There are many reasons why Jesus refers to us as His sheep, many times people act and behave like sheep,—it seems that we share some of the same characteristics with sheep.
One characteristic of sheep is that they willingly follow the lead sheep. When sheep are taken to the slaughterhouse they have a problem getting the sheep to enter into the kill room, so they have a goat known as the Judas goat to fill that role. They take the Judas goat to the holding pen and he starts several times up the ramp leading to the kill room. After a few starts like this the sheep fall in line behind the goat and follow him up the ramp, at the top he turns one way and the sheep are forced the other way.
Out in the pasture they will usually follow after an alpha male, they will follow wherever he leads and this can be destructive to the pasture, as they will follow in single file and eventually dig a rut in the soil from their many passings, feeding in the same spots until there is nothing left.
Many people are the same; they will follow a strong personality to wherever he leads. Sometimes it can be destructive to them or it can lead to their death. Yet this can be a very positive trait if they are following the right type of leader—one who really cares for them and is seeking their best interests.
Another characteristic is their utter helplessness. When a sheep is on its back, it is in a very dangerous situation—it can die if the shepherd does not get to him quickly. This can happen when the sheep is too fat, or has too much wool, or just by accident. It can roll too far while resting in a hollow in the ground. However, it happens it can spell the doom of the sheep. Its enemies like buzzards or coyotes are on the lookout for the helpless. And this usually happens when it is least expected. Salvation for the sheep comes when the shepherd comes and sets the sheep back on its feet.
When this happens to us, we need someone to set us on our feet also. Everything is going well, then trouble strikes, loosing a job, a death in the family, illness, problems with the children, or marital problems—we try everything to right our self but everything we try fails—it is then that we realize that there is only one who can help us—Jesus Christ.
Another characteristic is their loyalty to their shepherd. Shepherds give names to each of their sheep and the sheep know their name and will respond to the shepherd when he calls their name. They know their shepherd’s voice and will only respond to him and not to some stranger trying to draw them away.
Also, the shepherd will place his mark on his sheep to identify them as his. He will do this by placing a notch or two on the lower lobe of the sheep’s ear. This mark on the ear clearly identifies the sheep and whom they belong too. And this mark is permanent and this mark is clearly seen even from a distance. And Jesus has clearly placed His mark on us and His mark is permanent. This mark is the mark of love (John 13:34-35).
These are just some of the characteristics of sheep, we will further explore them to see how the function in our lives.
Follow Him:
John 10:3-4—His sheep follow Him, He is the leader
John 10:5—His sheep won’t follow a stranger
John 10:14, 16, 27-30—the sheep belong to Jesus and they will follow Him and He will give them eternal life
John 10:8-9—He is the gate
John 14:1-6—Jesus is the way to the Father—follow Him
Jesus is the One we follow but we each are on a different path that leads to the gate whereby we must enter into to get to the Father. Each one of us is on a different path because of our background, out temperament, our understanding, and our faith. As fellow Christians, we are to come alongside of each other and give them encouragement in their walk with the Lord (Heb. 3:13a and 10:24).
As Jesus mentioned in John 10:16 that He had other sheep not of this fold this has been and is a stumbling block for some of His sheep. Many feel that if you don’t belong to their group or church that you cannot be part of the true church. Jesus faced this problem in His day with His own disciples. We see this in Luke 9:49-50 and Mark 9:38-41. How quick we are to judge another because he does not belong to our same group.
It is all right to be different in our walk of faith?
Romans 14:1 to 15:13—the walk of the weak and strong in the faith (esp. Romans 4:5-8)
James 4:11-12—caution about judging your brother
1 Corinthians 11:31—Paul tells us to judge our self
Galatians 3:26-29—we are all sons of God
Ephesians 4:1-16 (esp. verses 2, 7 and 16)—one body in Him
Colossians 3:1-17 (esp. verses 13-17)—bear with one another in love
We need to remember that Jesus has placed His mark on each of us—John 13:34-35. It is very easy to love someone who agrees with us, but it is very difficult to love someone who does not agree with us. To love someone that you don’t agree with takes diligent effort on our part, it takes seeing beyond the areas of disagreement and to seeing a fellow brother in the Lord. We must grow in love (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10). See also Numbers 19:18; 1 Peter 1:22; John 15:12; Ephesians 5:2; 1 John 3:14; 4:10, 11, 20-21.
Real Christians are not cut from a cookie-cutter, but, are individually fashioned by the Master Potter (Isaiah 64:8—"Yet, O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand."). And in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul tells that it is God who places us in the body as it has pleased Him to do so (verses 12-27). So we each are different by design and it pleases God for that to be so and He will work with each of us to bring us into the unity of the faith and He works with us where we are at and brings us along into His family.
