Gordon Cook

Lightly edited sermon transcript:

Good evening, it’s always a delight to be here. I was trying to think back to how long I’ve been coming and seeing you folk here. We started with that family conference, what, that was fifteen years ago? I remember Pastor Barker taking everybody for a walk in the woods, but it was always a joy to be with you folk and hear you sing and see you face-to-face and it’s a joy to be with you again today. Well, I’ve been asked to address the subject of the church, that’s what we’ve been focusing upon at the pastor’s conference, and I’ve taken four pictures of the church, or four graphic images. We’re going to consider another one of them today.

So, if you have your Bibles with you, please turn with me to Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20, this is one of the texts that has been used throughout the conference. I believe Doctor Bob Martin has used this text every time he stood before the men, and this is a text I want to consider as we set the place for where we want to start. Acts chapter 20, Paul has called the Ephesian elders, he’s exhorting them, you notice that in verse 17, and he sets before them his own example, verse 27, “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.” So, again, let’s look to the Lord by way of prayer.

Father in Heaven, we, again, look to You afresh by faith, by prayer, conscious that we are always dependant upon You. We cannot breathe, we cannot live upon this earth apart from Your common grace and mercies. We thank You even for the daily food You’ve given us today, but now we pray, Lord, that You would grant to us the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to help us, to guide us, to illumine our minds and our hearts. Write these things so that they might, indeed, impact our lives. We don’t want to be people who simply hear Your Word, we want to be people who also put it into practice. So, again, we make this our plea: Lord, grace us with Your presence, be present here, even as You have promised, and we pray this in Christ’s name, amen.

You’ve probably heard it said, “Image is everything,” we, certainly, see that in today’s fashions and movies. The commercial culture of Hollywood and corporate America put a great emphasis on image. Movie stars, musicians, today’s sports heroes, try to project a certain kind of image, but oftentimes the images they project are very different from the reality of their lives. The images are shallow and hollow, sort of like the Pharisees. Remember they projected a certain image? They wanted people to think that they were holy, that they were men of piety, but it was external, lacking reality. So, there can be a negative sense of image. It can be associated with falsehood, deception, lies, but an image can also be associated with truth and reality. The Bible is full of images, pictures, metaphorical expressions. For example, God Himself puts Himself under images like a rock, a refuge, those images tell us that God can be trusted, that our safety is found in God Almighty. There are also images that are used in our Bible to describe the wicked, they are likened to shaff in Psalm 1. What does that tell us? Well, it tells us that the wicked are unstable, they are unreliable, they will also suffer ruin and disaster. It has forever consequences, but in that same Psalm, Psalm 1 you might recall that the blessed man is put under the figure of “a fruitful tree planted by streams of water, his leaf shall not wither,” again, that points to something that’s true, it’s a picture of stability, vitality, and durability.

Christians are put under several corporate images, as well. Think of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes God’s people, those who belong to His kingdom, as the “salt of the earth” or as “the light of the world.” Those images tell us that Christians have a useful function in this world, no matter how bad this world gets. The Christian is vital to its preservation, and even to the holding back of sin, the restraint of evil. But there are more corporate images used in our Bibles to describe God’s people or the church of Jesus Christ. One hardly knows where to begin, because there are so many. A professor of Yale University, a man by the name of Paul Miner, says, “The New Testament, just the New Testament, has over 90 figures and symbols to depict the church.” Over 90 pictures or symbols to depict the church! Just the sheer volume, that many pictures or images, tells us that the church is multi-faceted, that it is complex in its function and its service. Think of a beautiful diamond, many facets, they reflect something of the beauty and the glory of that jewel or that gem. Well, God wants us to see the beauty, the glory of His church by way of these figures, or these graphic pictures, and, as I mentioned in the pastors conference, we have considered two of the pictures, two of the ninety, or two of the hundred pictures.

We considered the bride of Christ, the church is likened to a bride, we considered that from Ephesians chapter 5. Husbands are told to love their wives as Christ loves the church. Jesus put Himself under that image of a bridegroom, speaking, you might recall, to the Pharisees. A husband, or a bridegroom, has a particular love for his wife, for his bride, and so Christ has a particular love, a particular concern, a special interest in His bride, the church. It underscores the intimacy and the fidelity and the loyalty that Christ shows to His church.

