Jump Start # 546

John 10:3-4 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

  Our passage today describes relationship. Jesus, in this setting, is the good shepherd. His disciples are the sheep. What unfolds here is a wonderful relationship that the shepherd has with his sheep. The shepherd has a name for the sheep. Each are identified. He remembers their names and calls them by name. The sheep recognize his voice. All of this takes time to develop. The shepherd has been talking to the sheep, this is how they recognize his voice. He has shown himself to be good to them. When they hear his voice, they come to him. They trust him. When he leads them, they follow. The context continues by saying these sheep will not recognize the voice of a stranger and they will not follow anyone else.

  The passage begins with the doorkeeper opening the door and the shepherd leading the sheep out. Through the winter, the sheep were gathered together in pens and sheltered. In the early spring it was time to take them out to the fields. Hundreds of sheep would be gathered together. The doorkeeper would open the gates, one shepherd would call out his sheep and head down the path. In the midst of those sheep, his sheep would work their way through the crowd and follow him. Other sheep would remain in the pen. They didn’t know the voice that was crying out. It’s a marvel how all that worked.

  First, our passage is defining our relationship with Jesus. The Lord is good to us. He knows us. He knows us by name. We can trust Jesus. Once in a while someone gets discouraged. Things are not running well in their life. Sometimes they get bummed out about the church and feel neglected. One of the things I will remind folks in those situations is to consider Jesus. He’s never let your down. He’s never done you wrong. He’s continued to bless you, love you, lead you and care for you. Our problems are usually with one another, not the Lord.

  These verses take us to Psalms 23 which begins, “The Lord is my shepherd.” That wonderful passage shows the shepherd leading, guiding, taking the sheep to green pastures, quiet waters and even through dark valleys. It is a passage of movement and direction. The shepherd is active. He’s busy leading and protecting the sheep. We recognize the voice of God. We have a relationship with Him to the extent that we trust Him and will follow Him—anywhere, even through dark valleys.

 Young David developed his character out in the fields watching sheep. Watching sheep can be a boring job. Remember back then there was no i-phone, i-pad, i-pod to entertain the shepherd or connect him to the rest of the world. It was out there that David played the harp– making up his own music. It was there that he saw the majesty of God. His heart was focused upon God and the Lord would later chose David to shepherd his people.

 It’s not a coincidence that the leadership in God’s church are called “Shepherds.” There is a common thread that connects the Shepherd Lord, the Shepherd David, and shepherds today. Leading God’s people is not a position of management and administration. It’s not about writing checks, making executive decisions for others to carry out, and being little CEO’s of a church. In far too many congregations today, this is the very thing that is being done. The concept of shepherding has been forgotten. These verses, God’s example, reminds us of the wonderful relationship that the leaders need to have with the members. It’s a role of shepherds and sheep. It’s a role of trust. It’s a relationship of confidence based upon knowing each other.

  Leaders today must know the sheep. This is more than being able to recognize them and call them by name, it is to know them, as a parent knows their children. Parents of more than one child understand this. Each child is different. Some need a lot of talking to and convincing. Others, you tell them once, and it’s as good as done. Some need more nurturing than others. Some need a kick in the pants every once in a while. Same family, different make up of each child. Sheep are like that. We are like that. Some of us need someone near us almost all the time. We tend to wander off quite easily. We leave the flock to go after this fad, that new idea, this new thing or that new thing. The shepherds are watching us closely because we tend to wander off. Others seem to get irritated by other sheep. Tensions flare and stress arises. Shepherds have to watch that and separate some of us. With others, it’s a diet thing, not eating what we should spiritually. Others are prone to sickness and disease. The work of shepherds is much more detailed than walking out to a pasture and letting the sheep eat grass. They have to see how the flock interacts with each other. They have to care for the sick, go after those that have wandered off, watch out for predators, and be aware of what the sheep are eating. There are different kinds of grasses. There are some that better than others.

  When the spring was nearly ended, so would the early grasses. The shepherd would then lead the sheep to the high country for the summer grasses. To get there, they often had to go through dark valleys. This was tough. A sudden rain could turn the canyons into instead death by flash floods. Up in the high country the sheep would rest through the summer and early fall. Then there was the journey back to the shelter for the winter.

  The shepherds had to know the best routes to take. He had to be aware of how the sheep were doing through those journeys. His presence would calm the sheep when they became startled.

  This is our relationship with Jesus. He is the good shepherd. Trust, knowledge, confidence and love are the foundations of this relationship. God knows us. He knows what we need. We need to listen to Him and follow Him, even when it’s time to go through those valleys. He doesn’t send us through on our own. He is there. He is leading. He knows where He is going. He knows what is beyond the canyons and valleys. We must stick with Him.

 The Lord is my shepherd…what a great way to sum up these concepts. He is!

Roger