Source: Lee Venden: 2007-01-27: "The Good Shepherd"
From WhyNotWiki
The theme of the church service today was sheep and shepherds. I learned a lot about both subjects that I didn't know before.
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[edit] Based on
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
"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. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
[edit] Children's story
The children's story was told by someone who, as a child, used to help his father with a flock of about 1000 sheep. So I guess you could sort of say he was a shepherd. He knew a few things about sheep.
He told the story of one time when the weather was pretty harsh -- the farm had been hit by a blizzard. Because it was so cold outside, he and his father had to go outside frequently -- every hour -- to the fold to check if any new lambs had been born. With so many mother sheep in the flock, they could regularly expect some insane number of births each day (30?). The births could happen at any time, and if the newborn lamb was left out in the weather for very long it could easily freeze to death, so they had to keep checking, even during the night (All night? I don't know.).
One time when they went out there, they found a lamb that somehow did not have a mother to take care of it (I forget why this was the case). They picked the lamb up and carried it to a small shelter/shed , where it was sheltered somewhat from the cold and where they could look after it, feeding it milk by hand since it didn't have a mother to nurse from.
Another time they went out there, it was dark and they had to take a lantern. They listened closely for signs that a lamb had been born. A mother sheep, after giving birth, explained our guest, will make quite a racket. It's not the usual baah sound that a sheep makes, but a different, distinctive noise sort of like it is clearing its throat (he gave us a demonstration). They don't make this noise at any other time -- only after they've given birth.
They listened for this sound, and then they heard it! Coming over to where the mother was, they saw that it was too late: the cold had already taken the baby lamb. They carried the dead lamb to the shelter where the other newborn was. This time, they also took the mother sheep with them, and they put it in a small pen all by itself.
Then his father instructed him to go and fetch the sharp knife that he had in the toolshed. He didn't understand what his father was going to do with it, but he went and got it anyway. Then his father took the knife and used it to skin the dead lamb. He carefully removed the dead lamb's wool coat from its body and then placed it over top of the other lamb that was in there and was still alive. He fastened this skin to the other lamb as best he could, tying a little bow around its neck to keep it from falling off. It looked kind of funny standing there with two tails, one of its own and one from the donated coat.
Next, they took the little lamb and placed it in the pen where the childless mother still was. The mother sheep, upon seeing this lamb that she didn't recognize, started heading over to it so she could push it out of her pen. But when she got close enough to the lamb and bent down to push it out, she smelled it. It didn't look like her lamb, but to her surprise, it smelled like her lamb!
When the lambs are very small, that is how their mother recognizes them: by smell. So because the motherless lamb was wearing the skin of the dead lamb, that's what the mother smelled: her own lamb. And so the mother that had lost her own lamb now adopted and raised this lamb as her own!
This shepherd also told of how, when the young sheep get to be a little older, their mothers recognize their young by the sound of their voice. It sounds like both the mothers recognize their children's voice and the children recognize their mother's voice. He told a quick story (I've probably forgotten most of the details) about another time when the weather was much nicer and the sheep were out grazing in their pastureland. If I recall correctly, the parents would go out to gather food while the young pretty much stayed put. But even as she is far away, the mother listens for the voice of its child. When the little lamb gets hungry, it will start bleating and the mother, wherever she is, will hear it and start heading towards it, emitting its own unique bleating sound on the way, which presumably the lamb hears and heads towards. When they finally meet each other, the mother smells its little one to make sure it really is its own and not some impostor lamb trying to steal her milk and then lets it nurse.
That wasn't really very much about shepherds, but it sure was about sheep!
[edit] Sermon
Some facts about shepherds in that culture:
- Shepherds of that time were usually also the owners of the sheep. They were not just hired hands, for the most part; the sheep actually belonged to them and so they had a vested interest in these sheep and their safety [ref?]. Because they had been with their sheep since the beginning, they knew the story of each individual sheep -- where it had been born, etc.
- They were "on-duty" 24/7, so to speak. The sheep had to be under constant watch (owing to how stupid they are -- see below).
Some facts about sheep:
- they are stupid
- they are not independent; they are followers
- they are defenseless
- they need a provider (a shepherd) to take care of them
We are compared to sheep -- we might have rather had Jesus compare us to cheetahs or foxes -- something with a little more independence. (On the other hand, at least he didn't compare us to slugs, or skunks.)
[edit] Sheep are stupid
To illustrate this point, Pastor Venden told a story about when he had lived next to a neighbor who had a small fold of sheep. This shepherd neighbor would sometimes ask to use Pastor Venden's back yard to graze his sheep -- since it was a rather good-sized lawn -- to give his own pastureland time to grow back.
Their dog Thunder also lived in the back yard and he had a wonderful time with those sheep. There was a tree in the corner of the yard that Thunder would hide behind and wait until the sheep got really close. Then he would jump out and scare them. The sheep would run as fast as they could to the other side of the yard, where they would back up as far as they could against the fence. Thunder would then make his way -- in plain sight to the sheep -- back to his little hiding place and lie in wait again. The sheep, not being too bright, soon forgot all about the whole incident and went back to their foraging, probably assuming the dog had gone away and left them alone. As soon as they got near that tree again, however, Thunder would jump out and scare them again. Pastor Venden said he watched them repeat this process five times in a row one afternoon!
