After being raised from the dead, the Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples for the third time in John 21. He asked Peter three times if he loved Him. After Peter said he did, the Lord Jesus told him to feed His lambs, tend His sheep, and feed His sheep.

With this commission, the Lord Jesus wanted the disciples to see His followers as lambs and sheep. He would appoint leaders as shepherds of His God’s flock, with Him being the Chief Shepherd. Over the next several posts, we will explore the attributes of sheep, as well as what the Lord Jesus expects of His sheep and shepherds. Sheep have the following characteristics: 

1. Sheep band together in large groups or sheepfolds for protection but run from what frightens them
2. Sheep are very gentle animals and have a strong instinct to follow
3. Sheep have excellent eyesight with a wide field of vision but have poor depth perception
4. Sheep have great memory and recognition skills
5. 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

Today, we will explore the first attribute: Sheep band together in large groups or sheepfolds for protection but run from what frightens them.

First, sheep are prey animals, meaning they are killed and eaten by other animals. Since their only way of protecting themselves is to gather together, sheep need other sheep to be and feel safe. Sheep are expected to band together, to go the same way, and to think the same thing. Together is God’s way. There are many Scriptures about this expected togetherness. A few examples are –

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. (Philippians 2:1-3)

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:23-25)

Next, sheep need a qualified shepherd. Sheep need a shepherd to keep them together so they will not be open to attack. As long as a shepherd oversees the sheep entrusted to them, the sheep can continue to grow and mature and follow the Good Shepherd’s voice without fear of the enemy. So what is a qualified shepherd?

The apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 5:1-4, “The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”

 In 1 Timothy 3:1-7, the apostle Paul instructed that, “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence  (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

A shepherd that meets the above qualifications humbly guides, guards, protects, and cares for the sheep. Because the above qualifications, behaviors, and accountabilities of a shepherd are known, any pastoral leadership that claims to be speaking in the name of Jesus, but is dominating, quarrelsome, violent, not gentle, not temperate, and without a good testimony among those outside the church, is distorting the voice of the Chief Shepherd. 

A sheep should not follow a strange voice. Sheep that follow an unqualified shepherd may be devoured in two ways: by a predator or even worse, by the shepherd. If the shepherd’s voice is distorted and does not sound like the Good Shepherd, the sheep will be frightened, run away, and be scattered. The faith of a frightened, scattered sheep will be shipwrecked. As a result, the sheep will not be wholehearted in their walk with the Lord Jesus because of fear and mistrust instilled by the shepherd. Scattered sheep are easy prey for predators, such as wolves, coyotes, bears, or lions. Any sheep left alone is defenseless and will be captured, killed, and eaten. 

Aside from scattering the sheep, it is even more insidious when a shepherd devours the sheep. The Oxford Languages Dictionary defines insidious as “proceeding in a gradual subtle way, but with harmful effects.” The insidiousness of this is because there are shepherds who were called and equipped by God to be shepherds under the Good Shepherd, but along the way, they distort the Shepherd’s voice. Unfortunately, in the church today, there is pastoral leadership speaking in the name of Jesus that is actually teaching out of their own flesh and according to their own personality, injecting their own beliefs into the word of truth. There is pastoral leadership that flat out abuse the sheep and claim they’re hearing from God. These devouring thieves do not have the best interest of the sheep at heart. They purposefully sacrifice, isolate, and/or scatter the sheep for their own gain. Their ultimate goal is not to help the sheep attain the abundant life the Lord Jesus came to give them by proclaiming the living word of God, but rather because of their pride and sense of entitlement, they exploit and feed on the sheep to satisfy their own self-centered desires for power, attention, recognition, and honor. They teach their own doctrine as we discussed in The Root Cause of Unhealthy Sheepfolds and abuse, misuse, and mislead the sheep right into the very thing the Lord Jesus hates, doctrine rooted in idolatry and immorality. 

The Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed so that His flock wouldn’t have to be. As sheep, we must know the Shepherd’s voice to recognize when someone speaking in the name of Jesus does not sound like Him.  In Romans 16:17-18, the apostle Paul said –

Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

The word of God is clear. Note and avoid strange voices.  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.