He IS Our Good Shepherd

Yesterday I learned something new. Something that totally surprised me because I had always believed the opposite to be true. It wasn’t anything major, but it did make me sit up and think. 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝘂𝗺𝗯! Now, that may not be a shock to you, but it seriously was to me. I had always believed that sheep were intrinsically stupid! In fact, the contrary is true. The comparison to Christians is what gets me, in so many sermons we hear of dumb sheep and then how we are like sheep. But that certainly isn’t true either, you are not dumb, and neither am I!

Let me tell you a few things about those sheep and how intelligent they actually are. Sheep are incredibly relational, they have a sharp cognitive capacity and will form close bonds with other sheep, fighting for them and grieving when they’re gone. Those bonds are extended to people, a sheep can recognize someone from a picture! In 2001 the University of Cambridge did a study on a group of sheep showing them pictures of celebrities, not only did the sheep repeatedly recognize these individuals but they could pick them out in a crowd of other pictures! These sheep would recognize and form bonds with those handling them, with their shepherd! Sheep are kind and loving, curious and courageous. Interestingly, sheep have those little rectangular eyes which allows them to see more, their field of vision is over 270 degrees compared to us humans with 155.

Isaiah said this about sheep; “𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙥, 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙮, 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙮; 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡.” (Isaiah 53:6). Yes, sheep do go astray but it’s not because they are dumb, it’s because they are dependent. Sheep cannot protect themselves and so they are dependent on their Shepherd to do that for them. But isn’t that a good thing? Sometimes they wander off, looking for that next juicy patch of grass, unconcerned about which direction they are headed in because they trust the leadership of the shepherd. Their dependence on the Shepherd is a good and wonderful thing, they recognize him, they know his voice, they trust that he will take care of them even when they go astray.

And, of course, a good Shepherd does just that! In John 10:14-15 Jesus says this, “𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙙; 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙚— 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧—𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙥.” Jesus is our Good Shepherd, He protects us, seeks us out when we go astray, provides for us and we as His wise sheep know His voice, we know the Shepherd, we are in relationship with Him and thus dependent on Him. No wonder the Savior chose the sheep, that smart, sweet intelligent sheep that knows how to surrender to the good leadership of his Shepherd!