His Tender Care

Sheep Like Us Need The Good Shepherd

Like most of the videos that grab our attention nowadays, it’s short and a little shaky, but still compelling. Captured by an amateur, likely on a cellphone. The focal point is a deep channel and a white leg sticking out. To the right of the frame is a teenage boy, doing his best to free this creature from this jam. He pulls with all his might, and the frightened fellow kicks in a way that makes sense, but is anything but helpful. Finally, the young man succeeds and sets the trapped sheep free. Perhaps out of a sense of panic more than anything else, it bounds five or six steps and leaps gracefully, but not far enough. That poor sheep is back where it started. Stuck in the same channel, just another fifteen feet down the line.

Amusing videos like that often go viral. This one was no different. What was different was that many of the Christians who saw that video couldn’t help but connect the dots. This sheep is stuck. Next it’s freed by the efforts of another. Then, within 10 seconds, finds its way back into the same predicament. It’s hard to imagine a better illustration of the struggle that Christians face in temptations.

While this short little video might be a modern day parable, it also could lead us to underestimate our desperate need for a Shepherd. Because the video is short and almost slapstick. It’s kind of funny, kind of cute, and while the sheep is rather silly and put itself in a real pickle, it merely inconvenienced and frustrated its caretaker, rather than endangered its own life or the safety of its shepherd.

Sheep don’t just fall into narrow channels. They run off cliffs. About 15 years ago, some Turkish shepherds wanted to enjoy their breakfast. Before they knew it, one rogue sheep wandered off a 45 foot cliff. Sad, but not enough to be newsworthy. Until 1,500 sheep followed. 400 were killed. The only reason the other 1,100 did not die is because the bodies of their predecessors cushioned their own falls.

Sheep aren’t strong, independent creatures. They’re social to a fault, as we saw in Turkey. They are not feared predators. They are prey—pound for pound some of the best eating you can find if you are a predator. Sheep need protection, but they are not even always safe when they are inside of a fenced area. If something spooks a flock of sheep, they will crowd together so tightly that some of the sheep will die from smothering. Sheep get themselves into enough trouble all on their own.

Not only are sheep rather social creatures, but those who’ve studied them will tell you they are rather emotional creatures. They get scared & angry; they despair and get bored too!

But despite being emotional creatures, sheep are still blissfully unaware of all the dangers they face. They may be social, but they are not survivors. When they get flipped upside down from their own carelessness, they are not able to get back up on their feet. After a few hours in warm weather, a cast sheep can die.

When they are munching, they do so indiscriminately. They’ll eat poisonous roots and weeds. Even in those green pastures, a sheep, when it discovers an opening in the fence, will wriggle through and wander away into danger.

That’s the last thing they are ready to face! Think about it. When an animal faces danger it has three choices. Fight or flight. But the third is what our diamondback neighbors are best known for. Posture. Coil up; shake your tail. Hope the threat leaves. But sheep can’t fight or flee or posture. They have no talons or claws or sharp teeth. Sheep can’t outrun any of their enemies. A sheep will often just stand there without even bleating, until it attacked and killed.

Do you see your own weakness & foolishness, helplessness & waywardness in these sheep? Like sheep, we foolishly feel like we can’t be headed the wrong way so long as there’s a decent sized crowd going where we we’re going. Like sheep, there are times we fall down physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually, only to find out that we cannot get ourselves back up on our own feet.

Like sheep, we can be thoughtless consumers. We consume whatever’s close, whatever’s easy. This its true of what we put in our bodies and in our hearts & minds, isn’t it? The junk we eat, the junk we watch, the junk we dwell on—it all has a way of poisoning us. But like sheep, we gratify the cravings of our flesh. We exhibit so little discretion; we have so little self-control. We devour whatever we find, whatever others recommend, without even thinking about what this will do to our bodies, our hearts, our minds, and our souls.

Like sheep, we are emotional and wayward. It’s shocking how much power our emotions have over our reactions and decisions. Like sheep, whether we are afraid or angry, despairing or bored, it is our instinct to wander away from the One who cares most for us.

Like sheep, we are constantly seeking holes in the hedges of God’s Law. We think that life outside his boundaries is where the good stuff is. But out there we find we are nothing more than easy pickings.

Like sheep, we are defenseless. We don’t intimidate the wicked ones. We can’t outrun sin, death, and the devil. And our cries don’t scare anyone. They only draw more attention to our weakness, our foolishness, our helplessness, our waywardness. The anguished bleating of a sheep is basically a dinner bell for the hungry wolf.

The spiritual reality is this: We are sheep. Weak. Foolish. Helpless. Wayward. In desperate need of a shepherd. The Good Shepherd knows this about his sheep. He knows our inherent weakness, foolishness, & helplessness, because we are sheep. But he also knows how each of us is weak, foolish, & helpless in unique ways. Our Good Shepherd knows we desperately need him to save us, to protect us, and to lead us. Weak, foolish, helpless sheep need the Shepherd who is willing and able to lay it all on the line.

