We Are Like Sheep

Sermon We are Like Sheep I Peter 2:25

We are Like Sheep

I Peter 2:25

I. Like Sheep we go astray, I Peter 2:25

“For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” I Peter 2:25 (KJV)

As he concluded this passage, Peter once more alluded to Isaiah 53, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (v. 6). If God had not determined that all believers’ sins should fall on Jesus, there would be no shepherd to bring God’s flock into the fold.

The phrase were continually straying like sheep describes by analogy the wayward, purposeless, dangerous, and helpless wandering of lost sinners, whom Jesus described as “sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). The verb rendered have returned (epestraphēte) carries the connotation of repentance, a turning from sin and in faith a turning toward Jesus Christ. But Peter’s readers had trusted in Christ’s substitutionary death and turned to Him for salvation. Like the prodigal son in Luke 15:11–32, they had turned away from the misery of their former sinful life (cf. Eph. 2:1–7; 4:17–24; Col. 3:1–7; 1 Thess. 1:2–10) and received new life in Christ (cf. Eph. 5:15–21; Col. 3:8–17; 1 Thess. 2:13–14). All who are saved come under the perfect care, provision, and protection of the Shepherd and Guardian of their souls.

The analogy of God as shepherd is a familiar and rich theme in Scripture (cf. 5:4; Ps. 23:1; Ezek. 34:23–24; 37:24). Jesus identified Himself as God when He took the divine title and named Himself the “good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14). Shepherd is an apt title for the Savior since it conveys His role as feeder, leader, protector, cleanser, and restorer of His flock. And believers as sheep is also an apt analogy because sheep are stupid, gullible (a sheep called the “Judas sheep” in modern times leads the other sheep to slaughter), dirty (the lanolin in sheep’s wool collects all kinds of dirt), and defenseless (they have no natural defensive capabilities).

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2004). 1 Peter (pp. 173–174). Chicago: Moody Publishers.

Side note of shepherds

Shepherd: the Shepherd leads and shepherds the sheep. He loves them as His own; therefore He must lead them to the green pastures and still waters. He must see that they are nourished and protected and given the very best care possible. (See note—Mk. 6:34 for more discussion, what happens to sheep without a Shepherd.)

1. He feeds the sheep even if He has to gather them in His arms and carry them to the feeding pasture. Isaiah 40:11

2. He guides the sheep to the pasture and away from the rough places and precipices. Psalms 23:1-4

3. He seeks and saves the sheep who get lost. Matthew 18:11-12

4. He protects the sheep. He even sacrifices His life for the sheep. John 10:11 / Hebrews 13:20

5. He restores the sheep who go astray and return. I Peter 2:25

6. He rewards the sheep for obedience and faithfulness. I Peter 5:4

7. He shall keep the sheep separate from the goats. Matthew 25:32-33

II. Like Sheep we hear Jesus’ Voice, John 10:3

“To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.” John 10:3 (KJV)

Jesus began this discourse by identifying Himself as the true Shepherd, in sharp contrast to all false shepherds. Each village in the sheepherding regions of Palestine had a fold where sheep were kept at night. The shepherds would graze their flocks in the surrounding countryside during the day, and then lead them back to the communal sheepfold in the evening. There the shepherds would stop each sheep at the entrance with their rods and carefully inspect it before allowing it to enter the fold (cf. Ezek. 20:37–38). Once in the fold, the sheep were in the care of the doorkeeper (a hired undershepherd; v. 12), who would keep watch over them during the night. He would give only the shepherds access to the sheepfold; therefore anyone who could not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbed up some other way, was a thief and a robber. Since the doorkeeper obviously would not let strangers in, would-be rustlers had to climb the wall of the sheepfold to get at the sheep. Only the one who entered by the door was a shepherd of the sheep.

Each of those common elements of everyday life had a symbolic meaning in the Lord’s metaphor. Though some argue that the sheepfold represents the church or heaven, the context (cf. v. 16) indicates that it represents Israel. In addition, it is hard to see how thieves could break into either the church or heaven and steal sheep (cf. vv. 27–29). The door is Jesus Himself (vv. 7, 9), who alone has the authority to lead out of Israel’s fold His own elect sheep. The thieves and robbers represent the self-appointed (cf. Matt. 23:2) Jewish religious leaders, who, doing the work of the devil, not God, climbed the walls of the sheepfold to spiritually fleece and slaughter the people.