Picture this scene: the shepherd in the field, serenely sitting under a tree playing his harp. All around him, sheep graze peacefully in a large green meadow with a stream that sounds with the sweet lulling of the water.
Nice scene… but the reality is totally different!
Being a shepherd is difficult. The sheep get sick. They are defenseless against predators that threaten them. They are stubborn and foolish. Frequently they strayed from the flock to look for a succulent morsel that was already within their reach in the green meadow where the shepherd had taken them.
In John 10, Jesus chooses the image of the shepherd with his sheep to describe himself and his relationship with believers. We can learn a lot about him and the church, but we can also learn a lot about the pastorate when we meditate on the Good Shepherd.
What lessons about pastoring can we learn from the Good Shepherd?
1. A good shepherd has an intimate relationship with his sheep.
Christ affirms that he knows his sheep and his sheep know him. He does not say this once or twice. He repeats it over and over again (Jn. 10:4, 5, 14, 15, 27). We can see that it is an intimate relationship. John 10:15 gives us a glimpse of the degree of intimacy of the relationship when he compares it to the intimacy that exists between God the Father and God the Son. They know each other perfectly! And the Good Shepherd knows his sheep and his sheep know Him.
This intimate relationship was essential in ancient Palestine, where all the families in the village kept their sheep in one fold. In the morning, when the shepherds wanted to lead their sheep to the green meadows, it was a time of potential chaos. How did they distinguish between the sheep of one shepherd and another? It was simple. The shepherd made his particular call, and the sheep knew the voice of his shepherd and followed him.
But the intimate knowledge that the shepherd has of his sheep goes further: he calls them “by name” (Jn. 10:3). If one came to stay in the fold with the sheep of another flock, the shepherd would detect it immediately and call it by name, thus guaranteeing that it would not be lost. Then the whole flock followed the shepherd to the green meadows.
If someone wants to be a good pastor of his local church, he must know his sheep. He has to be in contact with them. The intimacy of the relationship allows the pastor to guide them in the specific way they need. As Jeramie Rinne writes in The elders of the church: “The shepherd is in the middle of the sheep. It is not far elsewhere. He walks among the animals, touches them, and talks to them. The pastor knows them because he lives with them. As a result, he smells like a sheep.
We cannot shepherd by remote control. We have to be close to the sheep.
Pastors, we cannot be a good shepherd and shepherd from a distance. Well-intentioned friends sometimes warn us against associating too closely with the sheep of our church. They claim it’s a surefire way to get betrayed and heartbroken. And possibly it will happen. But closeness, intimate relationship, is the only way to have a profound influence on the flock. We cannot shepherd by “remote control”. We have to be close to the sheep.
2. A good shepherd is a conduit to abundant life in Christ
Jesus claims that He is the gate to the fold, a powerful metaphor in the ancient world. The pens in Palestine did not have a gate as such. They were closed enclosures with an opening without a fence. Families hired a keeper to spend the night at the opening to protect the sheep from predators (four-legged and two-legged too!). So literally, the doorkeeper became the gate of the sheepfold.
Jesus is the doorway to abundant life from a deep relationship with him and to abundant life in his presence in the future.
Jesus affirms that He is also the door of the fold (Jn. 10:5). He spends the night with the sheep, guarding them and grazing them during the day (Jn. 10:9). He never leaves them. He always protects them. He always provides for them. For this reason, Jesus says that entering the sheepfold (which is himself) and being part of his flock is a guarantee of abundant life (Jn. 10:10). Let us understand well: Jesus is not the door to the abundant life of earthly riches, but the door to the abundant life of a deep relationship with Him in the present and to the abundant life in His presence in the future (Ps. 16: eleven).
In the case of Jesus, He is the door. In the case of human shepherds, we are not the door, but we must be a conduit to abundant life for the sheep. What does it mean? It means that we direct people to the Door that is Jesus. Our goal is not for people to applaud us. We don’t want the church to be big to be proud of. We don’t want people to just do what we tell them because we are the pastor of the church. We want to point them to Christ. We want them to come closer to Him. We want them to know the abundant life that only Christ can give them. I am not the door, but I can be a conduit for you to pass through the Door that is Jesus.
3. A good shepherd selflessly sacrifices himself for his flock
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. It is an inconceivable sacrifice. In the ancient world, predators sought to attack the herd. A good shepherd would be willing to suffer and perhaps even die for his flock if necessary. but no shepherd I would like die nor would I do it deliberately. However, Jesus was not only willing to sacrifice himself, but he did so deliberately for the welfare of his sheep (Jn. 10:15-18).
Jesus knew full well the sacrifice he would make. He would be betrayed by one of his closest followers, abandoned by other disciples, mocked and ridiculed, unjustly mistreated, falsely accused, and convicted of offenses he never committed. And he never wavered. That’s the Good Shepherd!
The previous paragraph describes the pastorate. I’m sure every pastor has experienced these things to some degree. Sure, we can’t compare our sacrifice to the sacrifice of Christ, but if we want to be good shepherds like the Good Shepherd, we will have to make the same types of sacrifice. Being mocked. be betrayed to be abandoned Being falsely accused. But that is the life of a good shepherd. What will motivate us to make such a sacrifice?
- First, a deep love for the Good Shepherd (Jn. 21:15-17). We must remember that he sacrificed himself in this way for us, and that he has called us by name to be shepherds of his flock. These truths motivate us to live a life of self-sacrifice, exposed to the same suffering as He.
- Second, a deep love for the flock for which the Good Shepherd shed his blood (Acts 20:28). In the last analysis, this flock is not ours, and therefore it is not our glory, but theirs. Let us not be like the hired hands who flee at the first hint of danger (Jn. 10:12). It is worth sacrificing ourselves for the flock that the Good Shepherd bought with his own blood!
- Third, knowing that one day the Chief Shepherd will appear in glory and we will receive “a crown of glory that fades not away” (1 Pet. 5:2). One day He will reward us and tell us: “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your lord” (Mt. 25:21). But we will only listen to these words if we are shepherds like the Good Shepherd.
Brother shepherds, it is not easy to be a shepherd of stubborn and foolish sheep. But the Good Shepherd who called us to this task knows very well the difficulties we face. Let us fix our eyes on Him. Let us seek to imitate Him. Let us live in an intimate relationship with the sheep, knowing them and letting them know us. Let us direct their attention to Christ, making sure that they do not set their eyes on us but on Jesus, because He alone is the Door to abundant life. Let us sacrifice selflessly because Christ did so and because he promises us an eternal reward. In this way each of us will be a good shepherd like the Good Shepherd.
Jeramie Rinne, The elders of the church (9Marks), p. 42.
Image: .