In our last two posts, we began exploring the attributes of sheep. When the Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples in John 21, He told Peter to feed His lambs, tend His sheep, and feed His sheep. He wanted the disciples to see His followers, the church, as lambs and sheep. He appoints pastors or shepherds to lead and guide God’s flock, with Him as the Chief Shepherd. In today’s post, we will continue to look at the attributes of sheep and what the Lord Jesus expects of His sheep and shepherds. Sheep have the following characteristics:
- Sheep band together in large groups or sheepfolds for protection but run from what frightens them
- Sheep are very gentle animals and have a strong instinct to follow
- Sheep have excellent eyesight with a wide field of vision but have poor depth perception
- Sheep have great memory and recognition skills
- Sheep become highly disturbed, frightened, and agitated if separated from the rest of the flock and show signs of depression when they experience stress or isolation
We explored the first two attributes of sheep in Scattered and Devoured by the Shepherd!? and Follow by Instinct, But Also Think! Today, we will look at the third attribute: Sheep have excellent eyesight with a wide field of vision but have poor depth perception.
Sheep can see, but they see the world differently. As humans, we have binocular vision and limited peripheral vision. We can focus both of our eyes simultaneously to achieve good depth perception and clarity for objects directly in front of us. Depth perception is the ability to see an object in three dimensions, including size and how far away it is. On the contrary, sheep have wide peripheral fields of monocular vision, meaning they see clearly out of both eyes separately. Their eyes are set on the side of their head with pupils that are horizontal rectangular shape. The position and shape of their eyes make it easy for them to look out for predators and help them to be aware of their surroundings with their wide field of vision, but this affects their depth perception. So, even though sheep have the ability to clearly see two objects at one time, they can’t see what’s right in front of them very far and can’t see what’s behind them. Because of narrow binocular vision and poor depth perception, they still have limited vision.
There is only one way a sheep can overcome the limitations of its vision: by eating. This is because a sheep can see in all directions with its head down in a grazing position. As long as a sheep has its head down eating, it can see from all sides. So, a sheep that is continually fed is a protected sheep. This adds new significance to why the Lord Jesus told his disciples to feed His lambs and feed His sheep.
In John 6, the Lord Jesus said that He is the bread of life, the living bread which came down from heaven. Anyone who feeds on Him will live because of Him. The Lord Jesus knew that feeding His lambs and sheep is the only way for them to expand their vision and be fully aware of their surroundings. An anointed shepherd overseeing His flock would make His church a lush pasture and allow the sheep to graze freely on His word.
A shepherd that does not feed the flock entrusted to them causes the sheep to be easy prey for the thief to steal, kill, and destroy. Without the living word of God, the sheep will have narrow, limited vision. By not preaching and teaching the living word of God, the shepherd causes the sheep to be out of position and open to the enemy’s attack because they cannot fully see. In Ezekiel 34:1-3, 7-10, God addressed the shepherds in Israel who weren’t feeding His sheep –
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.’”
‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food for every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock”— therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand; I will cause them to cease feeding the sheep, and the shepherds shall feed themselves no more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouths, that they may no longer be food for them.”
This is still happening under the new covenant. In Acts 20:28-31, the apostle Paul told the Ephesian elders, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.”
Paul warned the elders about wolves that would come in, but He also told them that men would rise from among them that would draw away the disciples after themselves. Overseers not steadfast in their calling would take the focus off of the Lord Jesus and His teaching and speak perverse things. These thieves ultimately want for themselves the reverence and honor that is reserved for God alone. Their motives are to destroy and dominate the flock entrusted to them. The Lord Jesus came to give the church abundant life, but pastoral leadership that teaches for their own gain work against Him by teaching doctrine He hates, with practices and beliefs rooted in idolatry and immorality. We discussed this in detail in The Root Cause of Unhealthy Sheepfolds.
In the church today, there are shepherds that simply do not feed the sheep they are called to lead. Instead of feeding the sheep, they feed on the sheep. They distort the Shepherd’s voice and contaminate the word of God by creating their own doctrine and beliefs. By injecting their own teaching into the word of God, the truth of His word is degraded, and its life-giving, freeing power is nullified. Because they trample on the word of life, the sheep have nothing to feed on.
So, how is the word of truth robbed of its power? How is the word of life made unpalatable for the sheep? Below are three primary tactics used:
- The pastoral leadership takes Scripture out of context for their own personal agenda or benefit
- The pastoral leadership deliberately misinterprets Scripture to fit their own beliefs and opinions
- The pastoral leadership weaponizes Scripture and even the Holy Spirit to dominate the sheepfold by instilling fear and condemnation
The Good Shepherd knows being fed the living word of God is the only way His sheep can continue to grow and mature and follow His voice without fear of the enemy. So what’s our responsibility as sheep? First, we have to be vigilant to ensure that we are actually being fed. We also have to be aware of what we are being fed without compromise. The only way to do this is to study the Scripture for ourselves. We cannot blindly follow pastoral leadership into error. We must know the Shepherd’s voice. We must know when a stranger is speaking in His name. We must know if we are being fed life. We must judge if we’re seeing better and have more light. We explored how to examine our experience and fruit within a sheepfold in Follow by Instinct, But Also Think!
In Ezekiel 34:13-15, God made this promise to His scattered sheep, “And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God.”
The Lord Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and God promised to feed us. Ezekiel 34:23-24 says, “I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.” His promise is fulfilled in Hebrews 13:20-21: “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
In conclusion, we as sheep must continually feed on what gives life so we can see all around us, to see God’s plan as well as the enemy’s trap. The Lord’s desire is for us to be continually fed by Him only. He desires a good, rich pasture for us. He wants us to be in a good fold. He wants all of His sheep to say what is beautifully stated in Psalm 23:2 –
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
In our next post, we will continue exploring more attributes of sheep and what the Lord Jesus expects of His sheep and shepherds.
Disclaimer: Before making decisions or changes that affect your spiritual life and well-being, always personally seek God for His perfect will for your life and always follow peace.
