The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

One of my favorite stories that my Dad shares from when we were little is about how he used to sleep on the floor, at the top of the stairwell in our home, to keep us safe. Anyone who has a toddler or young children understands the benefit of catching a snooze when your babies do! So, being a deep sleeper, if my Mom were out of the home and he wanted to nap while we did, he was deeply concerned he would not hear us if we woke. What if we toddled out of bed and tried to climb down the stairs? Out the door and into the street? Caught a bus and took a ride to the city and out into the dangerous world?! He figured we would have to climb over him first and then certainly he would stir!

This story stirs deep emotion in me because it gives me a striking picture of a father’s sacrifice.

Sleeping on a hard floor when he could be in a cozy bed. Sacrificing his needs to keep his little ones safe. Thinking first of them and not of himself. Guarding the path to danger.

In my adult years and my relationship with Jesus, this picture of my father often pops into my mind when I read the passage from John 10:1-18. Here Jesus shares some of His “I am” proclamations when he says, “I am the gate for the sheep” and “I am the good shepherd”.

Clearly, Jesus is comparing himself to a gate and a shepherd. To his original hearers, living in an agrarian culture, this analogy would have been clear. A shepherd's job is to first and foremost, keep his sheep alive. The shepherd would feed them, water them, and make sure they did not wander. Traditionally, it is understood that many sheepfolds, or pens, did not have gates. This is so that the sheep could come in and go out easily. At night, after a long day of herding the sheep, the shepherd would watch them come through the opening in the fold, one by one, and quite literally tuck them in for the evening. It would naturally be a concern that some danger could come upon his sheep and so the shepherd was known to sleep in the opening of the pen, blocking anything from coming in or going out. The shepherd was guarding his flock.

What beautiful imagery for those who call Jesus their Shepherd! On this Good Friday in the midst of a pandemic and uncertainty, what a gift it is to know that there is a God who lays down His life for His sheep. Here in chapter ten of John we hear two out of the seven statements that are known as the “I am” statements in this gospel. As Jesus says, “I am the gate for the sheep” and “I am the good shepherd”, he is definitively stating that he is God. He is nodding to the Old Testament revelation of God to Moses in the book of Exodus 3. He is saying, “Look! I am the One. I am the Shepherd you have read about in Psalm 23 and I am here in your midst!” Again, these statements would have all been very clear to Jesus’ original audience.

It is here in chapter ten too, that Jesus hints at his coming sacrifice on the cross. “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.”

In chapter ten, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees. He is weighing their God-given leadership of their people and their empty promises of how to become right with God against his. Certainly, he is the good shepherd who willingly protects his flock, even to the point of death. The Pharisees on the other hand, they are the hired hands who could care less about the real needs of the flock but are concerned with their own preservation and safety. They just are not invested in the same way that the shepherd is.

Jesus stayed good on his promise as a shepherd who would lay down his life for his sheep. What he was speaking of figuratively came into clear sight when he was hoisted up onto a wooden cross. This act of selfless love was a promise that the good shepherd Jesus would protect his flock. But the danger he was protecting his sheep from would not be wolves or thieves.

No, the danger he was protecting them from was a life of eternal separation from God and his good care.

You see, if Jesus is the shepherd, then we are the sheep. The Bible is clear that we as the sheep are prone to wander. We are prone to land on treacherous paths. We are prone to leave the sheepfold or be stolen from it. Each of us are in some ways, victims to the evils of this world, but mostly, we are like ignorant, lost sheep. Stubborn to go our own way and to ignore the voice of our shepherd, God. Stubborn like a toddler who ignores the warnings of their loving parent: “If you climb out of the safety of your bed and out into the hallway, you could fall down the stairs! You aren’t strong enough to do this on your own yet.” None of us are void from the dangers and snares of sin.

Thank God for a shepherd who is fully invested in his sheep! As we behold Jesus on the cross, suffering, even unto death, we see a shepherd figuratively sprawling himself onto the hard, dry ground. Neglecting his needs for the needs of the flock. Sacrificing his comfort, appetite, and whole self in order to give his sheep life.