Happy Sabbath and good afternoon!
Shepherd is one that takes care of sheep. Usually in flocks, in fields. Sometimes the sheep might be part of the farm or there are other animals, but to maintain a large herd, the sheep have to be able to move from pasture to pasture. This is the duty of a shepherd to keep that flock intact, to protect it from predators and supervise the migration of the flock. Both the Christian Church and the physical nation of Israel have been called flocks of God's sheep. The often recited Psalm 23 begins with, The Lord is my shepherd. So what does it mean to be called a shepherd? We can call God or Jesus Christ our good shepherd, but we also have physical human shepherds above us in the Church. The word pastor comes from a word that means shepherd. So our shepherds can be both spiritual and physical. Anyone who leads the flock in this kind of way is some sort of a shepherd. I think that as kings and priests in the millennium, all Christians are going to have this chance to become shepherds as we guide those future flocks of God. I'd like to bring out four important qualities of a good shepherd this afternoon, and I'd like to talk at the same time about these qualities of God as our shepherd, but also to instruct us as shepherds in training so that we can grow to become like our elder brother, Jesus Christ. So let's start in Psalm 80. Start in Psalm 80. The first quality of a good shepherd is that he leads the flock. Leads the flock. If you turn to Psalm 80 in the first verse, we read this.
Give ear, O shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who dwell between the carobim, shine forth. Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up your strength and come and save us. Restore us, O God, cause your face to shine, and we shall be saved. So God is our shepherd.
He leads the flock. There are many examples in the Old Testament where he led the flock of Israel.
Think about when God led the Israelites out of Egypt, leading these sheep through the Red Sea.
He led them by using pillars of cloud and fire so that they would know where to follow.
He led them through the wilderness for 40 years, making it clear to them where they should camp and when they need to pack up and get moving again. God physically led those people, and he lived with them in his tabernacle as their shepherd. There are examples in the Bible of God shepherding in these ways. By giving the law to the children of Israel, he was leading out in front. He often repeated to them, Be holy as I am holy. In the same way, Jesus Christ set an example of holiness that we are to follow. As we learn to be shepherds, we also have to learn to lead, to direct the flock to where they can be watered, where they can be refreshed, to lead the flock so that they can be protected from dangers. Sometimes leadership has to be done out in front of the flock and coaxing the sheep along where you're going. But sometimes leadership has to be done from behind the flock, sometimes pushing them forward to safety. So the first quality of a good shepherd leads the flock.
Let's turn now to the Gospel of John chapter 10. John chapter 10. The second quality of a good shepherd is that he always puts the sheep first. Always puts the sheep first.
A good shepherd knows the importance of his or her job, and he makes the sheep the number one priority. So let's read what Jesus wrote in John 10 verses 11 through 15. Christ said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. He gives his life for them. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he's a hireling. He doesn't care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and am known by my own.
As the Father knows me, even so, I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. So Jesus differentiates here between a hireling, someone who might watch or babysit those sheep, and the true shepherd, the one to whom those sheep belong. A good shepherd will not abandon his sheep in time of trouble or leave them to fend on their own. A good shepherd makes the flock his number one priority and will die defending them from evil. Jesus told us that there is no greater love than this.
A shepherd must love the sheep and put their needs before his own. Think about the love that God has bestowed on us as his flock. He so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that those who follow him might live. A good shepherd always puts the sheep first. The third quality of a good shepherd is that he meets the sheep where they are. He meets the sheep where they are. Imagine that shepherding I'm sure these days it's become so technologically advanced that the shepherd could sit at home and he could monitor live satellite images or tracking devices worn by the sheep in their pastures and know exactly where they were.
The flocks could be managed so efficiently that way, right? Do you think that would be successful for long? What if something were to go wrong? How long would it take to scramble out to that problem pasture and to solve those problems without living with the sheep? Without being near to the sheep, how would the shepherd know what's normal for them? He wouldn't really understand the sheep.
