Jesus weighed in on the subject of shepherds and sheep in John, chapter ten, as David did in Psalm twenty-three. One unknown soul, waxing eloquent on the same topic of shepherds and sheep, wrote the following trying to mimic David’s famous Psalm.

The TV set is my Shepherd.
My spiritual growth shall want.
It maketh me to sit down and do nothing for his name’s sake because it requireth all of my spare time.
The TV it keepeth me from doing my duty as a Christian because it presenteth so many good shows that I must see.
It restoreth my knowledge of the things of the world and keepeth me from the study of God’s Word.
The TV leadeth me in the paths of failing to attend the evening worship services and doing nothing in the kingdom of God.
Yea, though I live to be 100, I shall keep on viewing television as long as it will work, for it is my closest companion.
Its sound and its picture, they comfort me.
It presenteth entertainment before me and keepeth me from doing important things with my family.

The TV fills my head with ideas that differ from those outlined in the word of God.

Surely, no good thing will come of my life because my television offereth me no good time to do the will of God; thus, I will dwell crownless in the house of the Lord forever.¹

Shepherds and sheep, why they are super powerful God ideas, is our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put into operation.
This week’s call is:

Think about the job functions of a shepherd and trust the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, to fulfill those functions where your life is concerned.

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Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony. Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11).
This week’s question is:

Question: How Jesus played the role of Good Shepherd in your life?  Please share your God adventure in the comments section below.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. Both he and his wife Sharon of 35 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is both the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes

Shepherds and Sheep: in John Ten

John 10:1–6 (ESV) — 1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the Shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

• Notice that John calls this entire Jesus account of shepherds and sheep a ‘figure of speech.’
• The Greek word for ‘figure of speech’ means a parable, proverb, maxim, or figurative saying.
• So, this is entire affair in John ten is a Jesus parable and, since it is, that means both that there is only one main point to this whole story.
• John ten’s ‘parable status’ also implies that not every entity of the story is meant to be identified.
• With Jesus parables, many have endeavored to catalog every character – find out what every detail of the parable meant.
• But you really can’t, and you shouldn’t do this.
• A parable has one central point.
• Let’s take a look at the ‘cast’ and the components of this parable.

Components of this Parable

• First, there is a sheepfold.
• Second, there is a door to this sheepfold.
• Third, there is a man identified as a thief and a robber.
• This same thief and robber, later on in this passage, like verse five, is re-identified as a ‘stranger.’
  • So, we have a thief, robber, and stranger – all one individual.
• Fourth, there is a shepherd.
• Fifth, we have a gatekeeper.
• Sixth, we have some sheep.

Shepherds and Sheep in the Ancient World

• Now we, who live in the industrialized world, struggle with such a story.
• What do we know about sheep?
• Maybe, we know Mary had a little lamb, and that’s about it.
• I, for one, know about cats and dogs, and an occasional chameleon but almost zero about sheep.
• It’s probably the same for a great many of us.
• For the most part, we know nothing about the ins and outs of shepherding sheep.
• Now, if Jesus came to earth as a babe in this century instead of the first, this story would look a little different ‘cast of character-wise,’ but it would give forth the same message.
• But, the world of the 1st century was an agricultural one not industrialized as we are.
• Jesus connected with people on their level – where they are.
• That’s why Jesus would have used elements of life common to the people He communicated to.
• If you want to help people, you will do well to do the same.
• So, today with the help of some good books, let’s look at shepherds and sheep and why they are such super-powerful God ideas.

A Striking Fact about Shepherds and Sheep

• God used the imagery of shepherds and sheep all over the Bible and with good reason.
• Being a shepherd was one of the first three job classifications ever on Planet Earth.
• The first job ever handed out by God the Father was guarding and keeping a Garden – actually — ‘THE Garden.’
• You know how that turned out – Adam ended up on the unemployment line because he didn’t follow the company manual.
• The company manual said, ‘You shall not eat of this tree.’
• Adam violated this policy and was written up for it, and God suspended him.
• The next occupation, job number two, on planet earth, was a farmer.
• Cain held down that position.
• And the next or third job class? — you guessed it – shepherding.
• Look at it in Genesis.

Genesis 4:2 (ESV) — 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.

• So, this sheep and shepherd thing is ancient in the annals of man — it goes way back.

