3rd Sunday
of Advent Scripture: John 10:1-5
"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."
Abel, Abraham,
Lot, Isaac, Jacob, Rachel, Jacob's twelve sons, Laban, Moses, David, Mesha--
King of Moab, Doeg, Amos…What did they all have in common? They were shepherds.
Shepherding was for the young
The youngest boy in the family becomes shepherd of the sheep. As the older son grows up he transfers his energies from sheep raising to helping the father with sowing, plowing, and harvesting the crops, and passes on the shepherd's task to the next younger boy. This would explain why David, the youngest of Jesse’s 8 sons was the family shepherd.
All shepherds
were not a like, however. Before seeing how they were different, let’s see what
they all had in common.
Shepherds wear a sleeveless cotton tunic and an outer garment called an aba usually made of camel’s hair to keep warm and served as a blanket.
The Shepherd’s tools: a staff, a rod, a scrip (dried skin bag), a sling and a sheepfold (permanent or temporary)
The shepherding job is almost the same for all”
All sheep need: Feeding, Watering, Grooming, Shearing, Protecting, Leading, Delivering.
FEEDING: Led to pasture in warm weather. Fed leaves or other gathered greens or grains provided for by the shepherd.
WATERING: Flocked near a stream with a quiet area or watered form a well when a stream is not nearby.
GROOMING: Feces and other materials become trapped in the wool, attracting flies & maggots and they need regularly groomed to stay clean.
SHEARING: Sheep don’t shed. If a sheep goes too long without being shorn, a number of problems occur. The excess wool impedes the ability of sheep to regulate their body temperatures. Sheep with large amounts of wool can become immobilized.
PROTECTING: Thieves find sheep an easy target if the shepherd is not watching. Predators find sheep an easy mark if there is no one to protect them.
LEADING: Sheep will wander. They need to be led to where they should go for food, water or protection.
DELIVERING: This is where all Shepherds are not the same. Shepherding has always been a huge industry for Israel. Job had 14,000 sheep (Job. 42:12), and King Solomon at the Temple's dedication, sacrificed 120,000 sheep (1Kings 8:63). Most of Israel’s sheep were delivered for wool, or food. But some sheep were delivered to the temple in Jerusalem for one purpose only – to be sacrificed for the sins of the people who offered them. Shepherds did not raise sheep for human consumption AND for religious reasons – it was one or the other.
Migdal
Eder is a tower mentioned in Genesis 35:21, in the context of the death
of Jacob's wife, Rachel, and locates it
near the present-day city of Bethlehem. The sheep raise
near this tower were raised for sacrifice because the flocks could more easily
be watched over from such a tower. (And in that same country, there were
shepherds keeping watch OVER their flocks by night) Instead of delivering
their sheep to the market, these sheep would have delivered them to the temple
in Jerusalem where they would be wrapped in a swaddling cloth to be examined to
make sure there were no spots or blemishes.
It stands to reason that the shepherds of Bethlehem were in charge of raising sheep for the temple sacrifices. According to the laws of the time the sheep that were used for the offerings had to be a one-year-old male sheep that had been outside for 365 days (one-year). Since these sheep needed to remain outside the shepherds were also outside. Once the sheep were of age the shepherds would bring them to the city of Jerusalem to be sacrificed for the Sabbath (Friday). It was important that the sheep that was to be sacrificed did not possess any blemishes (broken legs, or injuries). Once the sheep’s blood was completely spilled for all of the sins the priest would return to the people and proclaim, “It is finished”.
SONG “Wrap this one up”
Wrap This one Up!
"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."
Shepherding was for the young
The youngest boy in the family becomes shepherd of the sheep. As the older son grows up he transfers his energies from sheep raising to helping the father with sowing, plowing, and harvesting the crops, and passes on the shepherd's task to the next younger boy. This would explain why David, the youngest of Jesse’s 8 sons was the family shepherd.
Shepherds wear a sleeveless cotton tunic and an outer garment called an aba usually made of camel’s hair to keep warm and served as a blanket.
The Shepherd’s tools: a staff, a rod, a scrip (dried skin bag), a sling and a sheepfold (permanent or temporary)
The shepherding job is almost the same for all”
All sheep need: Feeding, Watering, Grooming, Shearing, Protecting, Leading, Delivering.
FEEDING: Led to pasture in warm weather. Fed leaves or other gathered greens or grains provided for by the shepherd.
WATERING: Flocked near a stream with a quiet area or watered form a well when a stream is not nearby.
GROOMING: Feces and other materials become trapped in the wool, attracting flies & maggots and they need regularly groomed to stay clean.
SHEARING: Sheep don’t shed. If a sheep goes too long without being shorn, a number of problems occur. The excess wool impedes the ability of sheep to regulate their body temperatures. Sheep with large amounts of wool can become immobilized.
PROTECTING: Thieves find sheep an easy target if the shepherd is not watching. Predators find sheep an easy mark if there is no one to protect them.
LEADING: Sheep will wander. They need to be led to where they should go for food, water or protection.
DELIVERING: This is where all Shepherds are not the same. Shepherding has always been a huge industry for Israel. Job had 14,000 sheep (Job. 42:12), and King Solomon at the Temple's dedication, sacrificed 120,000 sheep (1Kings 8:63). Most of Israel’s sheep were delivered for wool, or food. But some sheep were delivered to the temple in Jerusalem for one purpose only – to be sacrificed for the sins of the people who offered them. Shepherds did not raise sheep for human consumption AND for religious reasons – it was one or the other.
The shepherds
of Bethlehem
FLOCK OF THE
TOWER
It stands to reason that the shepherds of Bethlehem were in charge of raising sheep for the temple sacrifices. According to the laws of the time the sheep that were used for the offerings had to be a one-year-old male sheep that had been outside for 365 days (one-year). Since these sheep needed to remain outside the shepherds were also outside. Once the sheep were of age the shepherds would bring them to the city of Jerusalem to be sacrificed for the Sabbath (Friday). It was important that the sheep that was to be sacrificed did not possess any blemishes (broken legs, or injuries). Once the sheep’s blood was completely spilled for all of the sins the priest would return to the people and proclaim, “It is finished”.
When his time had come Jesus was led to Jerusalem to be sacrificed. It was extremely important that he did not have any imperfections (blemishes). On Sabbath Jesus Christ was crucified and gave up his life. He proclaimed, “It is finished”.
Feeding, Watering, Grooming, Shearing, Protecting, Leading, Delivering.
Jesus feeds us his word to eat, gives us living water to drink, grooms us removing the filth of the world, Shears us to remove our over growth from the world, Protects us from ourselves, Leads un into all righteousness, and delivers us to the altar of God to be sacrificed in our hearts as an offering to the Father. We too are to become like unblemished lambs: Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.
After Jesus was raised from the dead, through Peter, he commissioned all of us to be shepherds: John 21:15-19 Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
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