[edit] Sheep need a provider
- And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
- The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
- So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide [ Jehovah-jireh ]. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
- The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
He has to make us to lie dow. Because we are so prone to not lie down, prone to try to do it all ourselves. We love to worry, to be anxious.
[edit] Worry vs. trust
Worry = We're not trusting/depending on God. It means you are trusting to yourself.
As an example of someone who trusted God in all things, consider George Müller, who spent about 50 years of his life caring for orphans, not ever telling anyone of his/their financial needs, even when it was uncertain how everything would get paid for. Somehow God always provided for his needs.
[edit] Sheep hear the shepherd's voice and follow
White, Ellen G.. “chapter 52”, The Desire of Ages, p. 480.
It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him.
Sheep don't choose their own path; no, they follow their shepherd.
- "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness."
[edit] Sheep are defenseless
David didn't have his sheep go and attach Goliath. Have you ever heard of sheep going out to battle?? No, of course not. Sheep don't go to battle; they're always defended. Because they are defenseless. For example, David defended his flock from lions and bears.
- But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
[edit] The shepherd knows his sheep
"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."
- See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.
White, Ellen G.. “chapter 52”, The Desire of Ages, p. 480-483.
Every soul is as fully known to Jesus as if he were the only one for whom the Saviour died. The distress of every one touches His heart. The cry for aid reaches His ear. He came to draw all men unto Himself. He bids them, "Follow Me," and His Spirit moves upon their hearts to draw them to come to Him. Many refuse to be drawn. Jesus knows who they are. He also knows who gladly hear His call, and are ready to come under His pastoral care. He says, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." He cares for each one as if there were not another on the face of the earth.
"He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. . . . And the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice." The Eastern shepherd does not drive his sheep. He depends not upon force or fear; but going before, he calls them. They know his voice, and obey the call. So does the Saviour-Shepherd with His sheep. The Scripture says, "Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." Through the prophet, Jesus declares, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee." He compels none to follow Him. "I drew them," He says, "with cords of a man, with bands of love." Ps. 77:20; Jer. 31:3; Hosea 11:4.
It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him.
As the shepherd goes before his sheep, himself first encountering the perils of the way, so does Jesus with His people. "When He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them." The way to heaven is consecrated by the Saviour's footprints. The path may be steep and rugged, but Jesus has traveled that way; His feet have pressed down the cruel thorns, to make the pathway easier for us. Every burden that we are called to bear He Himself has borne.
Though now He has ascended to the presence of God, and shares the throne of the universe, Jesus has lost none of His compassionate nature. Today the same tender, sympathizing heart is open to all the woes of humanity. Today the hand that was pierced is reached forth to bless more abundantly His people that are in the world. "And they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."
The soul that has given himself to Christ is more precious in His sight than the whole world. The Saviour would have passed through the agony of Calvary that one might be saved in His kingdom. He will never abandon one for whom He has died. Unless His followers choose to leave Him, He will hold them fast.
Through all our trials we have a never-failing Helper. He does not leave us alone to struggle with temptation, to battle with evil, and be finally crushed with burdens and sorrow. Though now He is hidden from mortal sight, the ear of faith can hear His voice saying, Fear not; I am with you. "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore." Rev. 1:18. I have endured your sorrows, experienced your struggles, encountered your temptations. I know your tears; I also have wept. The griefs that lie too deep to be breathed into any human ear, I know. Think not that you are desolate and forsaken. Though your pain touch no responsive chord in any heart on earth, look unto Me, and live. "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." Isa. 54:10.
However much a shepherd may love his sheep, he loves his sons and daughters more. Jesus is not only our shepherd; He is our "everlasting Father." And He says, "I know Mine own, and Mine own know Me, even as the Father knoweth Me, and I know the Father." John 10:14, 15, R. V. What a statement is this!--the only-begotten Son, He who is in the bosom of the Father, He whom God has declared to be "the Man that is My fellow" (Zech. 13:7),--the communion between Him and the eternal God is taken to represent the communion between Christ and His children on the earth!
Because we are the gift of His Father, and the reward of His work, Jesus loves us. He loves us as His children. Reader, He loves you. Heaven itself can bestow nothing greater, nothing better. Therefore trust.
Yes, Jesus knows his sheep. He knows each of us by name.
But what's perhaps even more amazing is that he, the Good Shepherd, is knowable by his sheep!
[edit] He lays down his life for his sheep
I lay down my life for the sheep. [...] The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
He -- the God of the universe -- lays down his life for sheep?! Doesn't he have anything else to live/die for than sheep?
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
He could make billions of us in an instant. Or just as easily wipe us all from the earth in an instant.
It's like us swerving from our lane to miss a deer or a cat, risking our own life in order to avoid hitting it. Swerving and hitting a tree to keep from hitting a deer.
But we're far less than a deer in comparison. (When comparing him sacrificing his life for our life.) We're more like a bug -- or a wasp.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
[edit] Your response
I want to follow him!