He wouldn't be able to pick up on subtle clues in their behavior that they might offer to him. We're told about the closeness that God has to his flock in Isaiah 40 verse 11 where it says, He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and gently lead those who are with young. He is there where they are. Of course, the best shepherd is going to be intimately involved in the care of the flock, and he will always meet the flock where they are.
It's like how Paul told the Corinthians that to the Jews he became as a Jew, and to the weak he became as weak. The shepherd will only be successful when he really understands what being a sheep is all about. And nobody fits that description better than Jesus Christ. When my wife Catherine worked at a public library, she said, it was really easy to tell whether a manager had ever worked as a page or a clerk.
When the manager had worked their way up through the ranks, they tended to have a very good idea what the lower-ranked staff was responsible for and the challenges that go with the jobs they had. They tended to respect the effort that goes into those jobs a little more, while they also did hold their employees to a high professional standard.
The manager who knows the lower job, inside and out, brought that knowledge to bear in good ways. Conversely, someone who had never held that type of a lower position, they would underestimate the importance of that job, underestimate its difficulty. They would sometimes be demanding or unrelenting, with no idea of what their employees were actually trained and paid to do.
Working for a manager who's never held a lower position could get frustrating and can get irritating. The point is this. It's easier to have confidence and trust in someone who has walked a mile in your shoes, who could meet you where you are.
And that's why it's important that our shepherd, Jesus Christ, walked this earth as a human being, as part of the flock. He can relate to those things that we go through. We can read about this in Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4, verse 15, the best shepherds, then, are those that have been in the role of sheep. In Hebrews 4, verse 15, we are told that we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need.
It's because Jesus Christ went through this physical life that He can understand our groanings and offer grace to help us. So the third quality of a good shepherd is meets the sheep where they are. The fourth quality of a good shepherd is that He bonds with the sheep. He bonds with the sheep.
This is an extension of meeting those sheep where they are. The difference is that it's personal, it's bonding. If we go back to John 10, I'd like to listen to how Jesus Christ, the good shepherd, shows His care for each and every one of us. John 10, verses 1-5, where Jesus says, Most assuredly I say to you, He who does not enter the sheep fold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber.
But He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To Him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear His voice. And He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. And when He brings out His own sheep, He goes before them. And the sheep follow Him, and they know His voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from Him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. This bonding happens in both directions. Notice here that the shepherd calls His own sheep by name. God knows you!
You aren't just church member X. You're John or Laura or Barbara. Also, the sheep know the shepherd's voice. One of the reasons we come together to learn God's ways is to attune ourselves to the shepherd's voice so that we can recognize it, so that we'll know Him, so that we will not be led astray by a stranger.
It's a beautiful bonding that takes place between the sheep and a shepherd. It's a personal relationship that we're talking about here. We shouldn't think about our relationship with God as the ruler, the same way we'd think about ourselves as subject of earthly kings and earthly rulers.
Unlike earthly rulers, God knows each of our names, and He listens to us. He calls us His children. He lets us call Him our Father. That's a very personal relationship. And this type of bonding means that our shepherd has our best interests at heart. He knows us.
He knows maybe where our wool might be torn. He might know where we've stumbled in the pasture because He was right alongside to help us through those moments. A good shepherd will get involved with His flock. He will know who is hurting. He'll know who's rejoicing.
And He'll be there to serve when needed. And the flock will bond with that shepherd, and the flock will trust Him. So the fourth quality of a good shepherd is bonds with the sheep. So let's conclude with a passage from Revelation 7. We have looked at four qualities of a good shepherd today, qualities that we should be developing for that time when we are asked to be leaders, to be the ones who will guide those whom God will call. If you've written them down, lead the flock, always puts the sheep first, meets the sheep where they are, and bonds with the sheep, you should be able to clearly see who the good shepherd is. You can put together the first letter of each quality to spell His name. The Lamb.
The shepherd is the Lamb. And we can read about the destiny of Jesus Christ's flock in Revelation 7, verses 16 to 17. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore.
The sun shall not strike them nor any heat. For the Lamb, the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them and lead them to fountains of living waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. The shepherd is the Lamb.
