“Nothing sheepish about it”
By Rev. Michael Stonhosue
Meditation – Wednesday, April 9, 2025
John 10: 1-18 (Forward, p. 70) CEV p. 1114
Sad to say, sheep have, over the years, gotten rather bad press. Accordingly, we have negative expressions, such as ‘acting like a bunch of dumb sheep’, or ‘being led astray like sheep’, or even looking sheepish’. And, as for those who look after sheep, shepherds, they haven’t been immune from this negativity. In fact, at the time of Jesus, shepherds were looked down upon as uncouth, dirty, disreputable, unsavory characters. They were so ill-regarded that their testimony was not accepted in a court of law. And so, they were certainly not the kind of person you’d want your daughter to marry.
Considering this, it is informative to note that Israel’s greatest king, King David, had once been a shepherd and that those in the leadership of the nation were sometimes referred to as shepherds. But that was all in the past. That was not how shepherds were viewed when Jesus came along. And so, it is quite noteworthy that Jesus chooses this image to describe both Himself and the people He cares for.
So, let us look at what He says both of Himself and of those He’d call His ‘sheep’. Concerning the latter, He has this to say:
The sheep are defenceless and much at the mercy of those who’d
prey upon them (thieves and robbers).
The sheep are creatures form deep and lasting attachments, in that
they know their shepherd’s voice and follow Him. They know that He
be trusted.
And, as for Himself as their shepherd, He says:
The shepherd knows each of His sheep individually and personally
and is even able to call them by name and lead them. And here He
goes out in front and leads them, rather than driving them from the
rear. This means that He scouts out the way and ensures that there
are no dangers on route. And just seeing Him there serves to give
the sheep increased confidence and a sense of safety.
And where He leads them is to a place that is truly satisfying. As
Jesus said about Himself, “I have come that they may have life and
life in all its fulness” (verse10b).
Furthermore, the shepherd sticks with His flock through thick and
thin. He doesn’t desert them when the ‘going gets rough’, as a
person merely hired for the job might do. In fact, Jesus says that
He would even lay down His life for the sheep, and that is indeed
what He would do.
While it may seem hard, and even demeaning, to see ourselves as sheep, can we not admit that there are many powers and agents out there that would seek to mislead, ill inform, and lead us astray? And can we not admit that we really need someone totally reliable, totally caring, to lead us? And, to know that the creator of the universe, God Himself, is there for us, totally on our side, and willing to ‘go all the way’ for us: is this not great, and what we so sorely need? I think so, and so let us rededicate ourselves anew to Him and commit ourselves to following and trusting Him. I think that this is what all of us, deep down inside, really want and need. Amen.
Forward notes: “So again Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep’” (verse 7).
Commemoration: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Once the sheep were all safely in the fold for the night, a Middle Eastern shepherd would often lie across the opening so that nothing could get through without confronting or even killing him. When Jesus says he is the gate for the sheep, he tells us that he is prepared to lay down his life for his sheep. ‘I am the gate’ is not a statement of who qualifies to get in but of
the level of protection that Jesus as our shepherd offers. Nothing can hurt us with Jesus as our gate.
“It is fitting that on this day, we remember Dietrich Bonhoeffer, pastor, author, and anti-Nazi dissident. Bonhoeffer laid down his life for Christ when the Nazis forbade him to speak in public against their atrocities. He said, ‘Grace is free but not cheap; the cost is nothing less than everything.’
Moving Forward: “When have you felt the protection of the gate of the Good Shepherd?”