Jesus, The Soul Shepherd

Around 2,000 years ago, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and the first people the angels announced his birth to were shepherds out watching their flocks. This was fitting because Jesus was a descendant from a long line of shepherds, including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David. Like his forefathers, Jesus also was a shepherd, even though, as far as we know, he never led any sheep. Instead, he led people. The Bible, metaphorically, gives Jesus the title, The Great Shepherd of His Sheep. And just as his forefathers tended their flocks in Israel, Israel is also the setting for Jesus' earthly shepherding. Six years ago, I moved my wife and three young children to Israel, just as my father had moved his family to the Middle East when I was a boy. I grew up camping in the desert, where I first got acquainted with the nomadic shepherds known as Bedouin. This background helped me to get to know the Bedouin living in Israel, who tend their flocks in the very same places that the shepherds in the Bible did their shepherding thousands of years ago. We switched roles. You're the filmer, I'm the shepherd. From what I've filmed over the last several years, you're going to see a lot of shots of Bedouin and their sheep. But this movie isn't actually about them. This movie is about you. You see, the shepherding that takes place in Israel today can help us more deeply understand our own relationship with the one the Apostle Peter called, the shepherd of your souls. Shepherding is all about calling and listening. These are the same kind of sheep that we read about in the Bible. Today, they're known as fat-tailed sheep. This breed of sheep instinctively follows the voice of their shepherd. And it's this act of following that keeps them alive. You see, sheep don't know where to find good pasture or where to find water or shelter. Only the shepherd knows where all the needs of his flock can be met. And so he calls to them and they follow him to food, drink and protection. Metaphorically, this is what a relationship with Jesus looks like. Human souls following the voice of the only one who knows where to lead them. For most of the year in Israel, food is scarce. Shepherds must lead their flocks great distances to keep them fed. For a short time after the rainy season, pasture becomes lush. Only under these conditions can well-fed sheep lay down and rest. In the Bible metaphor, food represents God's truth. Jesus taught that the food that the soul lives on is every word that comes from the mouth of God. The shepherd David wrote about his own relationship with the Lord in Psalm 23. Most of the water available to flocks in Israel is found at the bottom of deep wells. Therefore, sheep and goats must completely rely upon their shepherd to give them water. In the biblical metaphor, water represents the Holy Spirit. Jesus called the Holy Spirit living water and promised anyone who drank of it that they would live forever. And anyone who wanted a drink of the Holy Spirit had to rely on Jesus because he was the only one that could give it to them. Sheep are completely helpless against their enemies. And in Israel, the number one enemy of sheep has always been and continues to be the wolf. The Bible describes wolves as being savage and ferocious. Despite the fact that the Bible describes gazelle as being swift and alert, they often fall prey to wolves. And since a wolf can easily kill a gazelle, a sheep has no chance at all. This reality raises an important question. How is it that helpless sheep are protected from wolves? One day in Israel, I was filming this wolf. Notice how he hunkers down when he crosses my scent path. And after he smells me, immediately he starts looking for me. You see, wolves are afraid of people. And the only thing that protects sheep from wolves is that they are in the presence of a human shepherd. David wrote about this in Psalm 23 when he says, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. In other words, David is protected from his spiritual enemy because he is in the presence of the Lord, his shepherd. In the shepherding metaphor, the wolf represents our spiritual enemy. But the devil and his demons are terrified of Jesus. And so, it's being in the presence of Jesus, our shepherd, that protects us from evil. There is something else that shepherds use to protect their sheep from wolves. Nighttime is when sheep are the most vulnerable to wolf attack. So, before sunset, a shepherd gets his flock into one of these, a sheep pen. Sheep pens protect sheep throughout the night from wolves. In the Bible metaphor, a sheep pen represents heaven and eternal life. So, we can see how souls go to heaven by understanding how shepherds use sheep pens. So, a sheep pen is made up of these stone walls that come together and form a narrow opening. So, before evening sets in, the shepherd gets his flock into the protection of a sheep pen, and then he himself serves as the gate to a sheep by sitting or laying in this narrow opening so that nothing can get in and nothing can get out without going through the shepherd. But the Bible describes a soul that's separated from God as being like sheep without a shepherd. One day, I was randomly filming a shepherd and his flock off in the distance when I noticed this sheep going astray. The shepherd doesn't see this stray and continues up the valley with the rest of his flock. This sheep has chosen not to follow its shepherd, but instead to go its own way. At one point, the sheep even takes one last look back at what it's leaving behind. And what it's leaving behind is the very person it needs to survive. It's hard to imagine, but it's true that most lost sheep got that way like this one, by choice. This sheep is straying from the human presence that protects it, nor will it be able to find water or the protection of a sheep pen come nightfall. And the penalty of such a choice is death. Without a shepherd, this sheep will never live long enough to die of thirst. The wolves will get it first. And this is why the Bible describes a lost sheep as being food for all the wild animals. The Bible tells us that sin is choosing our own way so that we can do what we want rather than following God. And that sin is what separates us from God. And the penalty of sin is death. A lost soul is helpless. And therefore, the only hope that a lost soul has to live is if its shepherd will seek it out, find it and rescue it. In Ezekiel chapter 34, God says, My sheep have become food for all the wild animals since there was no shepherd. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. I will seek the lost and bring back the strayed. In fulfillment of this, Jesus said of himself, For the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. Whoever hears my word and believes has crossed over from death to life. If the shepherd doesn't hear the faint cry of the weak, then a life is lost. Shepherding is a relationship between the many who are weak, depending upon the one who is strong. A relationship based on grace and mercy and trust. A relationship of tender care and love. There are some tactics shepherds use in an attempt to try and teach a wandering sheep to follow. But in the end, such things can't be forced. In the end, every soul must choose to either be with God or without him. In the end, every soul must choose between life and death. In the Bible's shepherding metaphor, sheep represent the souls that choose God, while the souls who don't are the goats. We're not sure why. Maybe it's because goats are stronger and therefore often mean to sheep. Whatever the reason, it's often not hard to imagine goats as representing evil. Almost all Bedouin own both sheep and goats. But out in the field, I began to notice that many of the flocks were either made up of all goats or all sheep. All goats. All sheep. Goats. Sheep. Goats. The reason for this is that goats are tougher than sheep. And so they can feed in places that sheep can't. Therefore, shepherds don't want their goats grazing where only their sheep can go to feed. For this reason, in the early morning, a shepherd will separate his goats from his sheep. One shepherd takes the sheep into the gentle valleys to graze, while another shepherd takes the goats to a more rugged feeding ground. This process of separation is what Jesus used figuratively to describe what the day of judgment will be like. Jesus said to the souls of people, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Come, follow me. I am the way, the truth, and the life. Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate that leads to destruction. But small is the gate that leads to life, and only if you find it. No one comes to the Father except through me. I tell you the truth. A time is coming and has now come. When the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. First Peter 2.25 says of Jesus, He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed, for you were like sheep going astray. But now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.