1. The Camden, Maine, Herald ran 2 photos on the same page: one was a picture of Camden’s city council and city manager; the other was of a flock of sheep. Enter Murphy’s Law. As fate and humor would have it, the captions were accidentally reversed. So, under the picture of the sheep, the caption identified them left to right, as all the town officials; under the photo of the town fathers sitting around a table the caption said, “The Sheep Fold - naive and vulnerable, they huddle for security against the uncertainties of the outside world.”
2. People in the days of Yeshua (Jesus) were familiar with sheep. They also knew that a “shepherd” was generally a LOW position on the pecking order; yet Yeshua (Jesus) identifies himself as a shepherd – the GOOD one.
a. Shepherds honored him at his birth
b. David was a shepherd – as youngest son of Jesse
3. Let’s check and see how much WE know about sheep (from the sermon, “A Shepherd worth following” by Sherm Nichols):
If sheep aren’t directed to suitable pasture and water, what do they do?
A. Order Domino’s
B. Look it up on Google Earth
C. Send around a petition to be given to their shepherd
D. Starve to death
Which best describes the intelligence of domesticated sheep?
A. Top of the food chain
B. MENSA material
C. Sly as a fox
D. Mutton heads
How do sheep keep cool in the hot summer months?
A. They visit a Bah Bah shop
B. They wear lighter clothing and drink lemonade
C. They roll down the car window
D. They count on their shepherd to shear them at the right time
If a sheep gets separated from its flock, it…
A. Stops and asks for directions (unless it’s a ram)
B. Finds a wolf, kills it, and eats it
C. Opens its own show in Branson
D. Most likely will die from predators or exposure
Which of the following situations poses a great threat to someone hiking in sheep country?
A. Being trampled by a flock of sheep
B. Being bitten by an angry sheep
C. Being gored to death by a sheep
D. Having to wear itchy wool socks
4. Yeshua (Jesus) declares himself to be “Good Shepherd” (Not thief or robber) in John 10.11-18
a. Valuable; virtuous; genuine; worthy; honest
b. To understand the “good” we need to compare the “bad”
I. The Danger of Destructive Shepherds
A. The Significance of the “Bad” Shepherds – (i.e., thieves and robbers)
The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. 6 My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. Ezekiel 34.1-6
1. Takes no responsibility for the well-being of the sheep
2. Live off of the sheep – literally [Imagine a shepherd eating his sheep; purpose of sheep – some food but primarily WOOL – no sheep, no wool; only temporary filled stomachs
3. Imagine a willingness to sacrifice sheep to predators – [“O well, the lion got fluffy . . .”
P.T. Barnum, the showman, used to enjoy showing an exhibit he called “The Happy Family” There were lions, tigers, and panthers all squatted around a lamb, not one of them touching it. Barnum’s press agent, Dexter Fellows, wrote about a minister who asked Barnum if the exhibit ever had any trouble. Barnum said: “Apart from replenishing the lamb now and then, they get along very well together.”
4. Same was true of some religious leaders of the first century – Sadducees had sold out to Rome for their wealth and power
5. They were even willing to sacrifice one of their lambs (Yeshua-Jesus)
B. The Solution of the God-Shepherd – Rescue the Sheep
11 “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. Ezekiel 34.11-16
22 I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken. 34.22-24
1. Servant David = Messiah
2. ONE Shepherd
3. Cf. Luke 19.10 – Zacchaeus as a son of Abraham
II. The Distinction of the Good Shepherd
A typical blonde had gotten sick of all the blond jokes so one day she decided to get a makeover – cutting and dying hair. After buying a new convertible, she set out for a drive in the country where she came across a herd of sheep. She decided to stop and talk with the shepherd. After a few minutes of chit-chat, she said I have a proposition – if she could guess the total number of sheep can I have one. The shepherd agreed but was absolutely shocked when she guessed correctly – 382. He kept his promise and allowed her to pick one out to take home. After the woman made her choice and put it in her car, the shepherd said he had a proposition for her – If I can guess your real hair color, can I have my dog back?
Throughout the Bible the Lord calls us sheep because we too are dirty, defenseless, dependent and dumb, yet He calls himself the Good Shepherd.
A. The Good Shepherd Knows His Sheep Personally
1. Shepherd knows his sheep from birth
• Names them
• Doctors them
• Sheep know his voice and respond to it – 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10.4-5
A man in Australia was arrested and charged with stealing a sheep… but the man protested that he didn’t steal the sheep, it belonged to him… When the case went to court, the judge didn’t know how to decide the matter, so he asked that the sheep be brought into the courtroom…
Then he ordered the plaintiff to step outside in the hallway and call the animal… The sheep made no response…
Then the judge asked the defendant to step into the hallway and call the sheep…. When the accused man began to call the sheep by name, the sheep ran towards the door… It was obvious that it recognized the voice of its shepherd… The judge said, “He knows his sheep and his sheep know him – case dismissed…”
2. Relationship based on His Relationship with His Father – Matthew 11.27
27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
B. The Good Shepherd Knows the Necessities of His Sheep Plainly (Psalm 23)
“Sheep follow the shepherd. Goats have a better idea.” RVL
1. Food and water – green pasture/green grass – one day at a time
2. Direction
3. Protection
• Shepherd vs. Hired Hand
• David vs. Lion and Bear (1 Samuel 17.34-35)
• Laid down life in Love (A shepherd in Jesus day if he truly did his job with all of his being, and not just for the money would be willing and able to lay down his life for the sheep he was protecting)
During the Civil War, a farmer named Blake was drafted as a soldier. He was worried about leaving his family, because his wife had died and there would be no one to take care of his children while he was gone. The day before he was to leave for the army, his neighbor Charlie Durham came to visit him. He said, "Blake, I’ve been thinking. You’re needed here at home, so I’ve decided to go in your place." For a few moments he was speechless. The offer seemed too good to be true. He grabbed the hand of the young man and praised God for this one who was willing to go as his substitute. Charlie went to the front lines and performed his duties nobly. Maybe you guessed it already; he was shot and killed in the first battle. When Blake heard the news, he immediately saddled his horse and rode out to the battlefield. After searching for some time, he found the body of his friend. He arranged to have it buried in the churchyard near the spot where they had often stopped to talk after the services. On a piece of marble he carved an inscription with his own hands. It was roughly done, but it was from a man’s heart. It simply said, HE DIED FOR ME.
“It cost God nothing, as far as we know, to create nice things, but to convert our rebellious wills, it cost Him crucifixion.” C.S. Lewis
Take Life Up again in Victory – he makes intercession (a dead shepherd is of no value)
Conclusion
A young wife called a newspaper office and asked for the food editor.
"Would you please help me?" she asked. "I’m cooking a special dinner tonight for my husband’s boss and his wife. I’ve never cooked a big dinner before, and I want everything to be perfect. I bought a nine-pound turkey. Could you tell me how long to cook it in my new microwave?"
"Just a minute," the food editor said, as he turned to check his reference book.
"Oh, thank you," she said. "You’ve been a big help. Good-bye!"
How would you like to be there for that dinner?
So, where do you think our young wife went wrong?
She heard the words, but missed the point entirely.
It doesn’t take too much to guess what the results look like.
The sad part is we can carry this same principle into our relationship with God.
We can hear the words; the words even make sense… but we can miss the point completely.
John emphasizes the fact that Yeshua (Jesus) is GOD!
He is the ONLY one who can give us what we need.
He’s not just a good person; a good Jew; a miracle worker; or a crazy man – He is God in the flesh!
That implies that if we believe in him we will follow him – we don’t have better ideas!
