In our technological
environment, we really don’t have much idea about sheep and shepherding. But in
the Palestinian set up, shepherding was a common occupation. It was truly a highly personal and
intimate occupation. Sheep depend on the shepherd’s constant personal care for their
very existence. Of all animals,
sheep seem to be at the short end. In intelligence, they are definitely at the
lower end. They are known to be helpless, defenseless, timid but yet stubborn.
It is said that sheep are listless and have the tendency to wander off course
and go astray. That’s why Isaiah 53:6 said categorically that, “All of us like sheep have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way….”
In John 10:1-6, the people clearly
understood that Jesus was talking about a shepherd’s relationship to his sheep.
For us to understand like them, we need to know that in those days there were two
kind of sheepfolds. When out in the field the shepherd would build a temporary small
enclosure with stones and sticks to keep the sheep in. It would have a narrow opening
for entrance and exit. The shepherd would often lay across the opening in a
decline position to guard the sheep and keep them in the fold, and prevent them
from going astray. But when the shepherds were in town, the sheep would be kept
in a bigger and better structured communal enclosure, guarded by a professional
gatekeeper. It was a place for shepherds to put their sheep before they turned
in for the night. In these verses, the Lord was referring to the second type of
sheepfold.
A shepherd would be recognized by
the gatekeeper so he could go in and out of the fold with confidence. But if
one who is not a shepherd but a thief or robber, he would have to gain entry
into the sheep fold via dubious means. He would have to climb into the fold. A true shepherd could go into the sheep fold confidently through the gate.
The gatekeeper could recognize him and grant him excess to the fold. Since this
was a communal fold, how could his own sheep come to him? Verse 3 tells us that
sheep would recognize its own shepherd by the tone of his voice. Besides the
sheep would also have names given based on the character or behavior of each of
his sheep. This implied that the shepherd could name his sheep individually because
he knew each one of them intimately. The key message of verses 1-3 is that a
true shepherd is familiar with his sheep. It is true that when we all have an
intimate relationship with Jesus, our shepherd, we become familiar with His
voice. We can be sure that nothing concerning us is hidden from Him. He knows
each of us so very well. He knows our past and our present. He knows our fear,
our faithlessness and He can also see our trust and confidence in Him.
Verse 4 tells us that a true
shepherd would go before his sheep and lead them. After taking his sheep out of
the communal sheepfold, he would go before the sheep and guide them. Jesus our
true shepherd will guide us to quiet streams and green pastures. He is always ahead
of us, leading us. He wants us to have an eternal relationship with Him, the kind
that is modeled after His own relationship with God the Father. It is a
relationship marked by peace, joy, fulfillment and fruitfulness, and a deeply satisfying
one. This relationship is very fundamental. It is the foundational reality of our
existence. Many of Jesus’ audience then, could see the picture He painted for
them, but they could not understand its implication. They failed to understand
the deep spiritual realities. Hence verse 6 tells us that “they did not understand what those things
were which He had been saying to them.”
For us believers, who have entered into this
relationship with this Great Shepherd, it would be foolhardy for us not to appropriate
the benefits that come with the relationship. We must learn to hear the
soothing voice of Jesus our Shepherd. As we grow in our personal intimacy with
Him, we will be able to distinguish between His voice and others. We must
cultivate a listening ear to the voice of our Shepherd.
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