The Good Shepherd

Lost sheep.  Somehow poor sheep get the rap for being foolish little animals, and it may be true.  I am no shepherd.  I was just reading the parables Jesus told about the lost things in Luke 15.  Of course, my favorite is the parable of the lost son (forgiving fatherJ), but the parable about the silly sheep stuck out to me this time.  I gave it a closer look.  Here are Jesus’ words in verses 4-7.

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’  I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

When you dig a little deeper here about shepherds of the day you find that they were responsible for the sheep not only physically, but monetarily too.  If a sheep was lost and it couldn’t be proven that it was killed by wild animals then the shepherd would have to pay for the sheep.  So the shepherd would probably be looking franticly for that lost sheep.  He was looking for the one that was outside the flock, the one in danger.  I also love the picture, which many of us have seen, of the shepherd bringing the lost sheep home on his shoulders, probably with a sigh of relief.

This all helped me to get a better picture of Jesus as the Good Shepherd from John 10:11, 14.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me”

You see while we were lost Jesus was trying frantically to bring us back to the flock.  Since we all were once lost, Jesus had to pay the ultimate price and “lay down his life for the sheep”.  He paid the price for each one of His lost sheep, similarly to how shepherds of His day had to pay for sheep they lost.  He brought each one of us home on his back rejoicing with the angels in heaven.  Isn’t it great to know that the Good Shepherd, our Lord and Christ knows us?  If you do not yet know Jesus now is the time.  He is frantically searching for your lost soul.  Come to the flock, its safe here.

God Bless!