Why are shepherds so important to Jesus?

Answer 1

That was just an illustration. It was also an illustration that the people of that day would understand. In some tribes missionaries have found out that they didn't have a word for sheep because they never had sheep, so in some translations it would say that a Shepherd knows his pigs etc.

This illustration was really intended for the nation of Israel - they were the lost sheep Jesus was talking about. Jesus came to show Israel how far they had moved away from God's purposes for them.

But also the illustration of the shepherd and the sheep relates to all of mankind as sheep.

Sheep wander off and get separated from the rest of the flock. Just like sheep people also stray from God. Jesus the shepherd has made it possible for people to come back to God. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus it is possible for people to have a right relationship with God their creator.

Answer 2

Everyone is important to Jesus, but shepherds symbolize God. In the psalms, David says that the Lord is our shepherd and we are like sheep wandering astray, and we need our shepherd" (God) to watch over us.

Answer 3

Jesus is called the good sheperd as sorta a metaphor God is the shepard and christians are his sheep. The devil would be the theif or wolf or lion that tries to steal the lamb away. The feild in which the sheep dwell in portrais heaven and the gate to the feild is Jesus. All must get to God/The shepherd through the son/Jesus/The gate. Hope that helps.

Answer 4

Jesus is our sheppard looking after us lost sheep. Back then people found it hard to think of things literally so jesus taught in parables here is the one on the lost sheep. Luke 15:3-10

So he told them this parable: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, `Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, `Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Answer 5

In the times of Jesus, there were two kinds of shepherds - the 'good' shepherds and the 'bad' shepherd. However, generally, shepherds were the lowest class in society and looked down on by the ruling classes - for one thing they were not welcome in the Temple to worship God. And yet the shepherds were the first to hear of Christ's birth.

'Bad' shepherds were usually employed by other people to look after sheep and so they had little responsibility for their sheep's welfare as they were paid by the day.

However, the Good Shepherd was someone whose livelihood was their sheep; they knew their sheep individually and their welfare and care was more important than their own. Good shepherds would even be prepared to lay their own lives down for their sheep.

Therefore Jesus was known as the 'Good Shepherd'. He loved and cared for his flock - us. He knew and knows us individually. And Christians know him personally too. He came to be a lowly servant and not a ruler. And, as we know in the crucifixion, he was willing to lay down his life for his sheep.