Many Nations Looked Down on Shepherds

• But, there is another fact you should consider where shepherds and sheep are concerned.
• As a job occupation, shepherding was not well respected in some nations of the world.
• The Egyptian Empire, during the time of Moses, was the superpower of the day.
• As a nation, they looked down on the whole sheep and shepherd business.
• You wouldn’t think that since they were at the top of the economic heap in an agricultural world.
• You would think that they would embrace ALL forms of livestock and the prosperity connected to it.
• But, the real story is that shepherds were just an ugly abomination to the Egyptians.

Genesis 46:34 (ESV) — 34 you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

The Irony of Moses as a Deliverer

• Now, think about the irony of what God did to deliver His people from the hands of Egyptian bondage.
• Here is a nation of people who don’t really realize that they are a nation yet.
• They went into Egypt as seventy families.
• With the blessing of the Lord, they grew, they multiplied until that blessing caused fear in the leadership of Egypt.
• Egyptian fear led to oppression.
• The Egyptians tried to suppress the multiplying blessing of God.
• The Lord arose and said, ‘Enough is enough. I’m going to lead my people out of all this.’
• Now, who did God call to lead the children of Israel out?
• He called Moses, a highly educated man.
• Moses had a Ph.D. in Egypt.
• But, Moses got kicked out of that university.
• He got his credentials revoked.
• Moses, on the unemployment line, had to have a job.

Every Man Needs a Job

• Every man needs a job, some job.
• Even you retired folk need a job, work for God, volunteer, work in the church – I’m sure your Pastor needs help — work!

John 9:4 (ESV) — 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

• This whole work thing leads me to a place where I can meddle a little bit.
• The first thing that God gave a man in the Garden was a job, not a woman.
• Read it in Genesis Two.

Genesis 2:15 (ESV) — 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

• Work it and keep it — that’s was the job.
• Directions concerning this job came next.

Genesis 2:16 (ESV) — 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

• Then, after the job and its directives came God’s formation of the first female.

Job Is Number One

Genesis 2:18 (ESV) —18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”… 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

• So guys, listen up here; get the order right— sex is not number one – a job is number one.
• Now, you ladies, please hear these words of wisdom.
• Don’t marry a man who doesn’t have a job!
• If you have a good for nothing man sleeping on your couch trying to tell you how much he loves you, but he won’t have a job and is not trying to get one – he’s not out there trying to obtain one – don’t be fooled.
• Don’t be taken advantage of.
• When God called Moses, burning bush style, what was he doing?
• As I said, he had been expelled from the University of Egypt.
• How did he pass his time after his expulsion?

Moses Was A Shepherd

Exodus 3:1 (ESV) — 1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

• Moses educated Moses, Ph.D. in Egypt Moses, was a shepherd.
• God called a man who had a shepherding job and gave him another job that of being God’s messenger to Pharaoh.
• Now, think about that: the Lord sent a man to Pharaoh whose very occupation would have been an abomination to the people to whom he was sent.
• That is God’s style.
• Shepherds are a super powerful God idea.
• I mean, so much for trying to build bridges and connect with people through mutually shared experience.
• That’s what the world says you should do, you know try to fit in.
• But, Moses was not the only example of a shepherd God called.
• Many of the great men of the Old Testament were shepherds.²
  • Try Abraham on for size.
  • Put his son Isaac in there also.
  • He held the Shepherd’s position.
  • Jacob, Moses, and David are a few more notable names in shepherd-dom.

Shepherds and Sheep in Jesus Day

• Now, fast forward to Jesus’ day.
• The nation of Israel was under Roman domination.
• But, salted with Greek culture.
• What about the Greeks and the Romans?
• How did shepherds and sheep sit with them?
• With that thought, here’s the Historical Background of the day.

In general, Greeks and Romans looked down on shepherds, who were thought of as dirty and smelly since they spent most of their time out of doors with animals. Aristotle said that among men, the “laziest are shepherds, who lead an idle life, and get their subsistence without trouble from tame animals; their flocks having to wander from place to place in search of pasture, they are compelled to follow them, cultivating a sort of living farm” (Politics 1.8).

Many Romans believed that shepherds practiced highway robbery as well. The metaphor of Christ as the Good Shepherd, one of the central metaphors of Christianity, would have made no sense to them apart from an understanding of Old Testament images of God and King David as loving, responsible shepherds. It would have seemed to Romans to confirm the disreputable nature of Christianity, what the Roman writer Suetonius called “a novel and mischievous superstition” ³

• All of this comes from a book entitled The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity.

