As a child my kindergarten wall was dominated by a larger than life sized painting of Jesus with a lamb in His arms. In my mind the carpenter of Nazareth often became mixed up with David the Shepherd boy. But, nevertheless, the feeling of security got through!<\/p>\n
Preachers have made congregations familiar with the habits of Eastern shepherds: how the sheep were kept for milk and wool, for clothes and tents, and not slaughtered for meat except as sacrifices; how the flocks were small, personal and followed him; how he spent 24 hours a day with his sheep; stood with them at pasture and slept with them at night; how he knew each one individually by name and how they knew him, following only his voice with the strange language of sounds that they obeyed; how the goats were mingled with the sheep to give leadership to the flock; and how the shepherds were to be brave in the face of wild animals and thieves, and considerate and careful for their flock.<\/p>\n
There are over 500 references in the Bible to shepherds and their flocks. In the Old Testament God was the Shepherd of Israel (Ps. 23, 77, 79, 80, 95<\/a>, Isa:40-11). Kings and priests were to be shepherds of Israel and the coming Messiah was to be the great shepherds (Ezek. 34;23, 37;24).<\/p>\n In the New Testament “shepherd” was used 17 times, mainly concerning Jesus. Jesus took the title “good shepherd” as His interpretation of His ministry to lost people (Matt.18-12), caring for them in love (Matt.9:36) and providing for them in the magnificent parable of John 10:1-14<\/a>. The Church saw Jesus as the shepherd of our soul (1 Pet 2:25<\/a>, Heb. 13:20<\/a>). Peter (1 Pet 5:2-3<\/a>) and Paul (Acts 20:28) admonished the Church leaders to be shepherds of their people.<\/p>\n FOR TODAY<\/span><\/p>\n The good shepherd was an understood figure in an agricultural society. This must be translated into each culture where the agricultural society does not exist. We need to distinguish between the concept of care and the illustration concerning it. In some parts of New Guinea the pig herder has real meaning. In Ceylon the female buffalo seeking her calf is the best picture. Among the street gangs of New York, according to Carl Burke, where not one ghetto boy had ever seen a paddock, let alone a sheep, the only figure of concern known was the probation officer. “The Lord is my probation officer” had meaning for them.<\/p>\n Australians need a new image other than sheep and shepherd. The only true shepherds Australia has seen were the early convicts and an occasional immigrant before barbed wire allowed huge leases to be run. No one who has worked on an Australian sheep station could possibly see God’s tender loving care in the action of the shed hand who used his boot with oaths to kick the sheep into dip or into the pen.<\/p>\n