The Good Shepherd

I remember as a kid I liked watching Saturday morning cartoons, like Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd and Sylvester and Tweetie. However, I remember how much I disliked Wile E. Coyote and Ralph Wolf, whether it was Wile. E. Coyote trying to outwit the Roadrunner or Ralph Wolf trying to devise a diabolical plan to nab one of the sheep under the careful eye of Sam Sheepdog.
But the thing about Sam Sheepdog is he always kept his flock protected and safe from Ralph. He did whatever he had to do to make sure no harm would come under his protection.
Doesn’t that remind you of someone else?
“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.” John 10:1-5
The sheepfold was like a large pen which would keep the sheep in as well as wild animals and the robbers out. If someone or something would try to get in through the entrance, the doorkeeper would pull a “Sam Sheepdog” on him and BONK!
In the morning the shepherds from each family would go and enter the sheepfold and call their sheep. Each sheep instinctively knew its shepherd’s voice, even though there were other shepherds doing the same thing. However, the sheep would only respond to the voice they knew, their master.
What Jesus was trying to illustrate is that the Pharisees were the thieves and robbers. It was the Pharisees that were trying to mislead the people with deception, which is like trying to sneak in over the wall.
But Jesus tells us in John 10:14 and 16, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me. … I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.”
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. We are His sheep and we should know His voice.
I believe too many of us listen to the Pharisees and in the cover of darkness sneak over the wall, believing their lies which we face each and every day in our current culture.
Let’s listen to the Shepherd’s voice (Jesus) and follow Him. Trust Him with your life, let Him lead you to green pastures, and rest in safety surrounded in His sheepfold and in His presence.