Are Believers “Sheep”?
A man who was an absolute pacifist wrote me arguing:
‘Jesus called his followers sheep. A Christian is a sheep. Sheep don’t fight. Never!’
This is an example of going to unbalanced extremes. He took the biblical symbolism of believers being sheep and carried it to extremes, ignoring other relevant passages of Scripture, which breaks the hermeneutical rule: Scripture interprets Scripture.
Disregarding the fact that the New Testament does not support the idea of absolute pacifism, but rather limited pacifism (a peaceable attitude that only resorts to violence when necessary), I answered his remark, first pointing out that he was mistakenly making an absolute statement about a limited figurative description. For instance, while the Bible does refer to believers as sheep on occasion (Psalm 100:3), it also clearly says that “the righteous are as bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).
Meanwhile pastors are shepherds, not sheep; in other words, they lead sheep with the understanding that Christ is the Chief Shepherd and fivefold ministers are under-shepherds (1 Peter 5:1-4). Also keep in mind that believers are called to imitate the Lord (Ephesians 5:1). Was Jesus a sheep when he cleansed the Temple or a fearsome lion? (Mark 11:15-18). What about when he boldly confronted the corrupt legalists face-to-face (Matthew 23:13-33)?
Furthermore, Christ added important exposition on the metaphor of sheep when he instructed his disciples: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). “Shrewd” refers to skill or cunningness in real-world matters, like when Paul slyly employed “divide and conquer” tactics when held before the contrasting factions of the Supreme Council of the Hebrews (Acts 23:6-8).
Believers today are often too nice and gullible yet the Lord said we need to be shrewd as snakes while maintaining our blamelessness. He even gave an entire parable commending the shrewdness of a wasteful manager who was about to lose his job (Luke 16:1-9). Why would Christ exhort us to be shrewd as snakes? Because we live in the midst of wolves. Verily, walk blamelessly before your Creator but sugariness and gullibility won’t cut it when you’re dealing with bigheaded, antagonistic, deceiving people, like Joseph’s brethren who were jealous of their younger sibling and sold him into slavery; and then lied about it. Such predators will naturally perceive amiability and naïveté as signs of weakness and respond accordingly. Simply put, they’ll eat you up and spew you out! This reveals why Joseph — who was a type of Christ — acted like he didn’t know his siblings, spoke roughly to them, and falsely accused them of being foreign agents; he was employing shrewdness. This was the only way to break his carnal brothers. See this article for details on Joseph’s story.
As for the argument that “A Christian is a sheep,” this assumes that the New Testament’s description of believers as “sheep” is a compliment. It is in some ways, perhaps, but definitely not in others. For instance, in parts of Africa it is common to see goats, chickens, cattle and sheep on the road. While other animals have the sense to run to safety at the sight of an approaching vehicle, sheep do not seem to possess this wisdom. Rather, they’ll remain in the road or even move in front of the vehicle, as if they want to get run over.
Furthermore, sheep seem to lack the ability to properly care for themselves. When born, sheep are very white with a nice fleece, but within weeks their coat gets dirty and they have little regard for cleanliness. They turn this unsightly sort of tan with all manner of stuff in their fur. They are pathetic-looking animals that aimlessly wander about scarcely able to survive without supervision.
Christ said: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… I know my sheep and my sheep know me” (John10:11,14). This implies that Christians are a purposeless progeny who, without the day-to-day direction and shielding of our good Shepherd and Holy Spirit, wouldn’t be able to take care of ourselves, at least not spiritually. We would be stuck in a trench, figuratively speaking, needing succor. Apart from Christ we are helpless, but in Christ we “can do all things” that God calls us to do (Philippians 4:13).
This article was edited from chapter 8 of…
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Related Topics:
Spiritual Growth — The Four Stages
Absolute Pacifism (Unbiblical) vs. Limited Pacifism (Biblical)
Should Christians RESIST Criminal Acts? (video)
Military Service — Is it Okay for Believers to Serve in the Armed Forces?
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