John 10:1-10
Rejoice in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The imagery of Jesus as the Good Shepherd comes from a number of places in the Bible; Psalm 23, the parable of the lost sheep, and of course, our reading from the 10th chapter of John in which Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd.
There are a few things about shepherds and sheep that will be helpful to understand the analogy Jesus is making of himself as the good shepherd and us as the sheep.
I'm informed that sheep are not dumb, that they are in fact pretty smart. Growing up our neighbors had sheep and I'm not sure I fully buy into that assessment.
Sheep cannot see very well. They often will not be aware that a gate is open. The shepherd will have to physically grab one of them and lead it through the gate before the flock will pass through the opening.
Sheep can hear quite well they are able to identify the voice of their shepherd. God does not say to us, "see this and live" but instead he says "hear this and live." The preached word is a "heard" experience. .
Sheep were kept in enclosures, either fenced or built of stone walls that have one gate. The shepherd called the sheep into the enclosure to protect them during the night from predators and thieves. The shepherds even slept in front of the gate in effect the shepherd became the gate. As Jesus says in verse seven He is the door to the sheep. So anyone else in the enclosure with the sheep is a thief.
Sheep need a fair amount of tending and care. They need still waters and green pastures and it takes the consistent care of a shepherd to bring them to these places. Sheep will drown in running water. Sheep will graze a pasture to the roots if left in one place to long, thus the animosity between cattle ranchers and sheepherders. They also are indiscriminate in what they eat; a shepherd constantly has to be looking out for poisonous plants.
Sheep are ungulates like cows; they have multiple stomachs to digest the fiber in plant material. This is a very gaseous process and sheep that lie down improperly will be "cast" or "cast down." This means that the gasses in their stomachs have built up in their abdomen and they literally cannot get up. They roll on their backs with their feet in the air.
You can imagine that sheep in this condition are vulnerable to predators. The shepherd must constantly count his sheep and be aware of how many there are. Thus the parable of the sheep, if you have 99 and lose one she probably laid down wrong and cannot get up.
I have to confess I am a sheep. I don't see very well, so I can sometimes miss the danger that is right in front of me. I have serious limitations on my ability to discern the good grass from the poison plants. I also can be rendered helpless rather quickly like a cast down sheep. I could succumb to something as stupid as gas. However, I am dependent upon the caring love of our shepherd.
We all have enemies people who don't like us, people that might do us evil if given the opportunity. In addition, I think it's fair to say that we all have trusted people we shouldn't and have been burned. We listened to a voice other than our Shepherd's.
I was stung once and even had developed a stereotype because of that experience that unfortunately cast other people into the same category without any reason other than that stereotype. I even took a harsh stance with coworkers in general, assume nothing and trust no one.
That unfortunately was a result of blindness and deafness. I wasn't listening for the shepherd. I was vulnerable to vicious predators. I had eaten from the poisonous plant of pride. I was the down cast sheep lying helplessly on its back.
Through it all Jesus didn't quit on me. Just like in verse seven, Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. Notice the verse says again. In effect He said I am the Good Shepherd come to me and be healed. He doesn't quit on us. My failure to see was compensated for, by finally hearing His voice. My shepherd called me, having spoken gently to me while he cared for me, I know his voice. I trust His voice.
The shepherd has conquered our most implacable foes of sin, death, and Satan. His resurrection is proof that death has been defeated. He protects us from the false teachings of our times. The thieves and predators of our day want to convince us that there are many paths to heaven. They try to introduce hatred into the message to deceive and confuse us. But truly truly Jesus is the one door the only path.
My shepherd has risen from the dead and he cares for the sheep. We are precious to him. His gentle care is not just a last day sort of thing, but an everyday sort of thing. Sheep need this care, and in Christ we find this care.
Sheep are not the most glamorous animals. However I'm glad Jesus chose the analogy of sheep for us. He is telling us some very specific things with this analogy.
No matter how blind we are He keeps calling us guiding us to the gate. And if we are listening we are led to safety, safety in eternal life.
He is the gate. As we are gathered into His pasture He guards us from evil. He drives out the thieves and predators, uproots poisonous plants, casts out any evil that would lead us astray.
In this holy house we can be assured that if we listen to the voice of the Shepherd His blessings will be showered on this congregation and all of those gathered into His pasture with us.
In the name of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
