Value #1 – We Pursue the One
Sheep are an interesting breed…to say the least. I’ve seen a meme circling around lately on social media of a farmer who works hard to pull one of his sheep out of a muddy ditch. The farmer struggles and strains to push the stuck sheep out of the ditch and back to safety. Eventually the sheep is free and back on the dry flat land. Not two seconds later do we see the sheep turn around and leap back into the ditch.
Surely this was the image that hymn writer Robert Robinson had in mind when he wrote, “Prone to wander Lord I feel it - prone to leave the God I love.” Thus sheep are an apt analogy to help describe how we humans are in regards to our relationship with the Lord. How many times have I been pulled out of the ditch of my sin only to find myself back in the muck and mire minutes later?
The question then is never…will I jump back in the ditch? The Bible says clearly that as human beings we are in Adam (see 1 Corinthians 15:22), which means we have a sin nature. Like our biblical ancestor Adam we choose to rebel against God and follow our own desires. This leads us into all kinds of proverbial “sin” ditches. The greater question then is…when we’re back in the ditch…will God come get us?
In the Gospel of John, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd. And as such Jesus outlines two specific functions that the Good Shepherd plays in the life of the sheep: protector and pursuer.
1. The Good Shepherd protects his flock.
Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:10-11).
There are two kinds of protection that the Good Shepherd provides for his sheep. First, Jesus protects his flock from the enemy who comes from the outside. As followers of Jesus let’s make no mistake that there is a real enemy whose sole purpose in your life is to steal, kill, and destroy you. Satan, the enemy Jesus refers to here is after your hope, your joy, your purpose, and your identity (to name a few). The Bible describes him as the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) and “roaring lion, [who is] seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). There is a real enemy who seeks to do real harm in your life thus our need for a Good Shepherd who protects his flock.
But the Good Shepherd, knowing his flock's propensity for poor decisions, also serves to protect us from our own sinful stupidity. Several years ago a story emerged from Istanbul, Turkey of a group of shepherds who, while eating breakfast, watched as hundreds of their respective flock of sheep jumped off a cliff. The article went on to say:
“First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported. In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned.” ¹
Thanks be to God that we have a Good Shepherd who loves his sheep enough to protect them from themselves. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus is the one who not only “leads me beside still waters [and] restores my soul” but also uses his rod and staff in order to “lead me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake” (Psalm 23:2-3).
2. The Good Shepherd pursues the lost.
Catch this, though…Jesus is not static in his shepherding. He says, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:14-16).
Paul said clearly in Philippians that Jesus “emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men.” Jesus did not sit idly in heaven while we wallowed in our sin. Jesus actively pursued us in the midst of our sin. The gospel is good news because it reminds us that before we ever pursued Jesus he was pursuing us.
This is why in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus says this, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray” (Matthew 18:12-13).
Therefore, as a church, we do everything with purpose from the parking lot to the pulpit, from the sacred spaces to the common places, in pursuit of the one. We pursue those who are far from God because we want them to know, experience, and understand the God who pursues them. As Port City Church pursues “the one” - join us in praying that many who are lost and without hope would find hope and healing in the Good Shepherd.
