The Deal with Sheep

by Arlene Ledbetter

My son attended a Christian college an hour from home. He usually popped in midweek, often with a friend in tow.

“Hey, Mama. Keep my buddy company while I grab a shower.”

While I poured my dark-haired guest a glass of sweet tea, he studied a curio cabinet filled with sheep figurines. “What’s the deal with sheep?”

I sat on the sofa. “A few years ago, I led a ladies Bible class through Psalm 23. When the series ended, they presented me with a pink mug with dancing sheep on it. Word got around that I love sheep. Every time I opened a birthday or Christmas gift, I had another figurine for my collection.”

“All because of one chapter, Psalm 23?”

“Actually, sheep are a big deal throughout the Bible. Did you know shepherds were the first to hear the news of Jesus’ birth? And after the resurrection, when He was about to leave this planet, Jesus told the Apostle Peter, ‘Feed My sheep’ (John 21). Believers are His sheep” (John 10),

The boy pulled a lever on the side of the recliner and crossed his elevated legs. “Where else?”

“In the Old Testament an unblemished lamb was slaughtered at Passover to atone for sins (Exodus 12:5, I Peter 1:18-19). Those sacrifices foreshadowed Jesus, the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

The boy twirled his finger in a keep-going motion.

“Sheep have poor eyesight and require more care than other types of livestock. Because they’re stubborn, make bad choices, and can’t defend themselves, they need a shepherd to guide them. Jesus knows how to shepherd us because He lived among us for 33 years. He understands our challenges, weaknesses, and temptations. Whatever we face, He’s been there. He was misunderstood, beaten, and rejected. Just as a shepherd can free a lamb from a thorn bush, Jesus can rescue humans from thorny situations. That’s why David said with confidence, ‘The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want’” (Psalm 23:1).

“Did David know about sheep?”

“David tended his father’s flock. Once, when a bear took a lamb, he grabbed the beast by its beard and killed it (I Samuel 17:32-37). In Psalm 42, David asked himself,

‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ (vs 5). Cast down is a shepherd’s term for a sheep that’s rolled onto its back and can’t get up. Remember the parable about a shepherd leaving 99 sheep to search for one that’s gone astray? He fears it may be cast down and easy prey.”

The young man frowned. “I grew up in church, but no one ever told me I was a sheep. I’ve already gotten tangled up in a thorn bush or two.”

Those dreaded thorn bushes appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, but none catch the Good Shepherd off-guard. Let’s follow where He leads.

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

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