The Good Shepherd
Acts 4: 8-12; 1 John 3: 1-2; John 10: 11-18
Fr. Nelson Lobo OFM Cap
NATURE OF THE SHEEP
Dumb/Stupid and stubborn; Dirty and Wayward; Frightened and Confused; Defenseless and Dependent. Need guidance and protection.
NATURE OF GOOD SHEPHERDS
- The Good Shepherd Knows His Sheep-Intimate knowledge-While all sheep are alike in their fundamental nature, each has its own distinctive characteristics. The loving shepherd recognizes these and deals with all differently, yet with the same love. The 12 Disciples were different, but Jesus dealt with each of them differently.
- The Good Shepherd Leads His Sheep-Sheep know the voice of the shepherd and they follow only HIS voice. When the stranger comes, they run! Family Game –blindfolded mothers. Kids calling their names. Even blindfolded they found their children eventually, even with all other children calling for their mommies. Mommies know the cries of their children. We need to remember that the Good Shepherd wants us to know his voice that well. To be able to recognize it clearly amidst the calls of others who would lead us into the wrong places in our life. If we will only learn to stay within the sounds of his voice and listen for his call, he will lead us. He will give us an abundant life – far beyond anything we could arrange on our own. And He will protect us from the attacks of the evil one.
- The good shepherd protects the sheep-He is the sacrificial shepherd, one who places Himself between His sheep and any attacks.
- Good Shepherds are people of good character.
- Good Shepherds love those they lead.
- Good Shepherds are never in it for the money like the hired hand.
- Good Shepherds don’t run from problems or dangers.
NATURE OF HIRED SHEPHERDS: William Barclay writes: A real shepherd was born to his task. He was sent out with the flock as soon as he was old enough to go; the sheep became his friends and his companions; and it became second nature to think of them before he thought of himself. But the false shepherd came into the job, not as a calling but as a means of making money. He was in it simply and solely for the pay he could get. He might even be a man who had taken to the hills because the town was too hot to hold him. He had no sense of the height and the responsibility to the task. He was only a hireling. d. Jesus is motivated by love, not selfish gain
Jesus as the Good Shepherd:
What characteristics of the Shepherd can we see in Jesus?
- The Good Shepherd knows his sheep and care for them individually. We see that well illustrated in the parable of the Lost Sheep. Story: A shepherd had 100 sheep and found that one of them was missing. What did he do? He left the other 99 safely grazing and went off to find the one that was lost. And we read that when he found it he came home rejoicing!
- Shepherds protect their sheep. David was a Shepherd before he became King. It was as a shepherd that he killed Goliath. He said this to King Saul as he went out to battle with Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:34. 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” The Good Shepherd protects his sheep.
- The shepherd wants the best for their sheep-Jesus said this in John 10:10: “I am come that you may have life and have it in abundance. (Jn 10:10). The Good Shepherd wants the best for his sheep. God wants our very best He wants us to have a rich and full life. That we can spend eternity with Him. Easter reminds us that Christ the Good Shephard laid down His life for the sheep. Jesus loves us so much that he wants us to have a rich and full life. He is not going to give us up to the enemy. But to be safe, we like sheep need to stay close to the shepherd. In Psalm 23 we see he provides for his sheep He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
Application: A sheep pen was a place which had high walls to protect the sheep, but no roof or door. The shepherd often lay across the entrance to act as the door. When Jesus said:” I am the door of the Sheepfold”, this is exactly what he was alluding to. It was the Shepherd who regulated who came in and who went out. There is safety in the sheep pen, when the Shepherd acted as the door. The Church should be like the sheep pen – a place of safety – with the Lord as its keeper When Jesus said: I am the Good Shepherd. He was telling us that it is only when we are in the presence of Christ – allowing him to be the door that regulates our lives – that we can be safe. It is said that sheep will only drink by still water and not by running water. It is when we come to a quiet place that God will restore our souls. Jesus often pulled away from the crowd to be with the Father. So, shouldn’t we?