Another picture, the picture that we considered with the men at the conference was the picture of the body, the church is likened to a body: the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians chapter 12. That is a distinctively New Testament picture, you don’t find it in the Old Testament, but it’s one that the Apostle Paul used. It was, we might say, his favorite picture of the church, and when you think of a body, you should think of something that’s a marvelous instrument. Your body is fearfully and wonderfully made! Think of all the things that you can do with your body: drive a car, play a game of tennis or ping pong, and think of all the various body parts that are functioning and coordinating to play a game of tennis or ping pong or drive a car. And, likewise, the church, with its various members, can do wonderful things serving the Lord Jesus Christ. The picture of a bride, the picture of a body, both of them tell us the church is significant, right? It’s not optional, it’s not a passing fad, it’s not something that’s going to be here and gone tomorrow.

Those pictures tell us the church is important, far more important than any of the symbols that represent corporate America: Apple computer, Starbucks coffee; you can exist, can’t you, and function without Starbucks coffee? I hope you can. You can function without Apple computer, but can you function without your body? No. Most husbands, if they’re honest, would have to admit they can’t function very well without their wives, without their brides. Well, we want to come and study a third image, a third picture of the church. Again, it will underscore the importance of the church. This image is a pastoral image, it’s that of sheep and shepherd. That’s the metaphor, or the graphic picture, that we want to consider: the church is graphically pictured as a flock of sheep, and I want us to consider it in a twofold way; simple, two perspectives. Number one we want to consider from the Word of God: the prevalent use of the shepherd/sheep analogy or metaphor. The prevalent use. Secondly: the spiritual truths gleaned from this shepherd/sheep metaphor or analogy.

First of all: the prevalent use of the sheep/shepherd analogy or metaphor. If we were to step back in time 100 years ago, just 100 years ago, how different would America be? Pretty different. Let me give you some of the particulars. Most people only lived to about the age of 47, 100 or so years ago. There were no bathrooms in 95 percent of the homes, 100 or so years ago. There would have been an automobile, but probably not one in your driveway; 100 years ago they were invented, but very few people could afford an automobile. 95 percent of people, 100 or so years ago, didn’t graduate from highschool, and here’s a real shocker: you washed your hair once a month! There was no shampoo 100 years ago! The world has changed! Now go back 2,000 years, 3,000 years, 4,000 years, 5,000 years, we go back to the times of the Bible, and we’re coming face-to-face with a world very different than the one in which we live in. It was a world that was ruled by pharaohs, it was ruled by kings. It was a world where most occupations were manual: fishermen, vinedressers, tentmakers, and shepherds. And it’s the vocation of shepherding, that we will consider.

Shepherding was a very common, ordinary vocation, very similar to a blue-collar worker, and we find shepherds very early in our Bible. They’re mentioned almost on the front page of the Bible: Genesis chapter 4, verse 20. The man Abel is described as a “Keeper of Sheep.” Think of the patriarchs, many of them were shepherd, weren’t they? Moses was a shepherd, Jacob was a shepherd, David was a shepherd. Probably David, when he wrote Psalm 23, he gleaned from his own shepherding experiences. And when we open up the New Testament, at least the gospel of Luke, the first birth announcement that was made public was made to a group of shepherds, remember that? Luke chapter 2, he announces to shepherds in a field that Jesus Christ has been born in Bethlehem, but the whole Bible—Old Testament, New Testament—is submerged into what you would call “an agrarian shepherd/sheep culture.”

Children, you couldn’t go to school, walk to school, without seeing a sheep or a shepherd! When I visited Pastor Bala a couple of years ago in Auckland, New Zealand, that was one of the things that struck me. We drove around different parts of New Zealand, and everywhere you went you couldn’t get away from sheep! They were almost everywhere. You know there’s more sheep in New Zealand than people? There are 4.4 million people, and guess how many sheep in New Zealand? Forty million sheep! So, that means ten sheep to every person. Probably no better place in all the world to raise sheep than New Zealand. You know why that is? Grass is always green, it never gets brown in New Zealand, that’s because it’s always raining, at least it rains quite a bit of the time, mild, constant temperature. Now, here’s the great thing about New Zealand: sheep love New Zealand because there’s no danger, no dangerous animals, no predator animals that can get rid of them all. There’s no wolves, there’s no bears, there’s no foxes, but if you were living in Palestine, total different situation. You didn’t have that kind of environmental, quality control. In Palestine the summers were very long, hot, the grass not only got brown, but often withered away. Sometimes it was difficult to find water, especially during those summer months, and then there was the constant threat of animals, wild animals: lions, bears.

