The Shepherd
Many times in the bible we see Jesus referred to as a shepherd. A shepherd is someone who cares for a flock of sheep. They watch out for predators and keep the sheep from wandering off where they shouldn't. The job of shepherd was a common one in Israel in biblical times. A few interesting things about sheep...they apparently aren't very smart. They tend to overeat if you aren't careful. To really grow a flock of sheep, you had to move the flock from pasture to pasture. Today, as in farming, the idea of the shepherd has changed a lot and is usually done by large companies. Australia and New Zealand are famous for their sheep.
Shepherds in Israel's history
Gen 46
31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.' 33 When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, 'What is your occupation?' 34 you should answer, 'Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.' Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians."
Being a shepherd was probably a humble occupation. You can see here the Egyptians really seemed to hate the idea for some reason. If you've been around farm animals, you know they often smell bad. Slaughtering them is a messy job. Herding a group of animals probably runs you ragged. It's a humble job.
But if you look back on the history of the Israelites, it was an important occupation for the Israelites. There were, of course, animals they weren't allowed to eat such as pigs because God declared them unclean for them. But sheep were part of their livelihood. In fact, their favorite king, David, started out as a simple shepherd.
Goliath was taunting the Israelites
1 Samuel 17
32 David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."
34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."
David talks here about saving his sheep from predators. This is part of the job of a shepherd. You have guard the flock from wolves, lions, bears, and coyotes in some areas in the U.S.. A lot of shepherds today use dogs to guard the flock. Sometimes the predators go for the dogs. In Montana, wolves have gone after the dogs many times. Today, they also may try to use noise makers to scare off the predators...but this can sometimes actually attract the predators. Predators account for a lot of losses in U.S. Sheep farming today. So, it was no small task for David to keep the sheep safe. He was apparently a pretty good shepherd to actually go after a lion or bear to retrieve a sheep.
Anyway, why did God choose a lowly shepherd to be the king? Well, you have to admit it was much more impressive to take a nobody and make him into a king than to take a man who was already great in the peoples' eyes and make him a king. It was a sign that God was doing this and not the man himself.
David wrote the 23rd Psalm which is possibly one of the most memorized passages in the bible.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
That does sound like the poem of a shepherd...someone who'd led his sheep through green pastures, beside quiet waters, through the valley of the shadow of death where lions stalked his sheep.
What does a Shepherd do?
God was the shepherd of the Israelites in the old testament.
Isaiah 40:11
11 He [the Lord] tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
Feed and water the flock
Exodus 2
16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock.
If a shepherd can't get the sheep to water, they won't last long. In this case, Moses helped these women who were giving water to their sheep.
A shepherd may have to move the sheep to a better land for food and water
Gen 47
1 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen." 2 He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.
3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, "What is your occupation?"
"Your servants are shepherds," they replied to Pharaoh, "just as our fathers were." 4 They also said to him, "We have come to live here awhile, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants' flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen."
5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock."
A shepherd had to take their sheep where the food was. There was no grazing for the sheep in Canaan so Joseph and his brothers moved the sheep to Goshen.
Jesus as Shepherd
So, with all of this history of the Israelites caring for sheep and knowing about them, it was a good example for Jesus to talk about himself as a Shepherd. It was something they could relate to. Jesus traveled around the area of Jerusalem and Israel trying to guide the flock to God. And people are very much like sheep in some ways. They tend to overeat from what the world has to offer. They fall into the hands of predators like satan.
Jesus was humble like a shepherd. As I mentioned, being a shepherd was one of the more humble occupations. We read earlier in Genesis that shepherds were detestable to the Egyptians.
Jesus feeds and waters the flock. Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. The bible is a pasture that we need to graze on or we will starve, spiritually.
He warns us of danger to help us avoid it. We know that satan prowls around like a roaring lion. If you think of a sheep being nipped at by a dog, he probably doesn't like it at all. But if the shepherd was telling the dog to get the sheep back into the flock to keep it away from a wolf, the sheep might be glad the dog had kept it from the danger. Likewise, God isn't trying to keep us from doing what we want to do just to be spiteful, but to protect us from danger in the world. Jesus may move us from one pasture to another where there is better food. While the sheep is being marched across a hot dry pass in the mountains, it may seem difficult, but arriving at a plentiful meadow makes it all worthwhile. We may face many difficulties in this life...but it's all worthwhile in the end when we find ourselves in a plentiful heaven where we never go in want of anything.
People need a shepherd
- as Jesus found when he walked upon the earth.
Mat 9
35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Jesus thought of his apostles as sheep in the dangerous time after his death.
Tells apostles told to go to the lost sheep of Israel. In Mat 10:6.
Says to apostles:
Mat 10
16I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Of course, as their shepherd, Jesus was concerned that the wolves and beasts of the world would consume them. For them, the danger was real physical danger. Many died for following the shepherd, but they did so to further the cause of the flock.
The elders today are called to be shepherds, helping to oversee the flock until Jesus returns.
1 Peter 5
1To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers–not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
The role of an elder is that of a shepherd. Helping to lead the flock to God. Warning of danger.
Jesus wants to save all the sheep
Mat 18
12“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninetynine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninetynine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
Like David, Jesus is a good shepherd. He wants to rescue that one sheep in the flock that's in danger. He can bring his sheep back even from the predator's mouth. He did so with many in Israel while he was alive on the earth. Much of the flock at the time were misled by the traditions of men. Most importantly, Jesus was such a good shepherd that he gave his life for his sheep.
It's not too late to return to Christ if you've been away. It's not too late to come to Christ and become one of his flock. There will be a time when it's too late though.
Mat 25
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.