Story of the Lost Sheep - through the eyes of the Peasants

Dear ....

Preface

These essays on Lost and Found .... by Kenneth E. Bailey - including comments by others and self -
pinpoint a "penetrating, theological and pastoral approach .. with careful attention to subtle details - making it very stimulating."

The same culture which underlay these stories in Jesus' time can be discovered today in isolated peasant communities in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Time has made almost no impact on these cultural pockets.

 

photo of Shepherds and flocks
gather at the entrance of this
typical village in Syria



Introduction

Jesus told this story to the Scribes and Pharisees to defend His association with the common people/the outcasts

- the People of the Land (as William Barclay puts it) and to stress God's concern for these 'lost' people.

Interpreters' Bible Commentary pleads that we observe carefully 

* that Jesus told this story to the Pharisees and Scribes

* the Significance of the Direct Approach of the Good Shepherd seeking the lost sheep..

Barclay puts it explicitly. It was an offence to the Scribes and Pharisees that Jesus associated with men and women... labelled as the Outsiders. There was a complete barrier between the Pharisees and the People of the Land.

The Pharisees looked sadistically forward not to the saving but to the destruction of these outcasts..


Shepherds in Jesus' days were prescribed as "unclean'

Leave open the whys and hows.  Jesus' Story of the Lost Sheep and the Good Shepherd - addressed to the Pharisees was a direct challenge against the Issue of Social Status - "Which one of you having a hundred sheep..." came not only as a shock but an insult to these aristocrats.

Social Status - identified with particular professions then and today - is still very much alive. Pre-judging and Prejudice are very much alive even in churches. How can we overcome prejudice...?!

Barclay gives the complete picture of the Judean shepherd. His task was hard and dangerous. Pasture was scarce. The narrow central plateau was only a few miles wide.. and then it plunged down to the wild cliffs and the terrible devastation of the  deserts below.

George Adam succinctly describes the role of these peasant shepherds.

"On some high moor across which at night the hyenas howl, when you meet him - sleepless, far-sighted, weather beaten, always leaning on his staff and looking out over his scattered sheep, everyone of them on his heart... you understand why the shepherd of Judea sprang to the front in his peoples' history; why they gave his name to the king and made him the symbol of providence; why Christ took him as the type of self sacrifice.

The shepherd was personally responsible for the sheep. If a sheep was lost, the shepherd must - bring home the fleece to show how it died. It was all in the day's work that a shepherd was prepared to lay down his life for his sheep.. Many of the  flocks belong to the village - as is the case in this story of the one hundred sheep. The average villager owned but 5-15 sheep.

Photo Picture Cluster of Village Houses...

... a sheep lost

A lost sheep would lie down helplessly - cries loudly - bleats incessantly - refuses to budge.

The Peasant Judean shepherd knows such plight - and peculiarities. He carries the sheep - on his shoulders.

The ground the sheep travels during a day is not intensive. And there's the assumption that the lost sheep can be found...These peasant shepherds are experts at tracking; they could follow the sheep's footprints for miles.

Finding comes first. Restoration follows thereafter. Hence the Rejoicing Joy..... A peasant shepherd on finding a sheep lost - whilst still in the wilderness - uncultivated land ... leaves the 99 sheep in the care of the other shepherd(s). In Syria, Palestine or Mesopotamia .. it is common to see a flock of sheep attended to by 2 or even 3 shepherds.

The other shepherd(s) would lead home the 99.... On arrival.... the neighborhood notices the absence of one shepherd..

The whole village waits anxiously - concerned over the safety of both shepherd - and sheep. Peasant shepherds are armed only with a rod/staff - and the most important sling; they're experts in the use of them....

Peasant shepherds come back at night; the returning sheep are kept in the Courtyard(s) of the Viilage Courtyard(s)

 Photo of a Village Courtyard...


Do not confuse Peasant shepherds with Bedouin shepherds; the latter are wanderers. Bedouin shepherds and their sheep sleep in the open - or in the Caves. And they are the more endangered to wild and bigger predators or even robbers.

Except to get lost, the sheep does nothing to prompt the shepherd to seek/search for it.  In the story, the shepherd found the lost sheep. JOY is reported over the Recovery of the one sheep that had been lost over/against the ninety-nine - not  endangered. (Matt 18:13b)  

Jesus psychologically intended to emphasise God's Magnanimous Concern for the 'lost' as well as
God's Joy at his recovery - return...




The Story ends with Theological Themes

* JOY in Restoration to the Community

* JOY in the Burden of that Restoration

* GOD'S Magnanimous Grace of/in Seeking the lost

* JOY in the Safe Return of the Seeking Shepherd
- much as he could be blamed for the sheep's loss.




When the night is very dark;  that's when one candle makes all the difference.
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not fear.." Psalm 23:1





Pastor Edwin Khoo