Read John 10:22-30 

Shepherd

In the days of Jesus, Shepherds had a terrible reputation. They were regarded as dishonest thieves because they would often “confuse” your sheep with their sheep! Their reputation for being dishonest rendered them unfit for jury service as their testimony was considered unreliable and due to the nature of their job, they were kept out of the synagogue because of their inability to conform to the religious “rules” of the day.

Shepherds were well and truly on the fringes of polite society.

Nevertheless, the Shepherd was also revered among Jewish people because it was used as a way of describing God and His watchful care over them, with the Bible referring to Him as such 43 times.

Jesus was not ashamed to portray Himself as a Shepherd, as today’s reading shows. He tells us that His sheep recognize the call of His voice, respond to it and in doing so, receive eternal life.

Middle Eastern shepherds often have an individual call for each sheep and even if a stranger dresses in the shepherd’s own clothing and imitates his call, the sheep will run away. They only follow the voice of their true shepherd.

Shepherd is a beautiful and tender way to describe Jesus. He knows everyone of us individually and He calls us by name. He truly is the “Shepherd of our souls.”

But He is also the Mighty One – the “Great Shepherd Whom God raised from the dead” Who gives eternal life.

King David, himself a shepherd, described our Good Shepherd eloquently:

    “The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
    He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
   He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.”

All this is promised to the sheep Who follows His voice.

Can you hear the Shepherd calling?