And that is precisely who Jesus is. He tells us (Jn. 10:11) I am the Good Shepherd. (Jn. 10:18) I lay down my life for my sheep of my own accord. He is not like the hired hand. The sheep are not how he makes a living. Shepherding is his life, his identity. Leading weak, foolish, helpless, wayward sheep to green pastures & cool waters is no easy task. Jesus tells us four different times, in vv. 11, 15, 17, and 18 that in order to save us, he had to lay down his life. He had to sacrifice himself. As sheep, we understand why we need this. But Jesus also speaks of why he does what we need.

1) Because his beloved Father (Jn. 10:18) commanded him to do so. As God’s only Son, Jesus was commanded by the Father to give up his life to save the sheep. And yet look at how he responds to this command? (Jn. 10:18) No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own accord. Though it was the Father’s command, the Son willingly did so. Because of his joyful obedience to the plan of salvation, because Jesus willingly died on the cross for our sins, the Father’s love for his Son is deepened and intensified.

2) Because he loves his sheep enough to lose everything. Jesus contrasts himself with the hired hand. The hired hand makes calculated business decisions. He’s not willing to lose his life for his sheep. (Jn. 10:13) He cares nothing for the sheep. To him they are a source of income, nothing more. And why lose your life for a paycheck?!!? But to the Good Shepherd these sheep are his greatest treasure. The Good Shepherd doesn’t just care a little. He lays it all on the line. (Jn. 10:11) The Good Shepherd lays down his life.

Why? For the sheep, Jesus says. But that little for is far more power-packed that first meets the eye. This is the Greek word huper. You might hear the word hyper and that is somewhat helpful. When we say someone is hyper-sensitive, we mean that they are over-sensitive. Remember the sheep in Turkey? 1,500 went over the cliff, but they didn’t all die. The 1,100 were spared because others went first. They were spared from death by the death of another. That is what has been done for us. Jesus went into death first. He faced the eternal pains of hell for our sins. And then he rose back to life. Because he has done that for us we are spared from eternal death when we fall into temptation. The Good Shepherd lays down his life over the sheep, to save them. He steps between them and danger so that they might live. This is what Christ did for us on the cross. He died the death that our foolishness, weakness, helplessness, & waywardness deserved.

3) Our Good Shepherd knows his sheep. Jesus knows when a sheep is malnourished, sick, or has wandered away from the flock. Tenderly, he feeds the hungry; he tends to the sick, and he pursues the wanton. Jesus tells this parable about a shepherd who had 100 sheep. 99 are fine, safe in the open country. But one is lost. So what does the Shepherd do in that parable? (Lk. 15:4-5) He goes after that lost sheep until he finds it. And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Time and again, we have seen Jesus do this, haven’t we? When he was in Jericho, Jesus saw the one lost sheep up in the sycamore tree—a man named Zacchaeus, who had become lost in greed. When he hung upon the cross, Jesus found a lost sheep being crucified alongside him. After he died and rose, Jesus went after the Apostle Peter, the disciple who thrice denied even knowing Jesus. He joyfully put the sin, the guilt, the same of Zacchaeus, that thief, and Peter, upon his shoulders so that these lost sheep could be brought home. Time and again, our Good Shepherd has done this for us and for our fellow believers. He gently, tenderly, but firmly carries us home.

How can we thank & praise a Shepherd this Good? You might think the answer is to stop falling into canals and eating poisonous roots. But our Good Shepherd does not even place this burden upon his sheep. He knows we are not capable. Rather he says, (Jn. 10:14) My sheep know me. They listen to my voice. They welcome other sheep into the flock and follow their Good Shepherd. This is why we gather together in God’s house. To hear our Good Shepherd’s voice. He guides us into green pastures and beside cool waters. He does not tell us to feast upon what would poison us. Rather he tells us to devour his Word. So read what your Good Shepherd has said. Discover what he has done. Open your eyes and see that the Good Shepherd has even delivered shepherds like Abraham and Moses and David and every other spiritual leader you have ever looked up to or admired.

Your Good Shepherd wants you to grow in grace and knowledge, so that you knowledge of him is as rock-solid as Jesus’ knowledge of his Father. Because Jesus knew the Father’s love and will, he came to save us, to protect us, to guide us home. When we know what our Good Shepherd has done for us, is doing for us now, and promises to do for us in the future, we recognize there is no reason to wander away. He knows what is best for us. He laid down his life to save us. He continues to step between us and dangers to body and soul to deliver us from evil. And he guides us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake, just as he has been doing throughout the history of the world. Because sheep like us, need this Good Shepherd.