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After everything Jesus Christ has been through in these previous Chapters we move in the Gospel of John to Chapter 10 where we read about Jesus Christ referring to himself as The Good Shepherd. Israel was very much a land of shepherds and many of her great leaders had served their apprenticeships as shepherds – men like Moses and David, and people are so like sheep.

There are those who say, or used to say, we evolved from apes – but no, we are more like sheep.

Shepherds in Israel have to look out for good grass – for good pasture – and they were continually looking for food for their sheep.

Now, remember, that pastor, elder, shepherd and bishop, are really all the same word. They are translated in various ways particularly in the letters in the New Testament, and it is good and balancing to remember that a pastor is an elder is a bishop is a shepherd or an overseer. He is a kind of ‘foreman’.

The life of a shepherd could be dangerous, as the sheep had to be protected from wild wolves, and in the days of David, who was to become king in Israel, from bears and lions too. The shepherd had to be prepared to risk his life for the sheep and fight off the enemy to save the flock. David was not a hunter but he would do everything he could to rescue his sheep. There is a difference.

The shepherd had to look for still quiet waters. Sheep cannot drink from troubled waters. Water would get into the sheep’s nostrils.

The shepherd had to know when to get the sheep on the move, and when to get them to lie down.

Now, in Israel at this time, there were not many good shepherds of the people and we read of that in Chapter 8. We read of a black sheep too, and Israel’s shepherds wanted to stone her.

In Chapter 9 we read of a blind sheep and Israel’s religious leaders wanted to throw that man out of the fold.

Israel had poor leaders – poor shepherds – and Jesus comes along and says “I am the Good shepherd”.

What Jesus is saying is, “These shepherds are no help to people in trouble.”

We need a shepherd to whom we can go if there is trouble or a problem, and a shepherd who will shepherd lovingly and tenderly and sensitively.

Jesus begins to tell a parable. He plants truth in their minds and then points out the meaning.

A parable is wonderful way too of involving people emotionally. It makes people think, and that should bring them to repentance.

Verses 1 to 6 are just a story. The shepherd is “he” and the sheepfold is “it”.

At night the shepherd brings all his sheep to an enclosure, into an enclosed area. A wall surrounds the sheep, and an old wooden gate might be used as the door.

Jesus then speaks about a figure creeping upon in a crooked way and seeking to enter by coming over the wall. This is the wolf or the thief. This is the robber who is up to no good.

You can always tell what a person is up to by the way he approaches the sheep, and by what he wants to do. Does he want to feed the sheep with good things or does he want to rob the sheep and steal from the shepherd?

When a person is up to no good, he usually kills first, because then it is easier to steal the wool and the meat.

That is why following a Service we have to be careful who approaches you, especially if God has blessed you. It may be a wolf coming to kill the blessing and rob you of what God has given you.

The person who wants to bless you and minister is the one who is loving and genuine and sincere and who approaches in an open straight forward manner. He comes in a normal natural way, by the door, and you can recognise this and welcome it.

The shepherd lived with around 25 sheep for some seven to ten years, so he knows them, and they know him. He is their wall – their protection – their guardian.

When you have a shepherd over you there is real security. There is the security of the fold as the shepherd watches over you. There is the safety of being inside the fold – protected and guarded.

When the sheep are with the shepherd, the sheep know that that is the place of safety and security.

Also, one of the tasks of the shepherd is to fleece the sheep. This is the part some people have trouble with. Many would like the safety and protection and security and guidance and feeding and watering, but for some strange reason they do not want the shepherd to fleece them. Are such people really sheep?

Yes, there have been various massive problems with certain individuals asking for money, and asking people to send in money. Some have been real and some have been false but that does not minimise the reality of the truth.

I recall being with a shepherd up in Applecross in the north west of Scotland and this particular sheep had been lost and had not been shorn for at least two years and she could hardly walk. Kenny spoke to her as he took the sheers, “What a silly girl you have been. The way you have lived has almost killed you. Come girl, and let me sort out everything that has gone wrong with you.” That shepherd cared in ways every shepherd should care.

"Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life" from Tom Kelley

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