This sermon was delivered on July 18, 2021 during the weekly service at The Kensington in Galesburg, IL
A few weeks ago we talked about the story of David and Goliath. One of the things we discussed was that David had been a Shepherd and what that meant in regards to his strength and abilities. As a shepherd, David was well versed in the use of a slingshot and could wrestle a sheep from the jaws of a lion or a bear.
We also talked about David’s staff and how it was used to help move sheep in one direction or another, pull sheep to safety, and could be used as a weapon against the aforementioned lions or bears. I bring this back up today because we’re talking about shepherds again, and I want to be clear that being a shepherd was a difficult job that required strength, skill, and patience.
So today, we are going to talk again about shepherds. All of the verses we’ve read together today discuss shepherds and sheep. It’s not a stretch to say that shepherd and sheep are common metaphors in the biblical text.
Today’s psalm and the verse from Jeremiah are just two examples. Sheep and shepherds are mentioned hundreds of times across the biblical narrative. From the first shepherd, Abel and throughout the gospels we are told again and again about sheep and shepherds. There is even a mention of sheep in the book of revelation. So again, it’s common.
Today’s verses focus specifically on the importance of a shepherd. From the passage in Jeremiah, we learn that God intends to call a shepherd over the people who will care for the people. This shepherd will keep the people from being afraid of getting lost. This verse is a very important one because it establishes that God intends for a descendant of David to be a ruler for the people and that this rule will be righteous, as opposed to the ones that had scattered and damaged God's flock. This is about God’s divine intention to ensure the safety of the people and that safety comes in the form of a shepherd ruler.
We learn more about the importance of the shepherd in the well loved Psalm we shared this morning. In this psalm, the presence of a shepherd is comforting. And over time, this psalm itself has stood as comfort in times of trouble or mourning. My favorite version of this psalm is a song by Andra Moran. The chorus says:
You, you are my shepherd / You give me everything I ever need / You hold my hand and walk with me / Beside the gentle stream / You Breathe new life in me.
Another version of the psalm that I love dearly is the hymn, My Shepherd Will Supply my need. That one ends this way:
Your sure provisions gracious God / attend me all my days; / oh, may your house be my abode,
and all my work be praise. / Here would I find a settled rest, / while others go and come; / no more a stranger, nor a guest, / but like a child at home.
Both of these songs get to the heart of this psalm- that a shepherd provides for the sheep.
And that’s the crux of these passages really; Sheep need a shepherd. Sheep are not inherently stupid, despite what people may think, but they are herd animals. They will group together in times of danger, but a spooked sheep can also run away and get hurt or lost. Sometimes a sheep will wander and the herd will follow, other times one sheep will get lost because it has wandered too far. Sheep need guidance and protection. And this is where a shepherd, and often a good sheep dog, come in. The Shepherd is responsible for the safety and welfare of the flock.
They ensure the flock has access to grazing, to water, and to shelter. They protect the sheep from predators, help ensure lambs are born safely, and monitor the health of the flock.
Shepherds also tend to the fleece of the sheep- ensuring they are shorn regularly, as sheep do not shed their fleece like other animals shed fur. Not shearing a sheep can actually cause the animal to die from the weight or heat of the fleece, to be blinded, or to be so slow or awkward that they are easily eaten by a predator. And while there are some species of sheep that live in the wild, for the most part, sheep don’t live well without shepherds.
With that context in mind, think about Jeasus’ realization as he travels from time to time. Jesus recognized that the people in the towns he was visiting were like sheep without a shepherd. This didn’t mean that Jesus thought the people were stupid or helpless. Jesus recognized that they were in danger. But what kind of danger?
Well, first they were in danger from Rome. We are still in the rule of Herod Antipas, and just before the episode we learned about the violent death of John the Baptist. In fact, Jesus and his disciples were trying to get some rest after the drama and emotion they had just experienced, Roman rule was not kind in general, and there was a great deal of unrest including bands of bandits and assassins.1 I stumbled upon a fascinating book, called Life in Year One2 by historian Scott Korb, that really investigates what life in this time may have been like. And one of the first things the author talks about? Herod Antipas.
Herod was responsible for rebuilding the city of Sepphoris and increasing taxes, and as the city expanded, life changed. Korb puts it this way, “Farmers whose lives had been built around self-sufficiency and bartering- whose families and the families around them were fed with what they could grow and whose taxes were paid from what was left over- were suddenly faced with a new “monetized” economy. Antipas aways paid Rome in precious metals, which meant his subjects would do the same. Suddenly, even peasants needed coins.”3
Often peasants sold their land to Rome just to be able to pay their taxes and then would stay on those lands to work as indentured servants or tenant farmers.4 These were desperate political and financial times steeped in violence and greed. And in the middle of all of this, there’s Jesus who sees people under the painful yoke of roman occupation and taxation and understands that while the people are being ruled, they are not being led- hence his statement, “They are like sheep without a shepherd.”
While the people indeed had a ruler in Herod Antipas and Rome, they did not have a recognized leader. There was organized Judaism and temple leadership, but in many ways the political elitism extended into the temple. Here again we are confronted with the Sadducees and Pharisees and Essenes- various groups who had varying degrees of wealth and power. The Sadducees in particular operated as spiritual elites, which makes sense when we think about their opposition to Jesus and their fear of his message. So when it came down to the poor, common, everyday people, who was listening to them? Who was caring for them?
It would seem? No one. Which is why Jesus’ message was so easily received and why the crowds clinged to him. He was a voice of reason and hope in an otherwise terrible world. He was a shepherd, and the sheep were among wolves. This is something that we see more clearly in the story that follows- the feeding of the 5000 (which we’ll discuss next week) or in Jesus’ anger in the temple when he overturns the tables of the money lenders. Jesus sees the desperate need of the people.
Understanding Jesus’ role as a shepherd is key to understanding Jesus. He was fulfilling a role the people desperately needed filled. They needed a leader who cared about them and their welfare- not someone who wanted their money or land. They needed someone to point out the dangers of the wolves and bears and to lead them from dangerous fields. They needed a Shepherd. And, as we will explore more next week, they got one.
Amen