These shepherds would protect their sheep with their very own lives. I t was common for the Shepherd to sing as they led their sheep so that the sheep became accustomed to their voice, it was also common for the shepherds to sing the Psalms of Israel. With the sheep following the shepherd because of his care and concern for them, which facilitates their faith and trust in him. We have a tendency to use dogs that drive sheep from behind, biting at their limbs, using force and intimidation yet this is unlike the shepherds in Israel, who walk in front of their sheep, leading them, setting the example before them to follow concerning where to go, constantly speaking to them. We in America have a hard time understanding Jesus’ analogy concerning sheep as an object lesson, because many times we raise sheep for their meat as compared to the shepherds of Judea which raise sheep mainly for their wool. When shepherds in the Middle East would go to watering holes, there might be two or three different flocks drinking at the same time.Īs a Shepherd determines to leave, he would start walking away from the watering hole singing, and the older sheep, who had come to know their master’s voice would follow him, and the little ones, as well as those that weren’t so discerning would follow the group. However, they also have the capability of learning the voice of their master (John 10:27), the one who takes care of them. The discernment / judgment of both sheep and believers is terrible they will easily follow a goat that makes a lot of noise, or a wolf in sheep’s clothing because of their refusal to utilize proper Biblical judgment (Matthew 7:16, 20), as if discernment was somehow ungodly or unloving all of which is completely unBiblical and at the expense of a vibrant living Church that grows in quality as well as quantity. How often have we heard it said that the army of God is the only army that kills their wounded while befriending the enemy therefore making themselves vulnerable at the institutional level which would ultimately lead to their destruction, if it was not for God. Sheep are prone to flocking behavior, which is behavior where during a time of danger the strongest animals fight their way to the center of the flock, which offers the greater protection from the predators, yet this type of self-centeredness ultimately leads to the destruction of the whole flock as the weakest are on the perimeter, and the strongest are where they could do the least good. Sheep will over eat, gorge themselves and destroy the fields with no thought of tomorrow living only in the day. Certain civilizations, such as the Old Egyptian Empire consider sheep to be unclean, defiled, or polluted in the same way that the world considers believers to be unnatural or polluted. Yet sheep are not animals that humans would like to more readily identify with. Other animals display traits that humans can more easily identify with such as the intelligence, ingenuity, and comic behavior of monkeys, the cunning and wilfulness of cats, the friendliness of dolphins, or the loyalty of dogs. They are not very surefooted, subject to falling off the side of cliffs they display very little discernment, very similar to many within the church. They are self-centered, yet are unaware of it. Sheep have a tendency to wander off (Luke 15:6) without ever thinking about it, most the time when they’re in danger, they have no idea of how dangerous it really is, with their focus stuck in what is right in front of them, having no concerns about the greater picture. Sheep have no natural defenses within their environment, yet quite often they seem to be unaware of this in the same way that believers have no natural defense against sin, the devil, or the world without the protection of their shepherd, or the indwelling of His Spirit, yet many times they seem to forget this fact. We understand that Jesus used the allusion of sheep in describing people, which we should look at first in gaining greater understanding of what Jesus was communicating.įirst, we should examine Jesus’ allusion regarding sheep in describing God’s people (Israel) and Believers (the church), and goats symbolizing unbelievers. Jesus, in speaking about these false prophets used the allusion (an indirect reference to something or somebody by using symbolism) of them coming to the people as “ wolves in sheep’s clothing” (see # 1) in order to take advantage of them. Jesus’ Allusion Concerning Sheep & Wolves
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