shepherd’s voice, they must actually be pretty smart. I have no solid conclusions, but as I have studied sheep, I have found many similarities in my own attitudes and behaviors. For example, like sheep, I can be unmotivated, so I need a few "goats" in with the "herd." I tend to wander off and easily get side tracked. Bit I am also very affectionate and loyal. Without the help and aide of my Shepherd, I have no defense against the external environment.
The fact that Jesus is our Shepherd provides certain mandates for us to follow as leaders and followers. For one thing, He expects us, as leaders over His flock, to lead just as He would lead and not as the religious leaders have done. Their primary interest was selfish pride without any real concern for the well-being of the flock. The message of how we are to lead is found throughout the Scriptures, but one example is found in 1 Peter 5:2, "Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but by being examples of the flock."
The other very difficult area for me, maybe even more so than being a leader is learning to be a follower. The area of weakness for me is being willing to be submissive to authority figures. I grew up in a very dysfunctional home, where I learned from a very early age not to trust anyone, especially someone bigger than me, and that included God. So it has been a very challenging struggle for me to learn how to respect and trust the people God has placed over me in my church. Another passage found in 1 Peter says, "Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." So as there are things happening in our church, that bother us, we need to pray and discern if this is where God is calling us to be, and if it is, we need to trust the people God has place over us. However, it does not mean that we cannot let others know how we feel. But we must always keep in mind, Ephesians 4:1,2, "I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient bearing with one another in love."
|