John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

The Bible is full of shepherds and sheep; Moses was a shepherd, Jacob was a shepherd, David was a shepherd, Amos was a shepherd! In fact, the word ‘sheep’ appears in the Bible more than the word ‘grace’ and twice as much as the word ‘pray’! Probably the most famous Psalm in the Bible begins “The Lord is my Shepherd” (Psalm 23). This is describing God as the shepherd of His people so, when Jesus said He was the good shepherd, He is placing Himself in the position that Israel knew to belong to God; it was a statement about His divinity.

Though sheep and shepherds were an everyday experience in the Bible, that is not the case for many of us living in the urban environment of Wealdstone. Quite a few of us may have never met a shepherd. In biblical times it involved sleeping outdoors, protecting the flock from wild animals, often having only the sheep for company. It was dirty, dangerous, demeaning and dull, and was often looked down upon by the more respectable members of society, yet Jesus is willing to be our shepherd. And let’s face it, we are not always the obedient woolly sheep that you might see in pictures. We can be stubborn, ungrateful and rebellious – and He still wants to be our shepherd.

There is a story of a man who, one day, attended a funeral of a friend. As part of the service Psalm 23 was to be read and a friend of the deceased who was an actor was given the task of reading it. He had a great voice and read it with fabulous intonation, speed and clarity and the man was impressed. Having been moved by the reading, the following Sunday he felt it would be good to attend church. He went to his small local chapel. It had only a small congregation and an elderly minister. The man was surprised when the minister stood up and announced that the reading for that morning would be Psalm 23. The minister read the psalm, his voice was old and a bit crackly. He hesitated a couple of times, it was not a polished performance, but the man in the congregation was even more moved than he had been at the funeral. When asked about it later he commented that the actor had known the Psalm but the minister knew the Shepherd.

Why not join us at our services on any Sunday (10.30 am) and meet the shepherd – Jesus – who laid His life down for you.