You remember Davis when he stood before King Saul, and King Saul was having questions whether Davis was the right man to take on Goliath? David says, “I can do the job,” and King Saul kind of thinks, “Well, yeah, how can you do it? You just take care of sheep!” And David says, “Well, let me tell you what kind of resume I have,” and he says, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or bear came and took the lamb from the flock, I went out, I struck it, and I delivered the lamb from its mouth. And when it rose up against me, I caught it by the beard and I killed it.” David gives King Saul Shepherding 101 lessons, it’s dangerous business. He lets King Saul know there were significant dangers and threats when it came to shepherding. The vocation of a shepherd was not an easy thing due to the harsh climate and also the hostile environment, and we need to factor all of that in when we think of the church. Paul does, doesn’t he? Acts chapter 20. When he starts thinking about the church here in Acts chapter 20, notice he likens the church to a flock of sheep, verse 28, “Therefore take heed to yourselves.” He’s warning these Ephesian elders, “Take care of yourselves, take heed to yourselves and all the flock,” and then he goes on to warn them of wolves. Wolves! Acts 20, verse 29, “After my departure savage wolves will come in amongst you, not sparing the flock.” Paul takes this figure, this image, and wants us to understand that the church is like a flock of sheep, and there are dangers, there are threats to the church.

Now, something we need to remember when we think of the analogy of shepherd and sheep, the most important thing to remember is this: that it’s not primarily the picture of human shepherds that comes into sharp focus and profile in the Bible, but it’s a picture of God Himself. God Himself, Jesus Himself! One of the most common pictures in the Bible to describe God and Jesus is that of a shepherd. For example: Ezekiel chapter 34, here God, speaking says, “I, Myself, will search for My sheep and look after them.” You might want to turn to the Old Testament passage, Isaiah chapter 40, I want you to see this for yourself. Isaiah chapter 40, a great picture of God here, and what makes this so interesting and so intriguing is that this picture of God the Shepherd is juxtaposed, that it’s set side-by-side, several other pictures of God that extol His majesty, His supremacy. Isaiah 40 wants us to know how great God is! Isaiah 40 is a chapter that lets us know how great God is by comparing God to the great things of the earth, the things that we often look at and feel very small up against. The inhabitants of the earth, we are told, are like grasshoppers, that’s pretty small, eh? We’re like grasshoppers, the inhabitants of the earth are like grasshoppers compared to God. So, God’s set over and against the inhabitants of the earth, and then Isaiah says, “I want you to look at the stars of the sky.” Again, when we look at the stars, we feel very small, don’t we, very insignificant? But compared to God, “He knows them all by name.” He knows every one by name, and there are billions and billions and billions of stars!

The point that the prophet wants us to understand and make here is that God is greater than all of those things, those things that make us feel so small, but they are so small compared to God! That’s how great God is, but then he goes on to say to us, “As great as God is, I don’t want you to think that God is a remote, distant deity, who doesn’t really care about you or concern Himself about human affairs.” No, this God is incredibly sensitive, and keenly aware of your life and my life, and he picks up this shepherd metaphor. Notice Isaiah 40, verse 11, “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.” You see what he’s doing? This great God, this infinite, transcendent Being, this holy, holy, holy God, the God who’s so great that we really can’t figure him out; He’s incomprehensible, He’s so, so big, this God who brings princes to not and makes the judges of the earth useless or as nothing, this God who knows every star in the sky; this is a caring, shepherd God! He picks up lambs in His arms, and He carries them. He’s that tender, that tender: He holds the little lambs like a shepherd. Even the big sheep who sometimes stumble and go off the edge of a cliff, or are caught in the thicket of thorns, this Shepherd who picks up the small lambs will go after the sheep and bring them back to the fold. What a picture of God! What a picture, God’s that tender, God’s that gentle.

Now, that picture of a shepherd, God as the Shepherd, gets high definition, high definition, in Psalm 23. That’s where I would turn your attention to now: Psalm 23. As I said, this picture of a shepherd doesn’t give high profile to human shepherds, but ultimately to God Himself. Here in Psalm 23, David fleshes out this shepherd/sheep metaphor, and, again, remember, David had his own experiences as a shepherd, this comes out of the matrix of his own life experiences. In all likelihood—I couldn’t probably prove it—but in all likelihood Psalm 23 was written at the backend of his life. This Psalm is written by a man who understands the dangers and the threats to living a Christian life, or the life of a believer. He knows from his own, bitter experience what it was like to go astray. He knows what it means, not only to be a shepherd, but to be a sheep! He knows what it means for a good shepherd to find him and bring him back, carrying David in his arms. Psalm 23, verse 3, “He restores my soul.” “He restores my soul,” you think David might be thinking about his own stumble and fall into sin? Remember with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, and then the murder of Uriah? David knows that God the Shepherd restored his soul.

