There has always been a global problem of young men struggling to prove who they are. These days, it takes the form of a trend using lion and sheep language. A real man is supposed to be strong, commanding, proud, and in control like a lion, rather than humble, meek, and forgotten by human history like a sheep—or so the popular thinking goes. But there is a sneaky evil to this kind of thinking; at the core of their hearts, men who think this way yearn to be their own gods. But meanwhile Christ Jesus, the true Son of God, flips the script and says a life well lived is a life that imitates the humility of a sheep!
One fun fact about sheep is that they are fully dependent on their shepherd’s guidance for survival. Shepherds still work in Israel today, and many of them have a special sound they make or tune they play that gets all their sheep to run to them. The sheep know their shepherd has good things for them, and in fact they know to avoid and mistrust anyone else who comes near.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for thieves to sneak in and try to harm the sheep for their own gain—and to leave the metaphor, thieves do that to the people of God as well. Jesus is just about to describe himself as “the good shepherd,” but first he points out that the Pharisees and other religious leaders are enemies of the sheep. They had just kicked a man out of the synagogue out of rage when he was supposed to be under their care! Even today, we should be wary of enemies of the sheep of God whose “ministry” is corrupt and geared toward their own gain. They are abundant, and as sheep we should run far away from them.
But the true sheep of God will recognize their shepherd. They see him come with truth and righteousness, and they recognize his voice which signals blessings for them, and they follow him wholeheartedly. They place their full dependent trust in their shepherd, and they thrive. This full dependence goes drastically against our self-worshipping inclinations, but our God is a good God. Our shepherd is a trustworthy shepherd. And our best life comes when we put our pride aside and follow him.
