Shepherds and sheep probably sound like familiar metaphors if you’ve read your Bible at all. Since I’m out for the week getting my firstborn married off (pics to come!), I’ve asked my friend, attorney and seminary student Christine Calareso Bleecker, to step in today with the text of a sermon she preached earlier this month. I hope you learn a little more about sheep, human and ovine, and how the Good Shepherd leads us.
Likely most of us have heard sermons or read articles extolling the wisdom of biblical writers who likened foolish people to sheep. We deserve the label, so the usual chatter goes since we sinful mortals resemble them so much. The metaphors of Scripture do cast us in the sheep role, but real people in the Bible were also shepherds.
Let’s talk about shepherds for a moment.
I AM
The Gospel of John contains seven “I am” statements by Jesus establishing who he is, the last of which is, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14).
Because Jesus is our good shepherd today, we have access to his protection, guidance, and wisdom today. He created us, his sheep, to be equipped with wisdom, discernment, and love. We were not created to be dumb, passive, or blind followers.
At first glance, this “I am” statement seems anemic compared to some of the other arguably bolder and more powerful statements like “I am the resurrection and the life.” However, the shepherd is the most accessible and human metaphor for Jesus’s listeners and for us today. It’s the only I am metaphor that bridges Jesus’s humanity with his listeners, as he identifies himself with an actual person that his listeners were very much familiar with—a shepherd. We may think of Little Bo Peep, sweet and cute. But in Jesus’s time, shepherds were literally at the bottom of the social totem pole, so his words also established how the lowly will be raised and that there is no social hierarchy in Christ. We are all equal in him.
Shepherds in the Bible
Women, too.
Shepherding was equal opportunity employment, as both boys and girls/men and women took on the lowly job. When art imagery uses shepherds as metaphors for church leaders, we also see women holding croziers (the rounded staff), signifying their leadership of church flocks.
David
Jesus’s words echo the shepherd narrative found in the Psalms and through David’s life. David, the warrior king from whose line Jesus was prophesied, is first introduced to us in the Bible as a literal shepherd of literal sheep. We may think of an image of David portrayed in art as a young tween without facial hair balancing a gentle lamb over his shoulders. However, David fought predators such as a lion and bear to protect his flock. The shepherd not only protects the sheep from harm but also strengthens the weak, heals the injured, and searches for the lost. David is described in Ezekiel 34 as God’s chosen shepherd of Israel who will tend the flock of those who believe in Yahweh, while false shepherds will face accountability.
Specifically, cruel, lazy, apathetic, and selfish shepherds are warned by Ezekiel: “You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled the sheep harshly and brutally.” In verse Ezek 34:15, God declares himself a shepherd, saying: “I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”
David serves as a prophesied precursor to Jesus, who will be the ultimate shepherd of God’s people even today. In the parable of the lost sheep in Matthew 18 and Luke 15, Jesus talks about a shepherd going to great lengths to find one sheep that is lost, and then rejoicing when the sheep is found. The parable signifies Jesus as the shepherd who will not rest until his lost sheep are found.
Christ Imagery
The earliest images of Jesus we have show him as a good shepherd with a sheep on his shoulders. Though the earliest Christians were persecuted and would have had every right to portray Jesus as one who would conquer and destroy the persecuting Roman Empire, their images of Jesus were loving and portrayed more of a safe refuge. They did not show Jesus as a harsh judge or conqueror. Interestingly, those “judgment Jesus” images became more fashionable during the reign of Constantine who came to power in the fourth century.
Even though Constantine became a Christian, the art of the day was still very much that of empire, displaying a kind of Christian nationalism that did not actually always look out for others, but looked to leaders as gods. This is a form of idolatry that we should avoid at all costs. Only Jesus is our savior.
The Καλός Shepherd
Back to the good shepherd. The word “good” belies the lengths to which Jesus will go to achieve His purposes for his kingdom. We use a very watered-down version of “good” a lot: to describe a meal, a movie, our dogs, or even maybe a boss and a job well done. Jesus, however, is much more than the version of good as we know it. The original Greek word in the text is kαλός, which throughout the Bible is translated as righteous, pious, virtuous, noble, honorable, honest, beautiful, and fine. Jesus is all of those. He is transformative, selfless, sacrificial, world changing. This is everything. May we rethink what it means to be good and how good Jesus actually is.