Now, this same shepherd/sheep picture/metaphor is picked up by the Lord Jesus, isn’t it? Jesus in the New Testament often uses this metaphor, speaking to His own disciples. He could say to them in Luke chapter 12, “Do not be afraid little flock.” He uses this image, that of a shepherd, to describe Himself in John chapter 10, in John, verse 11, in John chapter 10, verse 14, “I am the good shepherd.” It’s one of those great I Am statements, and the apostles, those who heard the teaching of Jesus, those who understood who He was as the Good Shepherd, they also pick up this image of shepherd and sheep to describe the church. Acts chapter 20, we have that very colorful snapshot of the church here in the New Testament, and, again, Paul is speaking to Ephesian pastors, or elders, and he applies this shepherd concept to them. He views them as shepherds or under shepherds. They are shepherd leaders in the church, and he tells them they are to be vigilant, they are to watch over—it’s the Greek word prosecho—not only themselves, but also the believers, the church in Ephesus. Verse 28, “Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

I do believe this becomes a favorite image by leaders, the apostles, to teach men, pastors, what the responsibilities are in the church, because Peter picks up that same image, doesn’t he? Peter, in 1 Peter 5, addresses elders like Paul addressed elders there at Ephesus, and Peter also stresses this matter of shepherding the flock. 1 Peter 5:2, “Shepherd the flock which is among you.” Peter uses a play on words, a literal translation would be, “Shepherd my sheep,” and I can’t help but think that when Peter wrote those words “shepherd my sheep” or “shepherd the flock which is among you,” 1 Peter 5:2, that Peter was remembering the conversation he had with Jesus. Remember what Jesus said to Peter? John chapter 21, after Peter, remember, had stumbled and denied the Lord Jesus three times? Jesus has a one-on-one counseling session with Peter, and he asked Peter three times, “Peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me?” And after questioning Peter about his love, Peter comes back with an affirmative, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” And after those three question/answer counseling sessions, Jesus gives this assignment to Peter: “Peter, feed my sheep; Peter, feed my sheep.” Twice Jesus says, “Peter, feed my sheep.”

In 1 Peter 5, Peter is seeking to pass on that very wonderful truth and reality to these pastors. He’s really taking what Jesus taught him, now he’s teaching these men, “This is what Jesus wants you to do, He wants you to be engaged in taking care of the sheep.” This is how important the church is to Jesus Christ, that He puts it under this kind of care: that of a shepherd taking care of sheep, and I believe both Peter and Paul felt compelled to describe a pastor’s responsibility and duty under this very simple graphic of a shepherd. I don’t know of a better picture for pastors. What’s a pastor supposed to do? What’s his job description? Sometimes people come to a pastor and they try to tell them what his job description is. I remember when I first started out in the ministry, I wasn’t there for more than two or three years, someone came and told me not very kindly, “You’re not doing your job.” I said, “Oh?” He said, “Yeah, you’re not taking care of my son, you’re not pastoring my son.” I said, “That’s your job. You’re the dad, I’m not your son’s dad.” I said, “I’m supposed to pastor the sheep! That’s my job, he’s not one of the sheep.” It’s somewhat liberating when a pastor knows his job description, Jesus sets it for him.

Again, I don’t know a better picture for a pastor to take hold of than this: that he is a shepherd, he’s an under shepherd, and what is the primary task of a shepherd? Well, Peter knew, Jesus told him, “Feed the sheep.” “Feed the sheep,” and Peter tells these elders there in 1 Peter, “Shepherd the flock,” and then he says, “Feed the sheep.” There’s nothing more important for pastors to do than feed the sheep. That’s the most important task: feed the sheep, and if you have pastors that feed you, you should be very thankful to God that they understand what God has called them to do, to feed you. There’s no better thing that you need than the food, the manna of Heaven, the Word of God, but they are responsible. That’s the fundamental task of a shepherd, to feed the flock, and again, Jesus drove that home to Peter, did He not? Twice, there in John 21, verse 15, verse 17, “Peter, feed my sheep,” and if you go back to Psalm 23, isn’t that what comes through loud and clear? We see that that is brought here very clearly, and I’ll explain some of the more particulars later on, but I simply want to underscore that this analogy of shepherd and sheep is very pronounced, very pervasive in the Word of God. And I think if churches and pastors got ahold of this one graphic—again, it’s only one graphic, one picture—but if we understood this as we should understand it, it would save us from a lot of problems and a bewildering array of activities in churches that have nothing to do with shepherding; pastors would spend more time in their studies, on their knees, seeking to feed the flock of God, preparing to feed the sheep.

