My last tour in the Air Force was in Colorado Springs, Colo. Our apartment window blessed us daily with a majestic view of Pikes Peak. The allurement of the pristine beauty of the Rockies often drew us into the mountains. One of those gorgeous summer days found us hiking with friends above the tree line near 10,000 feet to go cutthroat trout fishing in one of the crystal clear crater lakes. As we crested the last rise we heard the undeniable sound of bleating sheep. Sure enough, in the meadow below a herd of sheep had followed their shepherd to a green pasture. Sheep are created to follow their shepherd.
Jesus has many descriptive names and titles throughout the pages of Scripture. Perhaps the most endearing and intimate name for our Savior is Good Shepherd. The prophets (Ezek. 34:23; Mic. 5:4) predicted the Messiah would come and shepherd His people. Shepherding is good preparation for leadership. The patriarchs of the Bible — such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — were shepherds along with Israel’s greatest king, David. None compare to our Good Shepherd and no place in God’s Word is His role more clearly defined than in our John 10 passage.
Constant supervision
We need a Shepherd because of the propensity of sheep to wander. Shepherding was a familiar part of Israel’s daily life and history. Israelites knew sheep were dirty, defenseless, straying and helpless animals and requiring constant supervision. Sheep are an apt metaphor for the saints.
Sheep are dirty by nature. Sheep don’t have an original thought. They do what they see others do. While the shepherd grooms them each evening, only when they’re sheared do we see the glistening white wool. Before Christ comes into our lives, we are the wandering sheep of Isaiah 53:6 in need of the Shepherd Savior. At Salvation, something miraculous happens: “Though your sins be as scarlet … they shall be as (white as) wool.”
Sheep are defenseless by nature. Have you ever heard of an attack sheep? There’s a reason you haven’t heard it. Sheep are created defenseless, totally dependent on their shepherd. David reminds us of the defense of our Shepherd (Ps. 23:4). His rod defends us from predators and His staff protects us from ourselves, rescuing us from the thicket and the crevice. Our Good Shepherd protects us from the adversary and adversity.
Sheep are directionless by nature. The ancient shepherd led his sheep, never driving them. They trusted him and knew his voice. The Good Shepherd’s sheep trust Him. Through the intimacy of an ongoing relationship, we know His voice and gratefully follow His lead to fulfilling pastures.
Sheep are dependent by nature. Sheep are not naturally industrious. They are helpless and need not only the protection but the provision of the shepherd. The shepherd leads the sheep to green pastures for nourishment. Our green pastures are the pages of God’s Word that nurture our soul.
Lead, feed and bleed
God’s people still need a shepherd, so at Canaan Baptist Church, Bessemer, we call our 50-plus small group leaders shepherds. It’s a reminder that like shepherds in antiquity and contemporary pastors today, they have a responsibility to lead, feed and even bleed for the sheep in their charge.
John masterfully paints a portrait of our worthy Shepherd. John begins by contrasting Jesus, the True Shepherd, against the false shepherds of the day. Israel was blessed by many faithful patriarchs, prophets and potentates. However, there were always imposters who were thieves, hirelings and false shepherds who deceived Israel (Jer. 23:1–2). Their motives were impure and their desire was to fleece God’s flock for personal gain. Unfortunately as we fast forward to the contemporary Church we find the same malady, although their methods are more sophisticated (Matt. 7:15).
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Those that follow His lead will enjoy the abundant life He promises His faithful sheep (John 10:10). Our Good Shepherd is the Savior who willingly lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11). Here Jesus looks ahead to the cross, where He would give His life as the sacrificial Lamb of God. Ours is a personal Shepherd who knows us and all of our needs perfectly (John 10:14). Finally our Shepherd invites us to know Him intimately in an ongoing personal relationship. Incredibly the relationship begins at salvation and never ends.
Yes ours is a Good Shepherd.
Secure in God’s hands
During my tour at Colorado Springs I served inside NORAD located in Cheyenne Mountain Complex. At that time this was a self-contained city located a quarter of a mile inside the granite mountain. It served as our early warning system against nuclear attack. Every day I walked into the mountain passing two six-foot blast doors. They would shut behind me as a precaution in the event of a nuclear attack. If there was a secure place on the planet, that was it. We know there really is no place that is secure — except in the hands of God.
John ends this powerful passage reminding us of our eternal security. It’s encouraging to know that the saints are well. The Good Shepherd at the point of our conversion places us securely in His hand (John 10:28). Then the Son takes the redeemed and places them in the hand of the Father (John 10:29). Christ then makes an emphatic statement — no one will be able to snatch them out of My hand or the Father’s hand. Considering we are sealed by the Spirit at our conversion (Eph. 1:13) we are eternally secure in the Trinity. Paul asked the question another way: Who or what is able to separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:31–39)? No one and nothing. What an eternal joy to be the Good Shepherd’s sheep. Are you securely in His sheepfold?
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