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Psalm 23:1-6 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I 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 mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.
John 10:11-18 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away — and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”
I Am the Good Shepherd
A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible – Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the psalm. One of the children was excited about the task – but he just couldn’t remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, This child was so nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd, and that’s all I need to know.’
That’s may sound funny but it has a great deal of truth in it. God loves us and cares for us just as a shepherd cares for his sheep. Throughout the Old Testament we see the image of God as a shepherd and the Israelites as the sheep. The image of the shepherd is used throughout scripture to represent God’s loving relationship with His people. In our passage this morning Jesus applies these words to Himself and says “I am the good shepherd.” In His day and time everyone knew about shepherds. In order to understand who He is saying He is we need to understand how a shepherd relates to his sheep.
I have no experience with sheep but I do know cats. I love my cats. I can recognize each of them. I know the difference between their meows. I only have two cats now. Valentine is the older of the two, she’s about 13 years old. She showed up in the middle of a snowstorm on Valentine’s Day, hence her name. She is the smaller cat, her breed is apparently very small. She loves to go in the backyard. In fact she is out there now. Melody is the younger one. She is about 9 years old. She is a normal size cat. She won’t go outside but she is the more aggressive of the two. If I am petting Valentine she will jump up and push her way in, when I fed them she starts eating her own but them pushed Valentine away and eats her food too. If any of my cats get sick I take them to the vet.
I know my cats. Shepherds know their sheep and care for their sheep the same way I care for my cats. The sheep have names, the shepherd knows their individual habits, how each one acts. Just as I know my cats and the shepherd knows his sheep, Jesus knows us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He loves us and cares for us. He laid down His life and took it up again out of love for us.
The majority of us don’t know much about herding sheep. I have learned that sheep tend to be rather dumb creatures. Left on their own they will graze a field down to the roots and destroy it. Shepherds need to move them from place to place so they don’t overgraze. They have to be shown where water is and they have to be kept from wandering off. The shepherd cares for them if they are sick or injured. They have no claws or horns to defend themselves with so they rely on the shepherd to protect them. The shepherd knows his sheep from the moment of their birth throughout their entire lives, he is there caring for them. The sheep, in turn, rely totally on their shepherd.
Jesus is the good shepherd. He cares for us just as a shepherd cares for his sheep. He is good because He gives His life for the sheep. Jesus contrasts the good shepherd with the hired hand. The hired hand does not care about the sheep but runs from danger and the sheep are scattered. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He cares for the sheep, watching them, feeding them and protecting them. When the wolf comes to destroy the sheep, the good shepherd faces it and saves the sheep from it even if it means giving his own life. Sheep need protection and so do we. We are lost in our sin with no ability to save ourselves, just as sheep cannot save themselves from the wolf. Jesus is the one who saves us. Jesus gave His life to save us from the wolves of sin and death.
Jesus tells us there is a vast difference between a good shepherd and a hired hand. In Jesus’ day and in his metaphor the hired hands were the Pharisees who would place a heavy burden of law on the people. Who are the hired hands in our day? Anyone or anything that leads us away from following Jesus. There are many temptations out there. Just as sheep are tempted to wander away from the herd so are we sometimes tempted to wander. Jesus calls us back. As His sheep we know His voice and will return when He calls us.
Jesus said, “I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father.” Jesus is the good shepherd who knows the sheep as they know Him. There is a loving intimacy between the shepherd and the sheep. He knows the weak and the strong, the pliant and the stubborn ones, those who need special care or attention. The sheep know they can trust the shepherd. They know His voice, they follow Him to the good pasture and He protects them from danger. Jesus is telling us that just as the sheep know the shepherd and he knows them so we can know Jesus and know His love. The relationship we can have with Him can be as strong as the one He has with the Father.
What does this mean to our beliefs, our behavior and our lives? If we believe that Jesus is the good shepherd, if we believe that He loves us and cares for us than we will trust Him with our lives. We will rely on Him when we are weak, we will turn to Him when we are in pain, we will call to Him in our sorrow and we will trust and know that He will answer. We will hear His voice speaking peace and love into our situation.
Jesus tells us He is the good shepherd so we will know how much He cares for us. If we believe this we will know that we are loved and valued. Our identity will come from this, being loved and chosen by Jesus. As He cares for us, we are to care for others. We will offer His love to others, tell them that He loves them; we will speak of His compassion and forgiveness to them.
Jesus laid down His life for us so that we would have the abundant life He promised, He said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) We are to be His under-shepherds, if you will, leading and guiding others to Him, telling them of His love and the abundant life He offers.
Jesus spoke of having sheep in other folds and said He must bring them also. There is to be one flock with one shepherd, Jesus Christ. Here at Aston Presbyterian Church we are but one small sheepfold, one part of the great flock of sheep who follow Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd. If we believe in one flock then we will seek unity with other Christians and not allow differences to divide us.
Remember the little boy at the beginning who said, “The Lord is my shepherd and that’s all I need to know.” If we know God’s love and trust in God to know what is best for us we can say as that child did, the Lord is my shepherd and that is all I need to know. God’s love and care will be with us every day of our lives, in every circumstance He is with us. Let us rise and sing “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us, number 387 in your hymnal, verses 1-3.