At the first church I served as a pastor, I quickly got to know Debbie Talbot, an all-star volunteer with the children and youth ministries who also served as our church treasurer. Debbie was about 5’1”, and had three sons who took after their dad in height. Their dad, Steve, was about 6’3”. Debbie said something about parenting that stuck with me. She said she had to teach her boys how to obey her voice when it became stern, as her voice would be the most intimidating thing about her, because her boys would one day be taller than her. Well, they all towered over her 5-foot frame, but cowered when her voice became stern.
Debbie is a great mom who did a fantastic job of raising three wonderful boys who grew up to be wonderful people. She never abused the power of her voice – even when her voice became stern, it was to help her boys make wise decisions, such as: “Stop punching your brother.”
In our passage from John, Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, a shepherd whose sheep know his voice and follow him. Those in his flock know they can trust his voice and it will lead them to still waters and rest for their souls.
When I think of shepherding, I think of this tranquil scene from Psalm 23, where sheep are grazing on lush green pastures by crystal clear streams of water babbling along a rocky shore. There is a gentle breeze and blue skies filled with white fluffy clouds that of course look like sheep. The shepherding lifestyle in Jesus’ day, however, was not always that peaceful. It could actually be pretty dangerous. For starters it was a nomadic lifestyle.
A shepherd, the flock and any hired hands are constantly on the move to make sure their sheep have enough grass to graze upon. This was more and more difficult the closer one got to winter. When pastures surrounding a shepherd’s village were no longer able to sustain multiple flocks of sheep, shepherds had to lead their sheep further from their village in search of larger pastures.
In later months of the year, it’s inevitable that a shepherd and their flock would find themselves so far from home that they had to spend the night in the middle of nowhere out in the wilderness. This exposes the sheep and all who tend to them to dangers such as wolves, other wild animals wishing to prey on them or even thieves.
To help each other out, shepherds would construct enclosures made of rough uncut stones like this picture, so that when shepherds and their sheep inevitably found themselves out in the wilderness and far from home they’d have a safe enclosure to spend the night. Notice there isn’t a roof, but the walls would be high enough to make sure any predators wishing to grab a sheep would be kept out. But just to make sure, and if any were available, there would be thorns placed on the top of the walls to deter anything or anyone from trying to jump over them. Also, notice that there is no door. This is because the shepherd would lie in that spot so that he would be the first to encounter any threat that tried to enter the enclosure through the front door.
This is what Jesus meant when he said, “I am the gate for the sheep” earlier in verse 7. He literally becomes the gate for his flock. Jesus is making an analogy to real life. He is familiar with the shepherding techniques of his day, and so is his audience. Those listening to him would understand the comparisons Jesus makes between himself and a shepherd. So Jesus, as the gate, is not only the protector, but also the very entryway into the fold of God.
In this passage, Jesus is talking to a crowd of Pharisees. Most Pharisees owned sheep and either took care of them themselves or hired someone to take care of them — hence the hired hand reference — so they would have been VERY familiar with the shepherding imagery. A shepherd that is invested in the flock will do anything to protect the sheep. Whereas a hired hand, who, while they may like the sheep, are not as invested in the flock and therefore not willing to put themselves in harm’s way for the sheep. At the first sign of danger the hired hand runs away leaving the flock to fend for themselves. As a result the sheep scatter and are separated from the rest of the flock, making them vulnerable to any lurking predators.
The Pharisees were probably frustrated with their own hired hands who didn’t really care for their sheep, in the same way they did. But now Jesus is showing that they are like the hired hands instead of faithful shepherds walking alongside God’s people. They were not attending to God’s people as well as they could have been. Furthermore, none of them can do what only Jesus as the good shepherd can do.
In all of the imagery of Jesus as the good shepherd he always leads his flock from the front. He’s always ahead of the flock. He’s not poking, or prodding us from behind or from the side. He calls out to us to follow him and we have the choice to follow or not follow his voice.
There are many voices calling us to follow them. There is a statistic that we are each bombarded with 5,000 marketing strategies each day. Market researchers, however, now estimate that, thanks to our phones, we are exposed to as many as 10,000 ads a day. Think of how many ads you have to endure for a few seconds before you can skip them when looking at a recipe or reading a news article.
Our digital lives have expanded the amount of voices that talk at us.
Some of those voices are very attractive.
The American Psychological Association published an article earlier this year about the alarming number of people using AI Chatbots as therapists or even romantic interests. In this article, psychologists are worried as the more people engage with AI chatbots and digital companions, the result is increased isolation and the dependency on these virtual relationships. They even site some marrying their digital companions where friends and family are invited to their virtual weddings. More common are those who use platforms such as Chat GPT to use as virtual therapists. The issue is that such platforms are designed to be what we want them to be.
As a result such digital therapists tell us what we want to hear and affirm what we already know. Some digital entities have endorsed hate speech something that would for sure be challenged by others. Since these digital entities tell us what we want to hear, APA has seen people spend more time with online companions than actual people. Relationships with other human beings are messy, as every relationship has to navigate different views, opinions, and preferences etc. This then leads people to further isolate themselves as they become more dependent on their digital therapists and companions. Essentially using AI for therapy or romantic relationships is gratifying because they basically say back to us what we want to hear. People who use AI in this way are basically hearing their own voices – even if those voices are not healthy.
We were made to be in relationships with others – real relationships that are messy. And above all we were made to be in relationship with God. God is a God of love, the Good Shepherd, who doesn’t tell us what we want to hear, but what we need to hear. He’s like a loving parent, who out of love for their children says hard things, but those hard things are meant to keep them safe. Like Debbie, who had to discipline her son for punching his brother. Or the parent who has to reprimand their child for running into a busy street.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who wants us to be safe and whole. He desires to lead us away from anything that is harmful to us or others. But in the end, it’s up to us to listen to his voice. Before we judge those who have turned to AI companions and therapists, I think all of us are susceptible to listening to only those voices we want to hear – voices that don’t challenge us or convict us even when we are clearly in the wrong.
We even approach the Bible in the same way. Many read it not for God’s leading but to affirm what they already believe about themselves, others, the world, and even their politics. Anyone can quote the Bible, but not everyone follows or accepts Jesus’ voice. The Pharisees, the religious leaders of Jesus’s day, are a great example of this.
Jesus was and remains a divisive figure, which means following Jesus is not always the most comfortable route. Right after Jesus gives this beautiful metaphor of himself as the Good Shepherd willing to die for his flock, we learn in the next verse that many thought Jesus was demon-possessed because of the outlandish things he said such as claiming to be God.
But when we follow him we will find safety, green pastures, and still waters – rest for our souls. His voice is the one we need. His voice is the one we can trust. I pray we become better and better at listening for his voice. The voice of the good shepherd who not just gives, but is our hope in the midst of our broken world.