Are you sheepish? Is that the adjective your friends would use to describe you? Do people point at you and say, ‘oh look there’s ole so and so, he’s kinda sheepish’? Have you ever been described as sheepish? If you have, you probably didn’t like it. Merriam-Webster uses words like meek, timid, and awkward as synonyms for sheepish. When you hear a person described as sheepish don’t you typically envision a lily livered person making little whimpering noises as they tremble in fear?
If I were to describe you as sheepish, you might possibly be offended. But at the risk of offending you, that is exactly how I describe you when people ask me to tell them about my church; about what kind of people I serve. I tell them, ‘the members of Messiah are some of the most sheepish people I have ever known’. I tell them, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if when sheep can’t sleep at night they start counting the members of Messiah.’ I tell them, ‘my members don’t sing Amazing Grace, they bleat it’. I tell them, ‘the members of Messiah are some of the sheepiest sheep that have ever been shepherded’.
But before y’all get your wool in a knot, perhaps I should explain what I mean. Today, under the guidance of John’s gospel 10:1-10, I’m going to explain what it means and encourage you to be as sheepish as possible.
But before we look at chapter 10, we really need to do a quick review of what just happened in chapter 9. In chapter 9 Jesus healed a man who had been born blind. After the healing, the Pharisees went to work investigating the healing. At first, they refused to believe that any healing had taken place. But after interviewing the man’s parents, they couldn’t deny the miracle. So, they started badgering the formally blind man to explain. But when he tried, they just insulted him and threatened him. Finally, the formerly blind man says to them, “31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” Well, that was about all that the Jewish leaders could stand. They throw the guy out of the church.
The blind man’s healing and its aftermath made it abundantly clear that Israel’s shepherds had failed. They cast out a man miraculously healed, and they condemned the Christ who had performed the miracle. They showed themselves to be completely unfit for their professed work of feeding the flock of God.
To the crowd that had gathered around this event Jesus says, “1 I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.” Jesus describes the Jewish leaders as thieves and robbers. The word thief would later be used to describe Judas[1]. It’s a word that describes a sinister sneakiness. The word robber would later be used to describe Barabbas[2]. That word describes a vicious violence. Those are some pretty strong adjectives to use when describing someone. But thieves and robbers are what the Jewish leaders were. They tried to steal faith away from the people by fear and intimidation. They tried to rob the people of their hope of forgiveness by means of their numerous and burdensome rules and regulations. The Jewish leaders were not good shepherds intent on leading their sheep to green pastures and still waters. They were thieves and they were robbers.
We are no longer under the influence of the Jewish leaders. But that does not mean we are not surrounded by thieves and robbers. You might think of televangelists and other profiteering preachers, maybe radio personalities and talk show hosts, perhaps even the policy makers or trend setters. But I think for the most part those of us who have gathered here this morning are savvy enough to tune out most of those thieves and robbers. I'm not sure Andy Stanley, Howard Stern, and Caitlyn Jenner really have that much influence over how you live your life. But you know who does? Beloved family members, well-meaning friends, and trusted teachers. But, just because someone taught you how to tie your shoes does not mean they automatically understand salvation by grace alone. Just because someone stood by you through thick and thin does not make them an authority on the dual natures of Christ. Just because someone can name all the elements of the periodic table does not mean they can comprehend the miracle of creation. Beloved family members, well-meaning friends, and trusted teachers are the people that influence us. Is it possible that some of them are thieves and robbers? I’m sure they are all very nice people. I’m sure they don’t mean to steal your faith or rob your hope. But I imagine some of the Pharisees were nice people. I imagine the Jewish leaders didn’t mean to be thieves and robbers.
Now I’m not saying all your family members and all your friends and all your teachers are thieves and robbers. I’m just saying before you blindly follow them you should be a little sheepish. Jesus explains what that means when He says in verse 5, God’s sheep “never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” The reason God’s sheep do not recognize the stranger’s voice is because it sounds so different from God’s voice. God’s sheep may not have heard every Word that God has spoken but they learn to recognize when something just doesn’t sound right. Like when someone invites you to make your decision for Christ it just doesn’t sound like God who says “you did not choose me, but I chose you.”[3] Or when someone tries to tell you that you can’t believe everything written in the bible because it was written at a different time for a different people and you realize that just doesn’t sound like God who said “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”[4] Or when someone tells you all God expects is for you to treat people well and do good whenever you can, but that just doesn’t sound like God who said, “be holy because I, the Lord your God am holy.”[5] When God’s sheep hear a voice that doesn’t say the same things God says, the voice is strange to them.
