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Of Shepherds and of Sheep
2004-02-22 - 12:28 a.m.

We know that Jesus, in John 10 described Himself as the Good Shepherd, and His believers as sheep and this is a metaphor used elsewhere in the Bible. Indeed, the chapter I have been reading - Ezekiel 34 - fits so closely with John 10 that I believe Jesus was directly referring to it, which gives us a means by which to interpret His words. So I intend to go through them both and give my thoughts.

Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the gate. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. (John 10:1-3 NRSV)

Jesus goes on to explain this statement in verses 8-10. He is the gate of the sheep and the good Shepherd. Anyone who wishes to tend to the sheep (us) must come through Him, with His authority and blessing - otherwise they are nothing but thieves and bandits.

We can see exactly what sort of people Jesus was speaking about, not only through looking at the Pharisees, but by looking at Ezekiel 34. There God speaks against shepherds who exploit the sheep, taking their fruits for themselves and not feeding the sheep. These bad shepherds ignore the weak and sick, and have no heart for the lost sheep - they rule with harshness. I am sure we can all think of a few "shepherds" who have done similarly. There are yet so-called Christian pastors who take money from the needy - and never give anything at all back. There are many ways a Christian leader can feed his sheep - not just physically - through teaching, caring, healing. Pastors who constantly exhort their congregations for money or any other fruit and give nothing in return are the model of the bad shepherd who does not enter by the Gate but creeps over the fence to see what he can steal.

God pronounces judgement against such charletans, He will seek His sheep, and rescue them from the thieves, He Himself will feed them. The bad shepherds will no longer fatten themselves on the sheep who have trusted them and justice will be done.

"I myself will be the shepherd of the sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice." (Ezekiel 34:15-16 NRSV)

The first thing I noticed about this scripture is that it very clearly shows that Jesus was announcing that He is God. God states here that He is the Shepherd - and Jesus reiterates that in John 10:14. This is further backed up by Jesus' "mission statement", the prophecy of Isaiah that the Messiah will heal, bring good news to the poor, release those in prison and free the oppressed (Luke 4:18-19; Isaiah 61:1-2). Jesus is the good Shepherd who will protect us against evil shepherds.

The sin that God speaks against in Ezekiel 34 is selfishness - the shepherds fed themselves on the flocks. When they received food or drink, they made it so that others could not receive what they had received. So it is with corrupt pastors who do not teach their flocks, who do not lead, inspire, feed those who trust in them.

God tells us that He will judge between us, He will seek out and find those who grow fat on the labours of others. It is a recurring theme in the Old Testament of God's utter hatred of injustice - both the injustice of other nations and especially the injustices perpetrated by those who claim to be the people of God but go against Him.

We should never assume anything in scripture is simple. Every word was chosen with care and can have many different meanings and applications. So, just as we can see that when Jesus says He is the Good Shepherd He is referring to His divinity, the figure of Shepherd also refers to His Messiahship, His descent in the line of David.

"I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them; I, the LORD have spoken." (Ezekiel 34:23-4 NRSV)

The good Shepherd is one who will pour Himself out for His sheep - Jesus gave everything for us. In that way we know Him to be our Shepherd. Human shepherds are held to the same standard. In John 21 Jesus told Peter to act as a shepherd to the flock, following His example. Peter did so - teaching and giving until the end, when he was martyred for the sake of God. We serve God in serving our fellow man and if we, if we are leaders, would do less for our brother than we do for God, then we need to ask ourselves why. Jesus' entire life is a model for how we are to act - and we see that He gave everything, including His life for man, and in so doing, glorified God.

Woe to the human leader who acts as the evil shepherds in Ezekiel, and blessed is the name of God who has shown us such love and care. We are God's sheep, and His Son is our Shepherd. He justifies us and frees us through His wonderful nature, powerfully expressed in His title of "Shepherd".

"They shall know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, says the Lord GOD. You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, says the Lord GOD." (Ezekiel 34:30-1 NRSV)