Jesus As Good Shepherd Was Not a Drawing Card

• So the Jesus concept of a ‘Good Shepherd’ who gives his life for the sheep, would not have been a bridge to the Gentile powers of Jesus day.
• Greeks and Romans did not believe that shepherds could be good.
• But, what do major superpowers know anyway?
• Isn’t the wisdom of this world foolishness with God?

1 Corinthians 1:26–29 (ESV) — 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

• So, God uses people the world wouldn’t recommend.
• God has a ton of ideas that the world doesn’t think are so hot.
• They may not think it, but His thoughts are the ones that work — they are the ones that are perfect and full of His power.

The Principle Duties of Shepherds

• Notice the principle duties of shepherds where sheep are concerned.
• Each one of these begins with the letter ‘P.’
• The first one is ‘provision.’

Provision

• The principal duty of the Shepherd was to see that the animals found enough food and water (cf. Psalm 23);⁴
• ‘The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want’ rings true and is just as real today as the day that David penned these words.
• Speaking of the children of Israel, the book of Nehemiah records this.

Nehemiah 9:15 (ESV) — 15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.

• So then, provision is a super powerful God idea.
• It’s the role of the Shepherd to provide for the sheep.
• Look to Jesus in this way.

Presence

• The second ‘P’ is presence.
• The Shepherd didn’t just send out the sheep into the fields of the world to find food and water; he went on the journey with them. He lived with the sheep day and night.⁵
• Our great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, fulfills this role in your everyday life as a follower of Him.
• He said that He would never leave you.

Matthew 28:20 (ESV) — 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

• How does Jesus go with us since He is sitting on the Throne at the right hand of His Father God?
• Jesus goes with us in the person of the Holy Spirit.
• He is our ever-present presence throughout our journey.

Protection

• The third ‘P’ is protection.
• The Shepherd was the protector of the flock.
• He guarded the flock against wolves who would try to come in and decimate the sheep.
• That’s one reason why the sheep are in the sheepfold.
• And it’s another reason why the Shepherd sleeps at the door of the sheepfold.
• No one can get to the sheep unless they go through the Shepherd.
• Can you hear all of this in this Jesus prayer to His heavenly Father?

John 17:12 (ESV) — 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

Access the Shepherds Ministry

• You should access this ministry of the Good Shepherd in your everyday life.
• Picture Jesus at the threshold of the front door to your place of dwelling.
• Especially be mindful of this as you lay down to sleep at night.
• Claim protection.
• Put a demand on a good night’s rest.
• And, do it all in Jesus’ Name.
• Doesn’t the scripture say this very thing?

Colossians 3:17 (ESV) — 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The Father’s Care for You Via the Good Shepherd

• As we get ready to close this podcast this week, let’s hone in on this last thought, the Father God’s care for us through the ministry of the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
• I like the following quote from Juanita Ryan, and with that thought, here’s the quote of the day.

Being a shepherd meant thinking about the needs of the flock most of the time—much like a parent thinks about the needs of a young child, planning ahead for feeding time and rest time and play time. I remember when I was caring for our children when they were little, anticipating their needs and delighting in their presence in our home, I would find myself reflecting from time to time, “this is a picture of what God does for me.” As the psalmist cared for his flock, he seems to have had a similar experience.⁵

• That’s why you can rest at night easy because God cares for you.
• It’s also why you can lean heavy on Jesus because if anyone knows about caring for sheep, it’s Him.
• That’s why, if you listen to His still small voice, you can hear Him say, “Stop worrying, I’ve got you.”

1 Peter 5:6–7 (ESV) — 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Conclusion:

• Maybe now, after we have spoken a little on this subject of shepherds and sheep, you can see why they are such powerful God ideas.
• You can understand why the world doesn’t get it.
• Egypt didn’t get it.
• The Greeks and the Romans followed suit; they didn’t get it either.
• And maybe why they didn’t get it is because to be a shepherd is a selfless thing.
• You can’t be selfish and care for sheep.
• To be a shepherd is to be all about the sheep.
• Since the world system is every bit a selfish slop of a pig-style, you can understand why the super-powerful God idea of Shepherd and sheep doesn’t register to their lost and sinful mind.
• Now, in next week’s podcast, we’ll delve a little deeper into the meaning of this parable on shepherds and sheep that Jesus gave forth in John ten.
• You guys have a great God week, and we’ll see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

#S2-049: Why Renewing the Mind is Important for Soul Development [Podcast]

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