And when that happens God tells us what His sheep do. They run away. They don't put up with, tolerate, or ignore. They definitely don't accept, adopt, or justify. They flee, escape, and avoid. You see God's sheep know that even if a person has a pleasant voice and says a lot of things you want to hear, even if they are mostly right and just a little wrong; a little not in line with what God says, then they are dangerous. In verse 10 Jesus tells His sheep “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” Proverbs 14:12 says “there is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death.” So when God’s sheep hear a voice that doesn’t sound like God’s voice they run away. And I encourage you to do the same thing. It doesn’t matter who it is, family, friend, or teacher, if they don’t sound like God sounds; if they are not saying the same things God is saying, you need to be a little sheepish, you need to run away.
But in order to do that, in order to recognize when a voice does not sound like God’s voice, you need to know what God’s voice sounds like. In verses 2-3 Jesus says, “2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, In contrast to the thief and robber, Jesus introduces to us an individual that he describes with the word shepherd. It was a familiar word among the Jewish people. In Judea’s vast wilderness full of prowling predators, the image of a shepherd often brought to mind a sleepless, farsighted, weather-beaten man wielding his staff as he guided, cared for, and protected his sheep.
Again, today, we may not be as familiar with the image of a shepherd as God’s people once were. But that does not mean that there are not shepherds all around us. Jesus describes these individuals as the man who enters by the gate. He is a man that the gatekeeper knows and is thus allowed access to God’s sheep. To those who were having trouble understanding this illustration, Jesus says, “7 I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.” With these words Jesus tells us how to identify one of His shepherds. The shepherd is the one who comes to you through Jesus and in the name of Jesus. As a result, he sounds a lot like Jesus. Like Jesus, he says things that frankly sometimes you don’t want to hear, he calls sin, sin tells you when you are being spiritually stupid, and warns “the wages of that sin is death”. But he says those things so that, like Jesus, he can say the things you need to hear like “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[6] God’s sheep recognize one of God’s shepherds because he sounds a lot like Jesus; he says the same things Jesus says.
And when that happens God tells us what His sheep do. “… the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” The sheep listen and they follow. First the sheep make sure they are where they need to be in order to hear what the shepherd has to say. And since they know the shepherd is often at church on a Sunday morning, guess where God’s sheep can be found grazing on a Sunday morning. They are not still in bed, they are not at the ballpark, they are not even volunteering at the local charity. They are at church listening to their shepherd who is telling them about Jesus who lived to be their perfect substitute, about Jesus who died to pay for all their sins, and about Jesus who rose to assure them of their salvation. And when the shepherd tells them what Jesus has done for them the sheep don’t just listen to the word and so deceive themselves, they follow. They follow as that shepherd leads them ever closer to Jesus because the sheep know only through Jesus will they be saved, only through Jesus will they “9 come in and go out, and find pasture.” God’s sheep listen and follow that shepherd because they know where he is leading them. He is leading them to Jesus; leading them to the still waters and green pastures of salvation. And I encourage you to do the same. When a shepherd speaks the Word of God to you, I encourage you to be a little sheepish; I encourage you to listen and follow.
God’s definition of what it means to be sheepish is drastically different than Merriam-Webster’s definition. Now that you have heard how God defines the term I ask you again, Are you sheepish? Do you run away from strangers who don’t say the same things Jesus said? Do you listen and follow the shepherds who lead you to Jesus? Are you sheepish? You are. Which is why I hope you are not offended when I tell people you some of the sheepiest sheep that have ever been shepherded. Amen
[1] John 12:6
[2] John 18:40
[3] John 15:16
[4] Luke 21:33
[5] Leviticus 19:2
[6] Romans 6:23