Posted August 22, 2004

My Sheep

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me– (John 10:14, NIV)

I'm no theologian, but I do know a few things about the behavior of sheep. Since the Bible uses so many references to sheep, I am fortunate to be able to observe my flock of more than 200 sheep and spend time studying Scripture to look for new insight in God's eternal Word.

Jesus made the statement "I know my sheep and my sheep know me-" (John 10:14, NIV) What does God mean by "my sheep know me"? I suppose many Christians would readily say that those who have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior would be the ones that belong to Him. The wording of the verse implies that there are other sheep that do not belong to Jesus. Later in the same chapter of the book of John Jesus tells some Jews "...you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:26-27)

Unlike other farm animal species sheep depend very heavily upon the care by man, yet they are the least likely to become docile. In other words sheep are very dependent upon the shepherd, but are reluctant to get close to the shepherd. For example, in an open pasture I probably cannot get within 10 feet of any of the sheep under normal circumstances. With a sheep herding dog near by then the sheep will allow me to get closer because they fear the dog, but they still tend to move away if I attempt to touch one of them. If I spent much more time with them that behavior would likely change.

This behavior of my sheep remind me of what I have seen among church goers. Some are there because they desire to be part of a group. They may want to get reasonably close to Jesus, but not close enough to get the touch of the Master. They know there seems to be some safety, some sanctuary in being part of a church group, but they just never surrender all in order to become one of His sheep. They know some things about Jesus, but they do not KNOW Jesus.

I am basically saying that my sheep do not know me as well as Jesus' sheep know him. Most of the time my sheep know me well enough to know who I am, but not well enough to follow me. Only under unusual circumstances will they follow me. Jesus made it clear that His sheep follow him. Its rather discouraging to know that research has shown that only about 50 percent of the pastors in America believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. My question to those false shepherds is this, "What is your point in pretending to be a minister of the Good News if you don't know where to find the Good News?" These guys apparently trust their own intellect to be superior to anything God has to offer. I pity the rest of the flock when the so-called shepherd is lost. In other words, how can a congregation know the voice of the Good Shepherd if the person leading them does not?

There is one more verse in that 10th chapter of John that is most important. After Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (Vs 27), he said, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." (Vs 28). It is no small matter, eternal life and to never perish. It's the difference between knowing something about a man named Jesus and having a personal relationship the Son of God, so close that He knows you, you know His voice, and you follow Him.

Rowan
Shepherd-In-Training