The pervasive use of the shepherd/sheep analogy, but secondly: the spiritual truths gleaned from the shepherd/sheep analogy. Now, I realize we could go back to any one of those passages that we’ve already mentioned and spent a lot more time. I’m giving more of a survey, I realize that this is a rich, rich concept, this concept of shepherd/sheep, but here are at least three spiritual truths and realities I think that God wants us to understand and glean from this picture of sheep and shepherd.

Number one, spiritual reality number one: the shepherd/sheep analogy helps us to understand who God is, and how committed He is to taking care of His church. That’s the first, this shepherd/sheep analogy helps us to understand who God is, and how committed He is to taking care of His church. The shepherd analogy is really first and foremost about God, isn’t it? It’s about God, it’s what I said earlier, the shepherd is God, that’s the main focus of the Bible. Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd,” He’s the ultimate Shepherd, and what’s the most obvious thing that we can say about a shepherd? He cares for his sheep, he takes care of the sheep.

The sheep analogy tells us not just that God cares, but also how comprehensive His care is. Get that? Not only does God care, but how comprehensive His care is. The Psalmist could say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I shall not want” God takes care of all of my needs, all of my needs, but to be able to do that, one thing the shepherd must know is the shepherd must know the sheep! “Husbands, dwell with your wives according to knowledge,” right? You can’t really dwell with your wife if you don’t know her. You can’t really nurture your wife and love your wife if you don’t know her, know her particular strengths, weaknesses, know how to minister to her. Knowledge is crucial when it comes to taking care of someone. God takes care of His sheep, and God takes care of His sheep because God knows His sheep. Here’s why God is such a Good Shepherd, and why every human shepherd, every pastor, doesn’t matter, the best of pastors are but shadows of the ultimate Shepherd, because the Good Shepherd knows His sheep! John chapter 10, verse 14, and think about the knowledge that God, Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, possesses about you, about me, about every sheep! He knows everything, right? He knows everything! David, who wrote Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd,” also wrote Psalm 139. Psalm 139 tells us how much God knows. How much does God know? Well, “He knows my thoughts afar off,” Psalm 139, “You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.”

This is why God is such a good shepherd: He knows the sheep, He knows everything about us, He knows us perfectly, He knows us intimately, He knows us individually, He knows us exhaustively, there’s nothing that He doesn’t know about His sheep! He knows when they’re hungry, He knows when they’re afraid, He knows when they’re ill-fed, He knows when they are well-fed, He knows exactly what they need. He knows when they are infested with disease, He knows when they’re caught in a tangle of thorns, He knows when they are surrounded by wolves, He knows when they go astray, He knows the sheep! He knows every fear you have, every danger you’ve faced, He knows every worry, every anxiety, He knows the sheep! That’s comforting, isn’t it? Isn’t it comforting? You can say amen!

The Good Shepherd knows the sheep, but here’s something else you need to know about the Good Shepherd, God: He feeds the sheep. Ezekiel 34, verse 14, “I will feed them in a good pasture.” Psalm 23, “He makes me to lie down in a green pasture,” and we’re not simply talking there about physical food, are we? The Good Shepherd provides spiritual food, again, this is what is emphasized more than anything else in the Bible about the Shepherd: it’s that He feeds the sheep the truth of His Word. The Good Shepherd brings us into green pastures. Remember when Jesus looked out at the multitude? We are told He felt compassion. The Bible says He looked upon them as sheep without a shepherd, and what did Jesus do on at least two occasions? Well, He fed them physically by the multiplication of bread, He was acting like a shepherd. Even Mark tells us in his gospel that He had them sit on green grass to underscore this is the Shepherd. He was acting like a shepherd, and not only did He feed them physically, but He took care of them spiritually.

Remember what Jesus did more than anything else? He fed people by His teaching and by His preaching, in Luke chapter 4 He said, “I must preach the kingdom of God.” Jesus was a Preacher, He was a Shepherd feeding the sheep! Sometimes we hear the terminology or the expression for the preacher C.H. Spurgeon “The Prince of Preachers,” well, Jesus was the King of Preachers. The King of Preachers, no one like Jesus, no one spoke like Him. The Shepherd metaphor, why is it used? Why is it such a great picture for the church? Well, first and foremost, it helps us see who God is in His relationship to the church, it helps us see Christ who is the head of the church, but He is also the Good Shepherd who takes care of the flock. But something else we need to understand about the care of God or the care of the Lord Jesus with respect to the church, a good shepherd knows the sheep, a good shepherd feeds the sheep, but thirdly, according to the Word of God, Psalm 23: a shepherd guides the sheep.

