This is the Sunday that we call “Good Shepherd Sunday.” The Old Testament lesson, psalm, and Gospel focus on that theme. The psalm tells us that the Lord is our Shepherd, and the Gospel speaks of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The Old Testament lesson condemns the evil shepherds who have led us astray. The New Testament lesson talks about the good shepherd who became the Lamb of God to reconcile us to the Father and Jesus’ followers who ministered to each other and were called to be the shepherds of Christ’s flock and the builders of His church. So, in these next few minutes, I would like to talk about the Bible as it relates to shepherds, sheep, and lambs.
If we could take a virtual trip back to ancient Palestine and its surrounds, we would discover that, during the time from Abraham through the end of the Roman Empire, livestock breeding, which included herds of both sheep and goats, was one of the two most important occupations in the country; the other, of course, was agriculture. Sheep, in particular, along with their importance to the Hebrews for sacrifice, also provided their masters with meat, milk, fat, wool, skins and horns. As a result, their major economic importance meant that many of the villagers and townspeople tended flocks on a part or full time basis. Consequently, the shepherd, or small livestock herder, as we see in the New Testament, enjoyed a well respected vocation.
The early shepherds, of course, worked in a pastoral environment, because we find sheep in the country, not the city. Our literature and music portray such environments as pleasingly peaceful, innocent, or idyllic. The biblical shepherd was one, then, who tended sheep in the countryside. Thus, if we look for words that might describe the actions of a shepherd, we might quickly come up with the following verbs:
1. care
2. conduct
3. direct
4. escort
5. feed
6. find
7. guide
8. lead
9. pilot
10.protect
11. route
12.seek
13.show
14.steer
15.tend
It is obvious, then, that a shepherd is a leader, not a follower. A shepherd has authority and responsibility. He (and perhaps today, she) possesses the qualities of loyalty, courage, unselfishness, and caring. And, considering the fact that the Palestine countryside was full of wolves, one might even speculate that there is some risk involved, because the shepherd is also a protector of the flock.
As in other occupations, the ancient shepherd had tools of the trade that he used. A cloak, was important to protect the shepherd from the elements. The shepherd also carried a staff to control the movement of the flock and a rod to ward off enemies. Our psalm for today mentions these two implements. A shepherd also carried his own food, as well as a sling to ward off predators. Shepherds also played reed flutes and small harps to calm the flocks. Even dogs were used to tend sheep, as evidenced in the book of Job (30:1)
The first shepherd mentioned in the Bible was Abel, who was (Genesis 4:2) a keeper of sheep and came into conflict with Cain, a tiller of the ground. It was, of course, Abel’s animal sacrifice that God favored over Cain’s fruits of the soil.
Abraham, of course, was also a shepherd, and it was through him that God populated the Earth with offspring too numerous to count, like the stars in the heavens. And, the generations from Abraham through the sons of Jacob were shepherds, as well.
Moses, himself, became a shepherd in the service of his father-in-law, Jethro, Priest of Midian, when he fled from Pharaoh after killing an Egyptian who was abusing one of the Hebrew slaves. It was in service as a shepherd that he encountered God in the burning bush. Until then, little did he know that he would become the shepherd of men, the great nation of Israel, and lead them out of bondage into the land that God would provide for His chosen people. As we know, Moses made considerable use of his rod and his staff, the tools of his shepherd’s trade.
Of all the shepherds, David is probably the best known. The psalms speak of David as a shepherd who ruled his people with an ‘upright heart’ and a ‘skillful hand’ (Ps. 78:70-72). Using one of the tools of his trade, David slew Goliath with one stone from a shepherd’s sling. Another tool, the harp which he played to calm his sheep, brought comfort to a deranged King Saul. There was no greater king than David. Yet, Samuel the Prophet, who was ordered to crown a new king to replace Saul, found David in the fields quietly tending his father’s sheep.
It was also common for the kings of Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt to be called shepherds, because they protected their people; Isaiah specifically refers to Cyrus, King of Persia (44:28) as the Lord’s Shepherd, because it was through his orders that Israel was released from exile so that they might return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
Sheep are a commodity whose economic value stands in direct proportion to the amount of supervision, guidance, and protection that they receive. While they are gregarious animals, they become easily lost in unfamiliar environments and are defenseless against predators. Although they are easily herded in flocks, they can become easily distracted. Therefore they need to be led and protected, and that is a major function of the shepherd.
