June 12, 2023
Sheep Nature
“But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”
John 10:2-3 (NASB)
After leaving the link to the You Tube video yesterday, you might have noticed how the sheep responded to the shepherd. Several strangers tried to call them using the same words. The sheep quietly sat on the hillside as if nothing happened. Finally, when the true shepherd called, one cried out and the entire flock ran to the shepherd. When they arrived at the gate, they anxiously waited for the shepherd to respond. This is what happens when the true shepherd calls. All anxiously ran to his calling. The video is quite touching if you have not seen it.
“the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” Normally, sheep seem to be classified as unintelligent animals, but see what is really true. Here are some interesting facts about sheep. Sheep tend to travel in flocks. This is by design. They travel together as a defense mechanism. Since the sheep have no natural defense mechanism, they use this to protect each other by sticking together. Here are some more interesting facts about sheep too: Naturally, sheep, like most animals, are able to learn and recognize their own names. Sheep subjected to memory testing have been found to have the ability to remember and recognize familiar human faces. They also seem to be able to distinguish one sheep from another and to remember as many as fifty individuals for as long as two years. Not only can sheep recognize life human faces, they can also recognize pictures of human faces. Furthermore, they can tell the difference between human facial expressions and like happy expressions better than sad or angry expressions. Neurological researchers have found that the construction of a sheep’s brain lends itself to the ability to feel emotions, and indeed, sheep have been observed to feel a wide range of emotions including happiness, sorrow, boredom, fear and anger.Sheep have been shown to “catch feelings” and pick up on the general mood of a setting. In very stressful situations, they appear to lose hope and become unwilling to attempt tasks that they had previously completed easily. Finally, sheep know each other, not only by scent and sound, but also by sight.”[1] These are few of the characteristics of sheep, but it does shed new light on sheep’ behavior. It also tells us when Jesus refers to us as sheep, we too have these qualities as well.
There is one more important thing to note concerning the flock. Every flock is societal in nature. This means there are some sheep which are more dominant and subordinate than others. Therefore, the shepherd will work with the dominant sheep to ensure the rest of the flock follows their lead. This is so true within the Christian community. Paul said this to the Corinthian church concerning his leadership, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). We are to follow those leaders whom Christ has given to lead us, as they follow Christ. Each one of us has a responsibility as well to lead those who do not know Jesus Christ as Lord to His saving knowledge. We are to influence the lost world, not become a part of it. The Great Shepherd (Jesus) has worked with us, to ensure the rest of the flock follows His lead. Choose to be the dominant sheep who is led by the Shepherd’s working in our life. Don’t be the weak and subordinate sheep who follows anything or anyone else.