Undershepherds
Though Jesus has provided for his kingdom temporary religious leaders to help shepherd the church until He returns, we need to remember and be encouraged that Jesus is our ultimate shepherd. Not that he will take the reins (or shepherd’s crozier) later, but that he firmly has them now. He clearly stated, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me. . . They will listen to my voice.” Not that he will know them or listen to them sometime in the future or at the end times. Jesus is clearly stating that he is not taking a back seat to religious leaders, nor that the sheep will only deal with the hired hand until some future time. Rather
Jesus and his sheep enjoy an ongoing relationship now.
We are his sheep right now.
He is our shepherd right now.
He has a voice that can be heard right now.
We can listen to his voice right now.
Jesus’s statements in John also confer accountability to us as sheep. We cannot be passive. We must test our faith in leaders against the words and actions of Jesus. We cannot willingly substitute the words of temporary leaders for the words of Jesus. The sheep have a responsibility to listen to the shepherd’s voice.
Even though the undershepherd may at many times have words of wisdom for the sheep, it is the shepherd’s voice that must be listened to above all. Though the undershepherd’s voice may not directly match every pitch, timbre, or octave of Jesus’s voice, it must be familiar and in true harmony. We must be mindful of 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.”
God has given us discernment and a sound mind, and we must use it to ensure that the leaders here on earth do not poison or abandon the flock. We must not be passive sheep. We are part of ensuring that the flock grows through our discipleship and evangelism—through wisdom and love.
Did you know this about sheep?
Sheep have, unfortunately, gotten a bad rap. Calling someone a sheep is usually derogatory, implying that someone is a follower, someone who is too stupid or fearful (or both!) to make their own decisions. However, some of the most fun research I’ve had in a while led me to the Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary, which notes that sheep are incredibly intelligent.
They have very impressive cognitive abilities and, like humans, form deep and lasting bonds with each other. They display loyalty, grief, fear, joy, boredom, anger, and happiness. They are incredibly caring parents to their young and form deep bonds with their babies lasting for years.
They also have great memories and can remember fifty individuals (sheep and human) for years at a time. Their unique rectangular pupils allow them amazing peripheral vision—an estimated field of vision between 270 and 320 degrees. Humans, in comparison, average 155 degrees.
Therefore, sheep can really see what is happening all around them. They are not wearing blinders nor blindly following ahead. They can see and choose to follow.
Smart Sheep Follow Jesus
The Bible calls us to be sheep following Jesus as our shepherd. Wisdom goes beyond discernment, judgment, or common sense. Wisdom has the added benefit of experience, training, and maturity. Basically, it’s supercharged judgment. Having a long memory (like sheep) contributes to having wisdom.
Most importantly, wisdom will continue to build in your life the longer and closer you walk with God. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” So pray for wisdom and discernment to hear God’s voice. God will answer you.
We need wise counsel. Proverbs 1:5 says “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.” We don’t know it all. We need each other. We need love, community, support, and wisdom from other godly people. Wisdom does not need to come from someone with a PhD. Wisdom can come from anyone.
Jesus’s words should give us hope in ultimate accountability for undershepherds who act like hired hands and have been derelict in their duty. If we have had pastors or leaders that have horribly tainted the shepherd's role, justice will happen. Jesus still holds. He is the good shepherd.
The shepherd is unifying, not excluding: “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:15 – 17). The kingdom of God is for all people, not just one flock. This vision of unity was revolutionary for the first-century Jewish people who were suspicious of Gentiles, but it is also revolutionary for us, especially in our grossly divisive world today. God has called everyone to be part of his flock. Each part of the flock will look different but unified under the shepherd’s direction and voice.
Jesus shepherds us now. He invites us as sheep to follow him with wisdom and in community. He protects, he heals, he unifies. May we follow his example as we follow him.
Christine Calareso Bleecker is a litigation attorney and life coach, a doctoral student at Houston Theological Seminary, mother of two high school-aged boys, and wife of 19 years to David. She is passionate about art, theology, women’s participation in the church, and issues related to justice. Her current passion project—and subject of her dissertation—is the Visual Museum of Women in Christianity. You can find her on Instagram.
Incredible work! I didn’t realize women were shepherds too. What a great reminder that Jesus is always with us. Even if he has to rescue us from the blackness of the pit. Thank you for sharing!
Loved this! We often look down on animals because we don't understand their behavior (same with people sometimes, too). Loved this beautiful reflection.