It is from many of these references just mentioned that both the Old and New Testaments picked up the imagery that we find in today’s lessons and psalm. The lessons that we read do not merely refer to real shepherds or sheep. But the qualities and attributes of shepherds are compared with the leaders and rulers of that time. And the people who made up the Jewish population were compared with the qualities and attributes of sheep, who followed those leaders and, as a result, often failed to follow God. The truth is, like the sheep of the Old Testament, we all stray from the right path, and we all need shepherds to show us the way back. It is no wonder, therefore, that our definition of a shepherd also relates to the spiritual care or guidance of people, especially a congregation, and the word pastor comes from the same root that is attributed to the pastoral setting in which ancient shepherds worked. Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians 4:11 speaks of leaders of the church as pastors, and this usage continued through the early church, down to the present day. Paul viewed these pastors, known as elders and deacons, as special people given to the church by God to care for God’s people as a shepherd cares for his sheep, leading them and teaching them in the ways of God.Our Old Testament lesson, points to shepherds, or leaders, in Israel who were not so good. Ezekiel, of course, was not condemning pastoralists; he condemned the rulers of Israel who were responsible for the shepherding and care of their peoples, but who brutally ruled for their own profit, rather than for the good of their people. Like Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Zechariah similarly condemned those rulers who were considered to be God’s subordinate shepherds (e.g., Jer. 10:21; 22:22; 23:1-4; 25:34-38; Ezek. 34:1-10; Zech. 10:3; 11:4-17) . Ezekiel promised that God would not only punish the rulers, but God would also rescue His people. The rescuer is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who, in today’s Gospel, speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd.
Psalm 23 portrays God as the shepherd who protects and cares for his people, a helpless flock. Yahweh, in the old Testament was looked upon as the true shepherd of Israel.
- The good shepherd provides for the needs of his sheep: I shall not be in want; He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.
- The good shepherd uplifts, guides, comforts, and protects his sheep: He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways:
- His people can always trust and depend on The good shepherd: Your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
In the New Testament,
1. The Gospels of Mathew and Mark, portray Jesus as the shepherd of a shepherdless flock (Mark 6:34; Matt 9:36).
2. Jesus, himself, claimed that his mission was ‘to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matt. 10:6; 15:24).
3. The parable of the lost sheep exemplifies God’s love for His chosen people (Matt. 18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7),
4. The separation of sheep and the goats by the shepherd is compared to the final judgment (Matt. 25:32-33).
5. Elsewhere, in the New Testament, Jesus is called ‘the great shepherd of the sheep’ (Heb. 13:20), the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls’ (1 Pet. 2:25), and ‘the chief Shepherd’ (1 Pet. 5:4).
In the Gospel of John, where we find today’s Gospel reading
1. the good shepherd is prepared to sacrifice his own life for the sake of the flock (vv. 11, 15, 17, 18);
2. as the owner (v. 12) he feels responsible for his sheep,
3. and the good shepherd (v. 14) —knows his sheep (vv. 15, 27) and they know him (v. 15) and they follow him (v. 27; cf. vv. 4, 5).
4. Jesus’ responsibilities as shepherd, extends not only to the Jewish Christian community, but also to the Gentiles, because as the one shepherd he is to gather them together to the one flock (v. 16).
The New Testament lesson from the Book of Acts shifts our focus from the good shepherd, Jesus Christ back to the corrupt shepherds of the world: the rulers and religious authorities who gathered together to plot against our Lord. Yet, these verses also acknowledge that God’s plan for our salvation was fulfilled in those horrible acts against Jesus, when the Good Shepherd became the lamb of God.
John the Baptist twice referred to Jesus as “the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:29, 36) and, in the first instance as the “Lamb of God who takes away the world’s sin.” Because the Apostle John provides no further detail concerning the use of this phrase, one cannot precisely explain what was on the Baptist’s mind. But, from the writings of both Old and New Testaments, we are led to understand that Jesus, the Lamb of God, was the perfect offering and sacrificed himself for our sins:
· First, we know that the fourth Gospel, from which we read today, places the death of Jesus at the time that the Passover sacrifices were killed --- the afternoon before the Passover feast, when the Passover lambs were slain.
· The prophet Isaiah spoke of the Suffering Servant (Chapter 53), and labeled those who caused that suffering as sheep who had strayed. Isaiah wrote:
o 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.
o 6 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.
o 7 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.
C.H. Dodd, the Welsh New Testament scholar and influential Protestant theologian, suggested that John the Baptist was alluding to Jesus as the triumphant lamb of the apocalypses who is the Messiah and King of Israel, as pictured in the book of Revelation (Chapter 5 Verses 6-14). The apostle John wrote:
o 11Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"
· The word “lamb” in the Old Testament refers to sacrifice 85 out of the 96 times that it is used. So, perhaps, John the Baptist may have been thinking of Abraham and Isaac as they climbed the mountain to present their sacrifice to the Lord, when Isaac innocently asked his father, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham, of course, replied, “God will provide” (Gn 22:7, 8).
In the Orient, so much respect was given to shepherds that the people were often referred to as the “herd,” and the king was referred to as the “shepherd.” When one refers to a lamb in a sacrificial sense, he or she thinks of a perfect lamb. The purpose of sacrificing the perfect lamb was to please a righteous God.
o The Chinese character or word for righteousness, yi, is formed by the placement of two other characters, one above the other.
o The top character, yang, means lamb.
o The bottom character, wo, means me, self, or I.
o As Christians, therefore, we gain righteousness by putting ourselves under the lamb, Jesus Christ.
It is Jesus Christ, the good shepherd, who, for us became the Lamb of God. And it is through his perfect sacrifice, by his death and resurrection, that he has provided atonement for mankind’s sins. Because of his righteousness, humanity has been reconciled to God. And it is Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who is revealed to us in scripture, that we must follow, as he leads us to those green pastures, besides the still waters.
No comments:
Post a Comment