The Good Shepherd

When Jesus spoke of being the Good Shepherd in John 10, he also made the provocative observation that he has other sheep that are not of this fold. There are probably about as many interpretations of this teaching as there are interpreters! But for now, I think it’s important to take note of Christ’s concept of shepherding those who, at least so far, remain outside the fold. Other sheep Christ has. He is calling to them, too.

One who takes Christ’s shepherding as a model will look upon the world and the surrounding community with what I call “the eyes of Christ.” From time to time in the Gospels we are told that Jesus, while teaching, would look upon the multitudes with compassion, because they appeared to him to be like sheep without a shepherd! Then he would say to his friends, ‘Lift up your eyes and see, the harvest is ripe.’ Cultivating the kind of vision that Jesus had for the people of the world is a large part of what it is to be a disciple commissioned to make disciples. But this means going where the people are, which is precisely what Jesus did.