Listening for the Shepherd’s Call
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John 10:7-18
7. So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8. All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. 9. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. 11. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. 14. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, 15. as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16. And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. 17. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. 18. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father."
Shepherds had a hard, lonely existence. They spent most of their lives with their sheep; they even slept with them at night. In fact, they rounded them up into their pen and then slept, sprawled across the gate so none of the sheep wandered out at night and got lost, or worse. They also did that so that they could protect the sheep from predators’ attack in the night—any wolf or other wild animal would have to go through the shepherd in order to get to the sheep. In truth, though, the shepherd didn’t really sleep much, because they needed to alert to any impending attacks on the flock during the night.
A shepherd relied upon the sheep for his livelihood. They needed the wool that was sheered in the spring, the milk, the meat. Their very lives literally depended upon the well-being of their sheep. And a shepherd would risk his life scaling a steep mountain slope to rescue a trapped sheep, and do just about anything that was necessary to ensure none of the sheep were injured or lost. They were that essential and important to the shepherd.
Within that framework, Jesus identifying himself as “the Good Shepherd” is pretty powerful! The people of that day and time understood the symbolism completely. Shepherds willingly lay down their lives for their flock. Jesus willingly would give His life for us. Jesus makes a very strong point: he chooses to lay down his life—no one takes it from him. He could have called upon heaven to save him from the cross—but he didn’t. He could have hailed the angels to come and carry him up to heaven, but he remained on earth, to suffer and die for you and me.
Jesus’ mission was not only to protect the flock of believers, but to travel throughout the land and bring others to himself—increase his flock. Gather up the lost sheep who have wandered off and bring them into the fold. Cover them with protection and safety. Comfort them and reassure them that they are “home.” Shepherds lived outside most of the time, through days and weeks of blazing sun, enduring harsh winds and pounding rain. Jesus knew that his time was near to suffer on our behalf.
We can take tremendous comfort in knowing that as the Good Shepherd, Jesus guards and guides us. We can be reassured that he will keep watch over us through the night, and no matter what life sends our way, he’ll be there at the gate, calling us by name to come into the fold. He freely chose to die for you and me. There is no greater gift to give or receive.
I hope you spend today listening for the shepherd’s call, following the sound of his voice, and lifting a prayer of thanks that you are so loved and cared for.
Mary
