Good Shepherd

Read Aloud: Ezekiel 34

Open

1. Have you ever watched sheep? How do they seem to operate? Do you think they are easy to manage? Why/why not?
2. If you were a shepherd, what would you think the purpose of your job would be? 
3. What if someone called you a “door”? What might it mean?

Imagine someone saying to you “you’re making a mountain out of a molehill, in fact, it feels like you’re waving like a flag on top of Everest.” What is referenced is literally neither a mountain, nor a molehill and you aren’t a flag, but the extended metaphor is not difficult to decipher. Metaphors in the Bible can be similar. This is exemplified by John in chapter 10 by pancaking two “I am” statements into the same context. Which is He? A door? A Good Shepherd? If you add a barn on your property near your house, the two structures have different purposes, but collectively they can become something bigger with greater meaning—a farm. Look closely at the context of each “I am” metaphor here, and you will see one expanding the other and John’s deep desire for us to know the multifaceted majesty of this King.

Reflect

1. Does it offend you when someone seems like they are trying to lead you? What makes someone “unfollowable” in your book? 
2. The Old Testament depicts the God of the Israelites using several images such as that used in Psalm 23. Without looking it up, what is the first verse of Psalm 23. What is the tone of the verse?
3. Read Isaiah 40:9-11. Who is the writer speaking to (look for the parallel in v.9)? Come up with several adjectives you would use for God as described in this Isaiah passage. How does it compare or differ from the description in John 10? 
4. In Numbers 27:15-17, knowing that he will not be accompanying Israel into the Promised Land, what does Moses request of God? How does God respond?
5. Read Matthew 18:12-14. What is the expectation of the shepherd in this parable? Does it seem reasonable? Why/why not?
6. John 10:11 describes the “Good Shepherd’s” purpose. Was this purpose in your list from the second question in the OPEN section (at the start of this session)? Why/why not?
7. What do you think John is communicating by the two separate images of Jesus as a “door” and “shepherd”? 
8. Have you ever paid someone to do a job or watched a paid employee of an organization you worked for bail out when it got too difficult or not worth it? Explain. Would you have done the same? Why/why not?
9. In what way do you NOT trust that Jesus is a “Good” shepherd? How about God the Father?

So, I am . . .

Have you ever considered how many idioms use “sheep”? A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Black sheep. Count sheep. Like sheep. This last one is telling and not very positive. When you are “like sheep” you are just another follower. No critical thought. No decisive nature. A shepherd might suggest that sheep are actually worse than that. Sheep get themselves into trouble. They get stuck in brambles. They climb up hills that they can’t get back down. Could this be the image John and much of the Bible uses for us?! YES! This highlights our need for saving. Our stubborn search for pleasure and self-sufficiency takes us into dark and dangerous places, places God doesn’t want us to go. But, no matter how deep and wide the danger, His love and determination to reconcile us back to Himself is deeper and wider. The Good Shepherd knows His own and brings many to Himself. How are you failing to trust Him? 

What parts of your life are still off limits? Today’s message is for you. Take some time this week to write down a few paragraphs of the ways you want to trust Him more, and where you have been holding back. Don’t skip this one, and be totally honest. Maybe if you’re really bold, you will share it with someone in your group.