November 4 – Shepherd or Coach

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. John 10:1-6 

Jesus was talking to people who understood shepherding sheep. Those who didn’t understand were not agricultural based. Likewise today not many people understand shepherding so Jesus would have to find another analogy to use…maybe one like a football coach. Train your team to play a good game of football just as they would put their whole heart into seeking Jesus—as if they were in the end line ready for a touchdown. Encouraging other players to do their best on the field—to fight defensively for the ball and to move offensively to the goal. 

Back to the sheep. Shepherds corralled their sheep at night to keep them safe from wolves, bears or wild cats. There are cougars in Israel—we saw a wild one at Qumran. So the shepherd in Jesus time, like those of today, build a fence and along with other shepherds in the area they put their sheep inside. The gate may actually be a person who guards the opening to the enclosure so that the sheep don’t escape during the night. The shepherds would take turns staying awake for several hours to guard the sheep. In the morning as the shepherds are ready to take their sheep out to pasture, they call them by name, and the sheep knowing their own shepherd’s voice, follow him out of the sheep fold or enclosure. How can we apply this scripture to our lives? Simply, that Jesus is our shepherd and those who believe in Him recognize His voice and follow Him. Just like the shepherd in Psalm 23, Jesus takes care of His flock. He guards His flock day and night—providing green pastures and still waters so that we have “food” and a safe supply of drinking water. No climbing down into “wadies” where a flash flood of water could carry us away. Like sheep we need to have a shepherd—and Jesus is our main shepherd. He assigns some of His shepherding tasks to others, like our pastor, Sunday School teacher, or Bible Study leader. Some of the shepherding needs to be done by us—you might think of it as mentoring. We all need to be mentored and to mentor others. Who is coaching you…and who are you coaching? 

Jesus—You are the greatest coach and shepherd. Thank you for providing just the right “food” and safe water. Help us to coach those around us—to encourage them to listen closely for Your voice and to follow You to the goal.

© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).