A shepherd guides the sheep. Again, Psalm 23, verse 6, David, who understood the task of a shepherd from firsthand experience, he understood what was required as a shepherd, and one thing was to lead them, twice in that Psalm he uses the word “lead,” which underscores that this was a major feature of a shepherd’s care. “He leads me beside the still waters,” and that very first picture is meant to relieve us of our anxieties and our fears. Where does He lead us? “Beside the still waters,” it could be translated in the Hebrew “waters of rest.” “Waters of rest.” David’s own, personal life experience, as a man of God, wasn’t an easy life, so, he’s not saying here that once you become a believer that life becomes peaceful and restful, you never have any trouble anymore. No, David had a very difficult life, his life was constantly plagued with trials and afflictions. I don’t know of anyone who suffers more in the Old Testament than Job, and then David. David probably suffered even more in terms of long-term suffering than Job, he suffered betrayals of friends, family. David had a very difficult life, but he could write that Psalm talking about God as the Shepherd bringing rest to his soul. I think that’s what he has in mind here, God gives that peace of God which passes all understanding. In the midst of the most difficult of situations and trials in life, even when we are walking through those dark valleys, God can give peace to our souls.

David goes on in that Psalm to describe how God quieted and calmed his heart, so much so that he wasn’t afraid. God took care of him with his rod and his staff to comfort him, even in the worst of times! Even when the waters of life are quite turbulent, there can be a quietness, can’t there? A peacefulness that marks a true believer. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.” “He leads me beside the still waters, He leads me in paths of righteousness,” that is to say, “He has me walking down those pathways that are in accord with holiness.” Now, there’s all different ways to go in life, isn’t there? The devil and the world and sin, our own remaining sin, loves to pull us down ways that are contrary to God’s way, the broad way, but the Shepherd leads us along the straight way, the right way, the holy way. How does He do that? Well, He does it with His Word the Bible, it’s full of instruction, reproof, warning, teaching. God also leads us down straight pathways by His providence. I think that in Heaven we’re going to know just how many situations God preserved us from in answer to that prayer, “Lord, lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.” Jesus answers that prayer, and how many situations, how many potential falls or stumbles have we been preserved from by mere geographical distance? His providence made sure that you did not cross that path of a particular person at a particular time in a particular place. Five minutes would have been the difference, but God, who controls all circumstances even prevents us, brethren, restrains us, keeps us. He is the Keeper of Israel.

The shepherd/sheep metaphor teaches us spiritual truth about God Himself. God is the Shepherd, He knows the sheep, He feeds the sheep, He leads the sheep, but there’s one more feature to God’s shepherding care. We are talking about it being comprehensive, it’s a comprehensive care, one more thing that we should say about the Shepherd-God: the Divine Shepherd protects and rescues His sheep. The Divine Shepherd, God the Shepherd, Jesus the Shepherd, protects and rescues His sheep; look, again, at Psalm 23. Notice what he says in verse 5 of Psalm 23, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Now, if you read some of the commentators, you’ll find that some believe that at this point David changes his metaphor, he goes from the shepherd/sheep metaphor to a host/hostee metaphor, or analogy. The picture, they argue, is that this is a picture of a host preparing a meal. I don’t think so

I don’t think David has forgotten the picture of the shepherd and the sheep here. I don’t think he suddenly displaced it with another figure or metaphor, and the reason I say that is because apparently the Palestinian shepherds did something along these very same lines, they would go looking for food and water. Remember the hot, Palestinian sun? During those very hot months of the year a shepherd had to be constantly on the move, sometimes moving to higher and higher regions, even mountainous regions, looking for a high plateau region where he could find green grass. Plateau, like a table, that’s where grass was found, because the rain from the sky would hit that before it would dissipate or come down to lower regions.

