Jesus - The Shepherd and the Lamb

Read: John 10; Ezekiel 34; Psalm 23; Isaiah 40:9-11; Isaiah 53:6-7; Exodus 12:1-28

Sheep and shepherd imagery is found throughout the Bible, from the Patriarchs in Genesis, whose livelihoods revolved around sheep, to the final judgement in Revelation, where the sheep are separated from the goats.  After Moses left Egypt, he became a shepherd in the wilderness.  King David was a shepherd pulled from the fields to be anointed king of Israel.  The religious leaders of Israel are called shepherds, and the people are sheep.  Jesus Himself is called the Lamb of God, the Good Shepherd, and the Gate for the sheep. 

This imagery is not surprising given the prevalence of sheep in the culture.  Sheep are herd animals and are not credited for making the wisest decisions.  They need a shepherd who will protect and guide them.  Shepherds were responsible for the flourishing of their flocks; they would lead them to safety and provision.  They also personally knew each of their sheep, and the sheep, in turn, came to learn and trust their shepherds.  A story related in the NIV Application Commentary for John demonstrates this idea:

“…Arab shepherds are well known for knowing their sheep personally.  During the Palestinian uprising in the late 1980s the Israeli army decided to punish a village near Bethlehem for not paying its taxes…The officer in command rounded up all of the village animals and placed them in a large barbed-wire pen.  Later in the week he was approached by a woman who begged him to release her flock, arguing that since her husband was dead, the animals were her only source of livelihood.  He pointed to the pen containing hundreds of animals and humorously quipped that it was impossible because he could not find her animals.  She asked that if she could in fact separate them herself, would he be willing to let her take them?  He agreed.  A solider opened the gate and the woman’s son produced a small reed flute.  He played a simple tune again and again – and soon the sheep heads began popping up across the pen.  The young boy continued his music and walked home, followed by his flock of twenty-five sheep.” (Burge, 302)

While this narrative tells a story from the 80s, make no mistake, the principle still applied in the first century.  Shepherds knew their sheep, and the sheep trusted their shepherds.

The sheep and shepherd imagery in John 10 follows the story in John 9 of the blind man healed by Jesus.  The man is later kicked out of the synagogue, for refusing to denounce Jesus, by the very leaders who were supposed to be “shepherding” the flock of Israel.  Unfortunately, they were like the shepherds Ezekiel prophesied against before the kingdom of Judah was sent into the Babylonian exile:

“‘This is what the Lord GOD says: Look, I am against the shepherds.  I will demand my flock from them and prevent them from shepherding the flock.  The shepherds will no longer feed themselves for I will rescue my flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.” (Ezekiel 34:10)

Many religious leaders during Jesus’ time required strict observance of human traditions that had been added to the Law.  They were often legalistic in belief and practice, believing they were holy and righteous because of their good works.  Jesus denounces them, though:

“‘They [the Pharisees and scribes] tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them…Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces.  For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:4, 13)

Rather than leading and guiding their people to safety, the religious leaders were driving them away from the safety of God.

Psalm 23 beautifully describes how a shepherd should act: provide for all the sheep’s needs, lead them to rest, guide them to safety, protect them from all danger, and provide comfort and security.  Ezekiel further expands on the good shepherd motif when he contrasts the poor shepherds with God, the good Shepherd:

“‘For this is what the Lord GOD says: See, I myself will search for my flock and look for them.  As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for my flock.  I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and total darkness…I will tend them in good pasture…I will tend my flock and let them lie down.  This is the declaration of the Lord GOD.  I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy the fat and the strong.  I will shepherd them with justice.” (Ezekiel 34:11-1

6)

When Jesus claims, “‘I am the good shepherd’” in John 10, He also contrasts Himself with the religious leaders.  He is claiming the role of the good shepherd described in Ezekiel 34 and Isaiah 40.  He is the protector, the tender nurturer, and the trustworthy guide the people need.

Yet, Jesus is not only the Shepherd who will give His people life and protect them, he is also the gate that gives the people access to God.  In Matthew 23, Jesus accused the religious leaders of closing the door to the kingdom in the people’s faces, but now, Jesus says, “‘I am the gate for the sheep…I am the gate.  If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture’” (John 10:7, 9).  Jesus offers us the promise of life and salvation.  As the sheep, we must decide to trust the voice of the Shepherd. 

Jesus can make this offer because He has the right and authority to lay down His life for the sheep.  When His sheep were in danger of eternal separation from Himself, He chose to give His life for ours.  Since He is the good Shepherd, Jesus says:

“‘I am the good shepherd.  I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father, I lay down my life for the sheep…No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.  I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again…” (John 10:14-15, 18)

Jesus is the Shepherd who chooses to lay down His life for us as the sacrificial Lamb of God. 

Back in Exodus 12, God institutes the Passover as a permanent memorial to remind the people that they are only protected from death by the blood of a perfect lamb sacrificed in their place.  A price must be paid for our sin – then and now.  Under Old Testament Law, the priests offered sacrifices over and over again. Still, they never fully satisfied the debt (Heb. 10:11).  Now, with the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God, “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time” (Heb. 10:10). 

Thus, by the blood of Christ the Lamb, we are set free from the bondage of sin and death.  Jesus opens the gate to the kingdom of God, inviting us in, and as the good Shepherd, he leads us into abundant life (John 10:10). 

The choice, as ever, is ours.  Will we listen to the voice of our Savior and follow Him into life?  Or will we listen to the deception of the thieves who only come “to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10)?