The Noble Shepherd

The images that we have of Jesus as the Good Shepherd tend to present Jesus as effeminate. He is a soft man who snuggles with sheep. We read Jesus’ words in John 10 about being the Good Shepherd in this way, and then we read this image back into Psalm 23. Don’t get me wrong, Jesus is a gentle shepherd, but he is not a soft man. Shepherds were not soft men. In fact, they were quite dangerous. The rod and staff that comfort David in Psalm 23 are weapons against his enemies and instruments of correction for him. David, the shepherd, chased down and killed the lion and bear that attacked his sheep (1 Sam 17:34-37). The shepherd is dangerous for his sheep.

A better way to translate Jesus’ words in John 10 is that he is the Noble Shepherd. He is the faithful, courageous shepherd who does whatever it takes to protect and provide for his flock. What will deliver his sheep is his laying down his life for them. Through this act, he will provide the shed blood to open the door to communion with the Father. Even in submitting to death, Jesus is not the powerless, weak man overcome by stronger forces. He lays down his life. No man takes it from him. He has the authority to lay it down, and he has the authority to take it up again (Jn 10:17-18). He lays down his life and takes it up again in resurrection to destroy the wolves that attack his flock.

Jesus expects his undershepherds, the pastors of his church, to image his nobility. When Paul left the elders in Ephesus, he told them that wolves would rise outside the church and within it to attack God’s sheep (Ac 20:17-31). It was their responsibility to see that Jesus’ sheep were protected. They must be willing to give up their lives to do so. This may not mean being martyred for Christ (though it may), but it may mean being called “ungracious” by people within the church who believe that we can have wolves as pets or, at least, allies. A pastor must be willing to be hated by people in the area for calling out sin and correctively disciplining people who refuse to repent of sinful lifestyles. A pastor must fight the wolves who attack from without and within; these are the false teachers, seducers of society, as well as the inward sin that seeks to find justification within the church.

Just this past week, Sam Allberry’s alliance with wolves was revealed to be as dangerous as Jesus said it would be. Allberry defended Christians identifying themselves with their sin of same-sex attraction. Instead of condemning the desire as sinful in itself, as Paul does in Romans 1, he made every attempt to dress up this wolf like a sheep. Coddle the sin, but don’t give in to it. However, no matter how sophisticated his arguments were, in the end, the sin he coddled bit him. He befriended the wolf, shared his character, taught others to do so, and has done great damage to the flock of God.

Allberry is not the only one who does this. Anywhere a pastor tolerates sin to grow within the church, he is dancing with wolves. Wolves don’t play, at least not for long. They are dangerous. The pastor must be more dangerous, meeting them with greater force and killing them (cf. Col 3:5). He must do this because it is good for the sheep. It is what it means to be a noble shepherd

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