Skip to main content

Are we sheep?

I do not know about you, but I do not like being called “sheep”.  If someone said, “You and your family are a bunch of sheep”, I would not take it kindly.  I would not be proud of our local high school team, “The Fighting Sheep”.  The connotated meaning is that we are soft, docile, peaceful, and harmless.  Unfortunately, that’s exactly what God says about us.  In the Old Testament we find twelve passages that use the phrase “like sheep”.  Here is one.

So he said, “I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains, Like sheep which have no shepherd; And the LORD said, ‘These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace.’ ” (2 Chron 18:16, NASB95)

 

Jehovah often described Israel as sheep who were scattered, lacking direction, straying, and in danger.  Isaiah picks up on this theme and broadens this description to all humans, not just Israel.  (He also promises a Savior to come.)

 

All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. (Isa 53:6, NASB95)

 

We see this theme carried into the New Testament.  Jesus described us in similar terms.

 

Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. (Mt 9:36, NASB95)

 

When He calls us “sheep without a shepherd” it is done with kindness and compassion, not judgement.  Jesus sees the lost condition of mankind.  He sees us wandering and wondering throughout life, without meaning or purpose.  He sees frustration and discouragement.  He knows we need a Savior.  He also proclaims Himself to be that Savior.

 

“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” (Jn 10:14, NASB95)

 

A good shepherd will go to extreme lengths for his sheep.  Jesus was this kind of shepherd.  Ultimately, He gave His life for us.  Paul put it this way:

 

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Ro 5:6-8, NASB95)

 

Christ was sinless.  His sacrificial death was for us, as the payment for our sin.  This is the extreme demonstration of God’s love for us, to send His Son to die in our place.  Notice that He did not wait for us to become holy or perfect, He died for us “while we were yet sinners”.  What a Savior!  What a Good Shepherd!

 

Back to my initial concern.  If you do not like the moniker of sheep be encouraged.  Peter gives us hope:

 

For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. (1 Pet 2:25, NASB95)

 

Notice the verb tense, “you were”.  Before we accepted Christ as Savior and Lord, we were described as sheep.  Now with Christ in control, we are no longer straying like sheep, at least I hope not.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Asleep or Awake?

  When you think about it, sleep is a very strange thing.   We’ve been doing it since we were born, and studies show infants sleep even in the womb.    They say you will spend a third of your life in this state.   As I get older, I find myself sleeping more.   When possible, I like a short nap after lunch, although these short naps seem to be getting longer all the time.   But consider for a minute the state of sleep: We are removed from the day-to-day realities. We may have dreams that take us on exciting or scary adventures. We are in a state of vulnerability. (A thief could break in and steal). We do not have full control of our faculties. (People sometimes hurt themselves while sleepwalking ). The Bible often uses sleeping as a metaphor for spiritual sluggishness.   We are admonished to "wake up".   Here are few of the most notable examples: “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who...
8 comments
Read more

Blessed to be a blessing

  So, where do we get the common phrase, "blessed to be a blessing"?   The idea comes originally from the book of Genesis where God appears to Abraham .  “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing . I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed .” (Genesis 12:1-3, ESV) If you think about it, this is a pretty radical idea. Not only does almighty God want to bless those who respond in faith, but also that He wants to work through us to bless others! 1.       God wants to bless us. Our heavenly Father loves us dearly as any father would love their very own children. “For God so loved the world , that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal li...
4 comments
Read more

Confidence in Christ

In this fallen world, fear and doubt can easily overwhelm us. As Christians, however, we have a powerful resource: confidence in Christ. Sadly, many do not draw on this resource and instead depend on self-confidence .  Self-confidence looks for the strength to face the challenges of life from within. We rely on our own wisdom, experiences, or methods of handling things.  And sometimes this strategy works. But often, it does not. The self-confident person often thinks they are better than others. They may be full of pride. And this very pride can be their undoing.    Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. (Prov 16:18)  But most self-confident people are secretly very insecure.  They know that their strategies are not sufficient for the " slings and arrows of outrageous fortune ", as Shakespeare famously said.  Simply put, the challenges they face often overwhelm them, and may even crush them.  The bel...
6 comments
Read more