Julie and Scott live next door to my husband and I. For many years they had dogs. First was a mutt called Earl until he died. A short time later, they got a new dog named Summer. Summer was a Belgian Shepherd, and if you know anything about this breed it’s that there are four distinct types of Belgian Shepherds. Summer’s type is a Belgian Malinois, a dog with short hair and closely resembles it’s German Shepherd cousins. Belgian Shepherds are the second most popular guard dog after the German Shepherd, used by militaries and police agencies around the world.
With that background, you can guess that Summer is not the kind of dog that greets you with a smile; instead, she comes up to the fence and barks. She knows I am a stranger and she must protect Scott and Julie. I would love that she would come up and be friendly, but it’s not in her nature. She’s a shepherd. That means she must keep others safe.
This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday where the churches focus on Jesus as the Good Shepherd. To understand the text from John, you must look at the chapter before chapter 9. In this chapter, Jesus heals a man born blind. After the man’s sight is restored he encounters the Pharisees and has a running argument with them. His parents are brought forward and questioned. They tell the religious leaders that their son is a grown man, ask him. They did this because they knew the power that the Pharisees had and that included the power to ban people from the temple.
It’s fascinating that people who are supposed to be figures that people look up to would become figures that inspire fear, but that is what the Pharisees were able to do. Jesus heals the man and then recedes from the story until the latter part of the chapter. At the end of chapter 9 he reappears, speaks to the man, and irks the Pharisees by saying to the effect that they are also blind. This was an affront to them since they were the ones studied in the law. Who was this commoner to question them?
It’s here that Jesus then starts talking about shepherds. Jesus is all about relationships and he wants to talk about his relationship to the people and how the Pharisees relate to others. The good shepherd cares for the needs of the people. The people of Israel looked to God as their shepherd and Jesus wanted to establish himself as God’s royal leader of the people of Israel, while at the same time denouncing the behavior of the religious leaders. He compares and contrasts himself opposed the religious leaders. He was the good shepherd. He was willing to give up his life for the sheep. These sheep know the voice of the good shepherd. Jesus as the good shepherd is in a relationship with the sheep, even sheep that Jesus says aren’t part of the flock, like probably Samaritans.
This is very different from the hired hand. The hired hand doesn’t have a relationship with the sheep. So when danger appears, the hired hard hits the road, leaving the flock open to attack by wolves. At best, Jesus was alluding that the Pharisees were hired hands, people that saw their role as a job and not as one that was their life.
Jesus' take on the Pharisees, is not new. God speaks angrily of shepherds that didn’t take their job seriously. Why? In Ezekiel 34: 3-5, God lays out the charges against the shepherds.
“you drink the milk, you wear the wool, and you slaughter the fat animals, but you don’t tend the flock. 4 You don’t strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the injured, bring back the strays, or seek out the lost; but instead, you use force to rule them with injustice. 5 Without a shepherd, my flock was scattered; and when it was scattered, it became food for all the wild animals.”
God continues by saying that because they have refused to care for the sheep, they will lose their power. In Ezekiel 34:9-10, God castigates those shepherds.
“So, shepherds, hear the LORD’s word! 10 The LORD God proclaims: I’m against the shepherds! I will hold them accountable for my flock, and I will put an end to their tending the flock. The shepherds will no longer tend them, because I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and they will no longer be their food.”
What does this all mean? For starters, it means that God is the good shepherd that cares for us. We take comfort in knowing we have a good who wants the best for us and watches over us.
What does it mean for us? Jesus challenged the Pharisees because they were bad shepherds. We are also shepherds to care for the flock. Do we have a heart for the flock, especially sheep that aren’t part of the flock, people from backgrounds vastly different from us? Are we willing to follow the good shepherd and give our lives for the sake of the sheep? Or are we like the shepherds in Ezekiel that took advantage of the flock? As we prepare to enter the building again, we must ask ourselves, how do we tend to the other sheep in our midst? Do we have a relationship with the communities around our homes and the church?
Summer died a few years ago. I would have loved it if Summer the dog would come forward with a smile on her face. But Summer is there to guard and protect. She did her job. Our job is to go into the world and make disciples. How are we doing?
Questions:
Who are the hired hands that Jesus talks about? Why don’t they care about the sheep?
What does it mean that Jesus lays down his life? What does that look like for Jesus? What would that look like for us as Christians?
Jesus says that he has other sheep not from this flock. Who are these sheep?
What makes Jesus not just a shepherd, but a “good” shepherd?
How do you and I know the good shepherd?