In verses one to five, the focus was on the suffering servant, but here in verse six, the focus shifts ever so temporarily to all mankind. In verses 1 to 5 we see the prophet uses the word “He” referring to the Suffering Servant, but in the first half of verse 6 the word changes to “We all” and “each of us.” The prophet is now talking about everyone, all of us, each of us.
God here is liking each of us to sheep. We are all like sheep, there are no exceptions. Even the most intelligent person is likened to a sheep. At the recent Gaza war riots and demonstrations, we have seen students and professors all coming together to protest. The reality is that there is no differentiation.
Sheep, all sheep put their head down and start eating the grass, and they don’t look where they are going. All they want is grass and don’t bother looking where they are going; some stray from their normal home. The great Psalmist who wrote Ps 119 wrote in the last verse “I have strayed like a lost sheep.” The psalmist who wrote the longest psalm in the Bible wrote it in such a way that it became an acrostic poem, in which each set of eight verses begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The writing of this psalm took time, effort, and intelligence, yet he still said that he had strayed like a lost sheep. He saw himself lost just like everyone else. It is worthwhile noting that he saw his condition; he saw that he had strayed. However, the vast majority of the world doesn't know that they have strayed away from God.
We all tend to stray because our heart is set on something and we badly want it. But sheep also do something just because another sheep has done it. Often you will see a sheep jump because it wants to avoid something but then other sheep will jump because it has seen the first sheep jump. There was no need to jump but they still jumped. How often do we see people do things because other people are doing it? A case in point was the George Floyd riots. George Floyd’s death was tragic, but so were the riots. Someone rioted, then others followed, and soon there was destruction in many parts of the country.
In Jeremiah 50 we see a real tragedy when he says, “My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains.” We see false teachers, leading people astray and joining sects. We have seen people follow false religions, such as Islam because the teachers have made it look enticing (for example, Islam is the religion of peace!). People are getting lost because each person has a God-shaped hole deep within them and the false teachers make the sect or false religion appealing. We have a great responsibility to teach the gospel and the scriptures in general correctly. Back in Jesus' days, the Pharisees were accused of making the people stray and Jesus was really critical of them. He said “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” Those who preach, have a responsibility to preach the gospel message clearly. They have the responsibility to preach the message of the need for repentance, and the message of the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel message is that salvation is found in Christ alone, and not in works. We have a responsibility to preach the gospel message that at the end of time, there will be a judgment, and God will separate the goats and the sheep. Not only does God place a responsibility for the gospel message to be declared clearly, but the Good News of Jesus Christ demands a response from the people. We need to position ourselves to allow us to distract the people (our friends, family, and neighbours) away from their sinful ways and show them there is a better way.
However, there is good news, God will not let you stray too far. The prophet Ezekiel wrote, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep.” In the New Testament, Jesus Christ the Son of God takes on the role of the shepherd, and he calls himself the Good Shepherd. And Jesus said in a parable “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” Yes, God cares for all of us and will pursue us until we are found. We all stray, we all go our own way but Jesus said that He was the Way, and as the Good Shepherd. We should follow Jesus, and encourage others to follow him to a place of safety, a place of nurturing, a place of resting.
