Sheep Evangelism

Fruitfulness.  One aspect of fruitfulness is God’s mission to save people from all the nations.  Jesus refers to this in John 10:16: “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.  I must bring them also.  They too will listen to my voice,…”  The other sheep Jesus has in mind are the Gentiles, who with Jewish believers in Messiah “shall be one flock and one shepherd.”  

Did you know that sheep are evangelists?  In A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, author Phillip Keller describes how the shepherd leads his flock out into pasture lands each morning.  As his sheep roam over the countryside, they encounter lost sheep who have no shepherd.  The lost sheep note how well-fed and healthy the shepherd’s sheep are.  When the shepherd calls his flock at the end of the day, some of the lost sheep also respond to his call and follow him home, thus coming under his care.

The phrase to “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” refers to all kinds of human suffering.  Lost sheep constantly roam in this valley.  Each day, as the Lord leads you and me out into this hurting world, we walk alongside our lost-sheep friends and console them.  As we do so, we fear no evil, for the Lord is with us.  He will bless our efforts, and our friends will recognize that the goodness of the Good Shepherd is available to them as well.  What a joy to bear fruit in this manner.

Community.  The collective aspect of the Christian life is conveyed in John 10 through the word “flock.”  Unlike other animals that gather in herds, sheep have a fairly level social structure.  Male goats or stags butt heads to prove who is boss.  Not so with sheep.  Who is at the top of the social ladder in a flock of sheep?  Their shepherd!  So it should be among Christians.  When we fight for dominance between ourselves, the flock is not a safe place.  When we all bow our will to the Good Shepherd, life together is good and abundant for all.