The Good Shepherd
Christ, the great example for all ministers, likens Himself to a
shepherd. “I am the good shepherd,” He declares; “the good shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep.” “I am the good shepherd, and know My
sheep, and am known of Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so
know I the Father: and I lay down My life for the sheep.” [
John 10:11,
14, 15
.]
As an earthly shepherd knows his sheep, so does the divine Shep-
herd know His flock that are scattered throughout the world. “Ye My
flock, the flock of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the
Lord God.” [
Ezekiel 34:31
.]
In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd goes out to search for
one sheep,—the very least that can be numbered. Discovering that one
of his sheep is missing, he does not look carelessly upon the flock that
is safely housed, and say, I have ninety and nine, and it will cost me
too much trouble to go in search of the straying one. Let him come
back, and I will open the door of the sheepfold and let him in. No; no
sooner does the sheep go astray than the shepherd is filled with grief
and anxiety. Leaving the ninety and nine in the fold, he goes in search
[182]
of the straying one. However dark and tempestuous the night, however
perilous and uncertain the way, however long and tedious the search,
he does not falter until the lost is found.
With what relief does he hear in the distance its first faint cry!
Following the sound, he climbs the steepest heights; he goes to the
very edge of the precipice, at the risk of his own life. Thus he searches,
while the cry, growing fainter, tells him that his sheep is ready to die.
And when the straying one is found, does he command it to follow
him? Does he threaten or beat it, or drive it before him, thinking of the
discomfort and anxiety that he has suffered on its account? No; he lays
the exhausted sheep on his shoulder, and with cheerful gratitude that
his search has not been in vain, he returns to the fold. His gratitude
finds expression in songs of rejoicing. And “when he cometh home, he
156