So, up in the higher regions you would find more grass, but up in those higher regions there was a greater danger, there was a greater threat, because that’s where animals would go, as well. They were in search of water, they were in search of food, and so there was a greater danger, a potential of attack. Larger animal like wolves and bears and even large birds, like vultures, would attack the small sheep as they gazed on these high, plateau regions! That’s why the shepherd was there, that’s why the shepherd was there watching with his rod and his staff, to protect the sheep from the animals, from the birds of the air. He was constantly watching, carefully numbering the sheep, that’s where his rod came in, that’s where he would use a slingshot to protect the sheep, and if you look over the ministry of Jesus, the Shepherd, don’t we see that: Jesus watching over His sheep, taking care of His disciples, protecting them from their enemies, enemies from without? The Pharisees, the scribes, were like wolves constantly on the prowl, seeking whom they may devour. Isn’t the devil likened to a lion? And Jesus protects the sheep from the wolves, from the lion, sometimes He protects the sheep from themselves. Our pride can get us into trouble, can’t it? Lust, wanting things that we shouldn’t want, or wanting them inordinately.

The Shepherd protects the sheep, He also rescues the sheep. Think of that parable of Luke chapter 15. Remember how Jesus uses that chapter to give us three parables? The parable of the Lost Son, the parable of Lost Coin, the parable of the Lost Sheep. In the parable in of the Lost Sheep he has 100 sheep and one of them goes off, goes astray, and the good shepherd goes after the one lost sheep. Remember, again, David? David had acted like a sheep that had gone astray. How did God find that lost sheep? How did God go after David? Well, He sent an under shepherd named Nathan! Nathan came with a rod, Nathan was sent by the Redeemer to retrieve the wandering sheep. Jesus rescues the sheep, not only does He rescue those sheep that go astray, but He came to rescue the lost sheep, didn’t He, by laying down His life for the sheep? No greater love than that, than the love of the Shepherd laying down his life for the sheep. It’s the supreme act of love and self-denial, but that’s how much the Shepherd cares for the sheep. You see, the spiritual truths that we can glean from this shepherd/sheep analogy?

The first thing we learned, some of the wonderful things about God and about Jesus Christ, we learned how much God cares for His church, how much Jesus cares for His church; but secondly, the second truth that we can glean from this shepherd/sheep analogy—listen to this—as Christians—listen—as Christians we can say that this shepherd/sheep analogy teaches me about myself and everyone who’s part of the church. It’s a picture of the church, the church is the flock of God. Hold up the picture, it’s not really flattering: sheep, big blobs of white wool. Sorry, that’s the picture, I didn’t invent it, that’s it! That’s the picture of the church. That’s not the only picture, the church is likened to the army of God—we’ll see that tomorrow if you want to come back—but the flock of God, sheep, that’s the picture of the church! Sheep! From one perspective it’s extremely comforting, isn’t it? We just saw that God takes care of the sheep, God is my Shepherd, God’s going to take care of the church! God’s going to take care of us, but that’s not all that picture says, that picture says something about you, it says something about me, it says something about fellow Christians. What does it say about us? Well, here’s what it says: we are constantly in need of help.

We are like sheep, He doesn’t use the figure of we’re bunch of lions. It’d be nicer if He used even the picture of a bald eagle, you know, “we’re a bunch of eagles,” or “a bunch of wolves,” I don’t know, or bears. That’s not the picture. Sheep, sheep, sheep. Can I tell you a few things about sheep? They’re defenseless animals, have you ever seen a sheep beat up a wolf? They don’t stand a chance against a wolf, they don’t stand a chance against a bear! Sheep are pretty dumb too, by the way, sorry. They say they’re the dumbest animals around, sheep go astray. Sheep go astray! “We all like sheep have gone astray,” there’s probably few creatures as dependant, as helpless as sheep. Sheep need a shepherd, they need a shepherd to guide them, they need a shepherd to feed them, they need a shepherd to protect them. Sheep need a shepherd. Sometimes we forget how weak we are, how vulnerable we are. Pride doesn’t like the sheep metaphor, I don’t think. “I’m a sheep?” Yes. “Does that mean I can’t go it on my own?” Yes. Sheep, you need a shepherd. Pride says, “I can do it on my own, I don’t need anybody!” Sheep says you do, you need a shepherd. It’s a good reality check. This isn’t like the Fitness 19 club up the road, you know, I don’t have a Fitness 19 around here. You know, everybody goes, and everybody’s got a big build and strong build. They all go to the Fitness 19 and they look at themselves in the mirror and admire themselves how strong they are and how big they are, they’ve got big muscles. Well, when you come into the church we’re not holding up a picture like that, we’re holding up a picture of sheep, that’s us. That’s us, we’re weak.

