There is something quite helpless about the make-up of sheep.

The bear and hawk are armed with their claws. The lion is known for his brute strength as well as his speed and agility. But sheep have little to work with as a means of defense when attacked by a predator. Having dealt with humans so closely down through the years, they have actually become dependent upon people in many critical areas.

Sheep are not good hunters. We seldom hear of them tracking down their prey in an effort to catch their supper. Unless sheep are actually brought to the pasture, they could very well go hungry. Neither are sheep very good at finding water on their own. That could be why David said in Psalm 23:2, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.”

Sheep are not known as great thinkers. They tend to be followers. They behave much like, well, like sheep.

Sheep have an aversion to change. It could be that they are satisfied and have grown complacent with their current state of affairs. Or maybe it is as simple as just being afraid of what they cannot see.

In John 10:1-2, Jesus tells us that “the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the door, but climbs up some other way to gain entry is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.”

As on many other occasions when he spoke in parables, his disciples did not understand what he was saying. In John 10:7 he plainly says to them, “…I am the door of the sheep.” He proceeds to explain to them in verse 8 that those who came before him were nothing more than thieves and robbers.

In verse 9 he repeats his claim of being “the door.” He says, “...if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

Say what you want about sheep’s intelligence and ability to discern. They will not follow the voice of a stranger. When one comes teaching and preaching peculiar doctrine, it will be called into question. As a matter of fact, John 10:5 says that the sheep will flee from the stranger because they don’t know his voice.

In John 10:11, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” As the Good Shepherd, Christ gave his life for his sheep and became the door to God’s fold (John 10:7); as the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20-21), he rose from the dead to care for his sheep; as Chief Shepherd (I Peter 5:4), he will come again for his sheep.

Donald Owens is the pastor of New Hopewell Baptist Church in Belton and chaplain of the Hospice of the Upstate in Anderson.