Shepherds and Sheepfeatured

Throughout the Bible God uses images of shepherds and sheep to communicate important truths to us. Through these simple images he reveals profound insights into his divine character but also into who we are as his beloved children.

The Old Testament contains many references to God as our shepherd.

• “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing” (Psalm 23:1).
• “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young” (Isaiah 40:11).
• “The Lord their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock…” (Zechariah 9:16).

These verses speak to the loving care, provision and protection God provides to us.

This imagery carries over to the New Testament in John 10.  In verse 11 Jesus tells his disciples, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus re-emphasizes his point in verses 14 and 15, “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.” Here we see Christ’s love for us is deep and intimate.  His words, “I lay down my life” fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy of a shepherd who will save his people.

The imagery of sheep and lambs in the Bible begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation – a pretty good indication of significance. In the NIV version, the words sheep, lambs and flock appear 580 times.  Yet another sign that God has important things for us to learn from these images!

Friends, we are sheep – God’s sheep!  Psalm 100:3 tells us, “Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” What a blessing to know our shepherd is faithful to care for us.  Unfortunately, we are all plagued by the problem of sin and have a tendency to wander away from our shepherd and follow our own paths.  “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way…” (Isaiah 53:6). I am living proof of this verse. On a regular basis I want to chart my own course asking my shepherd to bless my plans, rather than faithfully following the one who knows the best path for me.

Back in Genesis God established a system to deal with our ongoing problem of wandering away from him.  The sacrifice of lambs was a cornerstone of that system. One of the most vivid examples of this is found in Exodus 12 when God instructed the Israelites to use the blood of lambs to protect their families from the plague of the firstborn.  In Isaiah 53:7 the prophet Isaiah points us to the ultimate sacrifice that would be needed to save us from our sins, “…He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” This imagery continues in the New Testament.  John the Baptist points us to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross in John 1:29, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

I recently created this painting, Everlasting, to accompany a sermon series on Genesis and God’s covenant relationship with us. I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to use the figure of a lamb to depict not only the covenants established in Genesis, but also the New Covenant provided through Jesus Christ. As I was painting this, I started to think about how Jesus is both our Good Shepherd as well as the Lamb of God. God’s plan for his Son was to take on both roles.

It occurred to me that God wants each of us to be both shepherd and lamb.  In John 21:15-17, Jesus told Simon Peter three times to feed and care for his sheep.  That is the role of a shepherd! We are not to ask people to follow us, but rather invite others to follow the Good Shepherd. We are to nurture and encourage our fellow sheep as they follow him.  1 Peter 5:2-4 is our job description: “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”

Following Christ’s model, we are called to personal sacrifice. We are to be lambs willing to surrender our plans and desires in response to what Jesus did for us on the cross.  Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

I find it extremely challenging to live as a shepherd and a lamb every day of my life. I pretty sure that is why God provides us with his Holy Spirit to empower us to live into that dual calling. In Revelation 7:17 God gives us a beautiful picture to encourage us, “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”  This week may our gratitude for our Creator’s greatest gift, our Good Shepherd and Lamb of God, inspire us to be both shepherds and lambs.