I often wonder why the Bible describes the relationship between Jesus and his thousands of followers as a shepherd and his sheep.
Basically, we have all asked ourselves at some point, what does this mean in a spiritual sense?
The Bible tells several stories about a shepherd and his sheep. It mentions that the shepherd gives his own life for his sheep.
In the midst of all this, the Bible says that each follower should mirror Jesus and be his follower, and the Bible says this metaphorically, comparing the leader to a shepherd and the people who go to the congregation to sheep.
According to the Gospel of John, John 10:11, he says the following: “I am the good shepherd” and then the Lord Jesus gives an explanation about who the good shepherd was.
The truth is that throughout the text, he mentions something powerful that can help us understand something great and the role of the Holy Spirit within man.
Jesus says that a good shepherd gives his own life for the sheep and does not run when he sees wolves (false shepherds and false prophets). These are those who see the sheep only as currency. In other words, the sheep are only useful if they bring some benefit.
He also reports that there are mercenaries, these mercenaries are only in the position they are in because of the money they receive from the work of God.
In this text we can learn that the true shepherd does everything to protect God’s flock. Bearing in mind that the shepherd is not the owner of the flock but rather just the caretaker of this flock, where the owner is God.
Jesus came to care for and seek out his father’s lost sheep on earth (Moses cared for Jethro’s flock), making an allusion that Jesus would come to care for God’s flock.
After all, we can see the example of David who took care of his father’s flock. David was after God’s heart and his care for the sheep caught God’s attention. David faced a lion and a bear to protect his father’s flock.
David calls God his shepherd.
Psalm 23 is one of the most famous psalms in the entire Bible throughout the country. It illustrates that “The Lord is my Shepherd” and I shall not want.” It is important to note that the Old Testament illustrates the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Father is referred to as “LORD” with all letters in capital letters.
The Son is referred to as “Lord”, this is the revelation of Jesus in the Old Testament.
Now, the Holy Spirit is known in the Old Testament as “Holy One of Israel”.
This suggests that David, in his speech, is talking about Jesus, being his Shepherd.
Therefore, when the Bible mentions the shepherd, it is that the shepherd has the responsibility to watch over the sheep. This is because the sheep are dependent on the shepherd – to guide them through the places. In addition, the shepherd is responsible for feeding and also protecting them.
According to studies, sheep can only see one meter in front of them, that is, they need to be guided by someone and that someone is the shepherd. Where this shepherd is Jesus and Jesus entrusts these sheep to a leader sheep (earthly shepherds). Some studies say that when the shepherd was guiding his flock, there was a sheep that guided the rest of the flock and this sheep had a bell around its neck and when it heard the bell the rest of the sheep followed it.
This suggests that the shepherds are sheep – but they are sheep that have the bell of the Good Shepherd.
Finally, in the text where Jesus says that he is the good shepherd, he mentions that there is one who guards the door and this guard only lets the “shepherd” in. This makes us understand that when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, he places a guard at the door and this guard does not let anyone in – only the pastor.
