Is It Correct That “We All Like Sheep Have Gone Astray”?
Share
Think for a moment about a sheep — what comes to mind? I’m no shepherd or farmer, and my own interaction with sheep has been limited to petting zoos, but even I know their reputation as an animal with a strong herd instinct. As a prey species, they flock together as a defense designed to protect them from predators. The herd mentality is significant.
This flock dynamic is so strong that it eclipses most other traits. For instance, animal behaviorists have discovered groups of four or more sheep will form a flock and follow a leader, seemingly blindly. Separation from the flock can prompt panic. Isolation from other sheep can be extraordinarily stressful.
Yet we are often referred to as sheep throughout Scripture. When Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd and us as his sheep (John 10:11, 27), this is a good thing. We want to be part of Jesus’s flock, want to know his voice and be counted in his heavenly family.
Yet other references are not as positive. For instance, in Isaiah 53, the prophet talks about how God will send his Messiah in an unexpected form, and this Messiah will be despised and rejected by the people. Yet he will bear our suffering and will be pierced for our transgressions — by his wounds we will be healed.
As Isaiah prophesies, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
What does this mean? Is It correct that we all like sheep have gone astray?
Indeed, we have gone astray, and are lost without Christ. But the good news is that our Good Shepherd can bring us back into the fold.
What Is Happening in Isaiah 53?
Written to the people of Judah and Jerusalem around 740-680 BC, the book of Isaiah was penned by the prophet with a goal to help his readers see their hypocrisy and change their ways before it was too late.
This chapter foretells the sufferings of the promised Messiah, who will die for our sins and, by doing so, save humanity.
The chapter starts by describing a Messiah who seems, at least on the surface, weak and insignificant — nothing like the strong, handsome savior who will swoop in on a stallion and rescue the people from all harm. Instead, he is “a tender shoot” with “no beauty or majesty” (v. 2). What a paradox for the people, who surely expect their deliverer will be a bold and powerful hero of sorts.
Isaiah tells us here that the Messiah will suffer for us, taking our sins on as his own, and we will be like sheep, blindly and perhaps foolishly doing our own thing instead of looking to him.
Why Does Isaiah Say We Are Like Sheep Gone Astray?
Isaiah is making the point that we people have a group mentality, much like sheep have a herd mentality. In our haste to heed the flock dynamic, we will collectively turn from the very one sent to save us. We don’t recognize him as Messiah because he comes in an unlikely form, and because of us, he suffers and is pierced.
The original Hebrew in verse 6 says we are son, which translates to sheep, cattle, or a flock. We have a powerful group-think, a powerful herd mentality, easily influenced or swayed. Further, we son have tāʿâ — meaning that we have erred, wandered off, staggered astray, perhaps as a result of seduction or influence.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
Further, Isaiah ends verse 6 with, “each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
He’s predicting we will end up rejecting the very one who came to save us all.
Is This Accurate?
Indeed, the four gospel accounts do confirm that Isaiah was correct. Not only did God send an unlikely Messiah in the form of a tiny baby born in poverty to insignificant people, but this Messiah was certainly rejected. While his popularity grew because of his healing miracles, the Pharisees and eventually the people as a whole condemned him to death because they felt his words were blasphemous and threatening.
We sheep did wander off from our rightful shepherd. We walked our own path, exposing ourselves to grave danger.
Yet what a twist of events it was when Jesus rose from the dead three days later, then proceeded to leave the Holy Spirit behind after his ultimate ascension to heaven.
How Else Are We Like Sheep?
Of course, many of us know the rest of the story: the Holy Spirit ignited a fire of belief among the disciples, then fanned out from there, causing a massive wildfire that catapulted the early church from a handful to people to thousands and eventually billions. That’s right: In addition to those who have died over the years, 2.38 billion Christians are estimated to live in the world today.
And while our sheeplike ways initially caused us to reject our Messiah, there are many other, good attributes we can enjoy.
First, we often follow with a passionate and persistent faith. Those of us who follow Jesus follow him well.
Second, we know our Shepherd’s voice. Jesus said in John 10:27 that “my sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Animal researchers have determined sheep have an ability to know the voice of their shepherd. Studies have shown they will fear a stranger’s voice and flee. As followers of Jesus, this serves us well.
Third, sheep are valuable. In the days of Jesus, sheep were valued for their wool, their milk, and their meat. They still are valuable today. Jesus also tells us we are valuable to him.
Fourth, like sheep, we’re not meant to carry heavy burdens. God didn’t design sheep to carry loads, such as a donkey or other animal might carry a pack or a human rider. Sheep buckle under the extra weight. We, too, are not meant to carry heavy, emotional burdens. As Jesus told us in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
As much as we try to differentiate ourselves, we humans do have much in common with sheep. And, as with sheep, we desperately need a shepherd, one who will protect us and lead us safely and keep us from harm.
Without Jesus, we have no direction. We go astray, just as the Israelites did both in the wilderness and later, when they reached the Promised Land. They turned to false idols and false gods, doing as they pleased instead of what pleased God. We rejected his ways, his commandments, and eventually, we rejected his son.
Thank God for his great mercy. For he enabled our eyes to open and our hearts to soften. He gave us a chance to accept Jesus Christ as our savior, and by doing so, receive eternal life in his heavenly kingdom forever.
So if we are indeed sheep, let us not be sheep gone astray, but sheep under the loving, protective care of our shepherd, now and forever. Amen.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Joaquin Corbalan
