When Sheep are Smarter than People

But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him

because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice. John 10:5

In this great passage, Jesus used the common image of a shepherd and his sheep to describe his relationship with us. That’s actually pretty funny when you think about it, as Jesus had a plethora of potential images from which to draw, yet he choose sheep.

In Jesus’ world, shepherds and sheep were common sights. Many in Jesus’ audience had firsthand experience with the adventures of working with sheep.

And for all the abuse sheep get for not being the brightest of God’s creations, they do have one uncanny ability: A sheep can learn its shepherd’s voice and distinguish it from anyone else’s. That’s why Jesus said that a sheep will run from a stranger—it simply doesn’t recognize his voice.

Oh that humans were that smart. We know from the pages of the Bible and from our own pain-filled personal experience that we all too often make really poor choices about whom we follow. We’ve lost our discerning abilities and we simply let all sorts of false and evil shepherds lead us astray.

And our world looks like it. Far from the tranquility and safety of the pastoral scene of a shepherd and his sheep, many of our lives look like something that has been ravaged by a false shepherd, if not a wolf or a lion.

Do you know Jesus’ voice? Do you know how to discern it from all the other voices around you? Can you tell the difference between truth and lies? Are you biblically-minded enough to not just recognize falsehood, but to flee from it?

Friends, Jesus used the image a sheep for a reason. We really do need a shepherd. We really do need protecting. And left to ourselves, we will inevitably wander into trouble.

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me, John 10:14.

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