We’re weak, we need help, we’re vulnerable, we’re defenseless. It’s a good reality check. Sheep need a shepherd to take care of them, and listen, this is the point: that’s why God put you into a church, because God wants to take care of you. It’s in the fellowship of a church that God the Shepherd, Christ the Shepherd, guides, feeds, protects, sometimes rescues us, and you know how the Shepherd, the Good Shepherd does that through the local church? He provides pastors, shepherds, under shepherds, it makes sense. He gives you pastors to take care of you. Acts chapter 20, “Shepherd the flock of God”; 1 Peter 5, “Feed the flock; shepherd the sheep.” Both of those passages focus upon the church and tell us how God continuously shepherds His people, takes care of His people. He does by way of human instrumentality, shepherds, human shepherds! They have names. Pastor Piñero, isn’t that someone you know? Pastor Martinez—those are shepherds, those are under shepherds, human shepherds! They’re to shepherd the flock, they’re to take care of you. God uses little shepherds, He’s the Big Shepherd. He uses little shepherds, small shepherds, human shepherds, to take care of the sheep under the lordship of the Great Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd: Jesus Christ. By the Holy Spirit God makes overseers, elders, pastors, so they will take care of the sheep. Every Christian, every Christian, is to be under pastoral care. That’s why God instituted the church, that’s one of the reasons, so He could take care of His sheep.

Now, I know some people are pretty frightened by the concept of shepherds. One thing: accountability, “They might get to know me,” that’s right. That’s what shepherds do, they’re supposed to know you. “Well, if they know all my struggles—” yeah, that’s right, they want to help you as a shepherd. A shepherd needs to know the sheep! You’ve got to tell the shepherd, “I’ve got some problems.” That’s won’t be great news to them, by the way, they know you’ve got problems! We’ve all got problems, but he has to know, you have to be honest with your shepherds! Don’t be opaque, don’t hide, don’t pretend! Accountability, honesty, transparency, yes, because God has given shepherds to take care of you. Pastors need to know, you have to tell them, they’re not omniscient. God has established the church, the pastor’s office, not to hurt you, not to do damage to your psyche, but to help you, to protect you, to feed you. Think about it this way: God loves the church, God loves the sheep, so much, so much, that He’s hired shepherds to take care of the sheep. They have a responsibility to shepherd you, and if you’re thinking Biblically that shouldn’t frighten you, that should comfort you. That should comfort you! “That God loves me that much?” Yes, that much, that He has given under shepherds to His church to take care of the sheep, and we should realize this, should we not? Everyone should realize this, you wish more people did: how much you need the church! Do you really think you can get safely to Heaven without the church? If you saw a sheep go up this way all by himself, and you know there’s ten wolves outside waiting for him, you say what? Disaster, right? He ain’t gonna make it! He ain’t gonna make it! He needs to be with the flock, He needs to be under the care of the shepherd, that’s the only way he’s going to survive!

God has put you in a church so He can get you safely to Heaven. The reason why some people don’t think they need the church is because they don’t think they’re sheep. If you realize you’re a sheep, you know you need the church. If you realize you’re a sheep, you realize you need a shepherd to take care of you. You need someone who loves you that much: someone who will go after you when you go astray, someone who will use the rod and the staff to rescue you, someone who will feed you, someone who will guide you, someone who will show that kind of loving care. As I said, the sheep metaphor is not flattering, but it’s comforting, it’s comforting. It reminds us of how vulnerable we are, and it reminds us of the propensity of the human heart. In the words of that hymn writer, “We are prone to wander,” don’t we? We have hearts that so easily go astray, but bless God, thank the Good Shepherd that He loves you so much, that He instituted the church so He could take care of you. In the words of one famous sheep, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” You see, David finishes that Psalm knowing that the Good Shepherd is going to take care of me and get me to Heaven. That’s the one thing about this Shepherd you should know, as well: He’s very successful when it comes to His sheep. Jesus said in John chapter 17, “I will not lose one.” Every true sheep will make it to Heaven! Let’s pray.

Father in Heaven, we, again, thank You for the church of Christ. We thank You, Lord, even for this picture we have considered. Help the dear people of God to realize the privilege they have to belong to the church. Help the pastors, the elders, the shepherds, to pastor the flock here. Give them wisdom, give them courage, give them that shepherding love and care. And we pray that everyone who sits here, who’s a member of this church, would one day be able to stand in glory, and see the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd who has taken care of them by means of His under shepherds. We pray these things in Christ’s name, amen.

This is a lightly edited transcript of a sermon. All rights reserved.