In John 10, Jesus gives the complete job description of a Good Shepard.
Learning about Jesus' role as Good Shepard will helps us better understand and trust him in this capacity. We can better know him once we realize what this title requires. And we can better recognize a Good Shepard in our lives by considering his or her actions in light of the example that Jesus gives us. We can better know how to be a Good Shepard to our children, our families or anyone we are allowed to provide leadership to and Shepard. We can become better leaders and better followers by understanding what Jesus endured in order to be called THE Good Shepard.
The first thing to notice is how a Good Shepard approaches his sheep.
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber..." John 10:1
Jesus said a Good Shepard will approach his flock “by the door”. This means he will approach the proper way: openly, honestly, with no deception. A Good Shepard will be “upfront” with you; there will be no hidden agendas or masquerade waiting to be discovered. A Good Shepard will earn the trust of his/her sheep.
The first thing to notice is how a Good Shepard approaches his sheep.
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber..." John 10:1
Jesus said a Good Shepard will approach his flock “by the door”. This means he will approach the proper way: openly, honestly, with no deception. A Good Shepard will be “upfront” with you; there will be no hidden agendas or masquerade waiting to be discovered. A Good Shepard will earn the trust of his/her sheep.
Jesus say’s a thief or a robber gains access to people “some other way”. A thief breaks the rules. He/she sneaks in under the radar and seeks to remain undetected. A thief will lie and pretend to be something he/she is not in order to get close to you. A thief will falsely identify himself in words, action and attire. A thief is always hiding something, always covering up. He pretends to protect, but instead will steal from the sheep and then abandon them.
To illustrate this further, Jesus compared the qualities of a Good Shepard to that of a hired hand.
The hired hand takes no ownership of the sheep; he has built no commitment to the sheep. He has no dedication, no compassion, and no love for the sheep. So, when the enemy confronts the sheep, the hired hand abandons his post and runs away leaving the sheep to fend for themselves. Tragically, the enemy will be successful in his pursuit of sheep who follow a hired hand. Jesus said the hired hand will run away at the first sign of danger because he simply doesn't care.
But the Good Shepard does not run. He hangs in there with the sheep and leads them through the danger. He doesn't hide behind the sheep to protect himself; he goes in front of the sheep to protect them. The Good Shepard will even put his life on the line for his sheep.
Another thing to notice in this chapter;Jesus said sheep recognize the voice of a Good Shepard.
"When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice..."John 10:4
When a Good Shepard speaks, his or her words are recognized by the sheep. The voice of a Good Shepard somehow resonates with his or her sheep. The voice goes past the sheep's ears and make a spirit-to-spirit connection. Everything Jesus did was familiar to the people. When he spoke, he made references to the words of God that had been recorded generations past which the Jews had spent their entire life memorizing. The prophets spoke of Jesus for centuries and when he arrived, his miracles were to fulfill those scriptures. Jesus' words were familiar to his follower's spirit and his followers were precisely those who were willing to take heed to his words.
Jesus said the sheep will not follow a stranger;
"But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” John 10:5
Jesus said sheep will run from a stranger. This is important to note; that when you encounter a person trying to lead you who is not a Good Shepard, you should run from them. That person is a thief and a robber, or he/she is a hired hand who does not care about you. Demons are trying desperately to take over the life of every Christian. They want to take a leadership role in your life, but they did not enter this world through the door... meaning they are interacting with you illegally. They don't care about you, they only want to kill and destroy you. Individuals who are not Good Shepherds are the wolves, the thiefs and the robbers that Jesus is warning about.
Lastly, a Good Shepard will sacrifice for their sheep.
To redeem mankind, (turning to the example of Jesus) God could have just descended from Heaven and declared mankind free from sin forever. No power could disagree with Him or appose His decision to redeem mankind with a simple declaration. But that would have defied the commandment which God Himself set into motion. God said the wages of man’s sin is death; meaning there must be a sacrifice.
According to God's own justice, the proper way for Him to redeem mankind was to pay the price of death with a sacrifice. So God Himself became that sacrifice. He sent his own son, the Lamb of God, to put on flesh like ours and die for our sins. Jesus was born into this world, essentially like all of us (he entered this world through the door). He had a childhood, and then began ministry as the Christ. He allowed Himself to be scorned, brutally tortured, murdered (attempted) and buried in a tomb to fulfill the requirement of death.
But then, 72 hours after his brutal death, he was raised from the dead to declaring all power over heaven and earth in his hands. That is the sacrifice Jesus made for the opportunity to own us and be our protector us. He did all of that to be the Good Shepard of all who believe.
According to God's own justice, the proper way for Him to redeem mankind was to pay the price of death with a sacrifice. So God Himself became that sacrifice. He sent his own son, the Lamb of God, to put on flesh like ours and die for our sins. Jesus was born into this world, essentially like all of us (he entered this world through the door). He had a childhood, and then began ministry as the Christ. He allowed Himself to be scorned, brutally tortured, murdered (attempted) and buried in a tomb to fulfill the requirement of death.
But then, 72 hours after his brutal death, he was raised from the dead to declaring all power over heaven and earth in his hands. That is the sacrifice Jesus made for the opportunity to own us and be our protector us. He did all of that to be the Good Shepard of all who believe.
Know your Shepard!
If you belong to a church congregation or any Christian assembly, you must examine your Shepard closely. Have you seen him or her suffer for you, or are you required to do all of the suffering instead? Does your Shepard go ahead of you to protect you, or do you find that he/she disappears at the sight of trouble then suddenly reappears when everything has been ironed out? Do you recognize the things that he or she is telling you as the true word of THE Good Shepard? Do you recognize the direction he or she is leading you as the Way of God? Or is your Shepard teaching things that are foreign and even contradictory to the recorded word of the one whom he or she is supposed to be an under-Shepard of?
And lastly, have you seen your Shepard sacrifice anything at all for the privilege of calling you his or her sheep?
Better yet, lets talk about you... What sacrifices have you made for the ones who God has trusted you to be the Shepard of? Can your children follow your example? Can they trust you to face the very principalities of hell on their behalf?
Jesus is THE example of a Good Shepard for us all to strive to be become. So KNOW YOUR SHEPARD, and be a better Shepard to anyone that God has allowed to follow you!
