Image by Marjan from Pixabay
The Teacher’s Voice is based on John 10:1-5
The Image of the Shepherd
The country I live in has been shaped by over a thousand years of Christianity. One result is that the image of the shepherd-leader is very familiar. Another is that – even in an urban environment – the image of the shepherd is very popular. TV programmes about shepherds, for example, get reasonable viewing figures.
That creates a problem for parables about shepherds, because shepherding in the modern UK is very different from shepherding in Judea and Galilee. In the UK, like much of Northern Europe, pasture is easy to find. Like much of Northern Europe, wool was historically a major (and very profitable) industry. The Northern European shepherd doesn’t have to search for pasture; instead, they walk behind the flock, driving them in the direction they need to go.
Middle Eastern shepherds live in a much more arid environment. They have to go in front of the flock, looking for areas with enough plants to feed the sheep. They train the sheep both to know the voice of their own shepherd and to follow them as they look for pasture.
It’s a relationship that relies much more strongly on trust – the sheep trusting their shepherd to lead them well and the shepherd trusting his sheep to follow.
The Leadership Model
If we have the image of a Northern European shepherd in our minds as we use ‘the good shepherd’ to model leadership, what image of leadership will we have? An image of a shepherd driving a lot of not-very-bright sheep along in front of them. Possibly with a dog to nip the sheep’s heels if they stray.
Instead, the image we should have in our minds is someone leading from the front, modelling the way forward. The sheep follow because they trust their leader to lead them to the good pasture.
Modern Equivalents
So if a British shepherd isn’t a good fit for the first parable, what is? My choice for retelling would be a teacher. A good teacher, especially in a primary school, will be known to the children they teach. The children will recognise their voice. They would ignore a stranger’s voice.
In the event, I made the ‘gate’ Jesus describes into a school gate with a receptionist. The teacher comes in through the school gate and goes to the children in their class, leading them out for school (field) trips, or swimming lessons. Other possibilities might be ‘residential’ overnight trips for schoolchildren, or in some countries, summer camp.
John 10: 1-18
John 10: 1-18 is a series of three ‘paroimia’ – the word seems to be a direct translation of the Hebrew word ‘mashal’. ‘Mashal’ doesn’t translate directly into English – it’s used for proverbs, figures of speech and full blown parables.
While John 10: 1-5 seems to be a full-blown parable, verses 8-10 seem to be a metaphor, applied by Jesus to himself. Verses 11-16 move from another extended metaphor in verse 11 to a mini-parable in 12-13, then back to an extended metaphor in 14-16.
This raises a question. I have recast a metaphor/saying (Ravens and Flowers) when I thought the original might be less understandable. I’ve also discussed parables that are still instantly understandable and don’t need retelling (Parables That Don’t Need Retelling). But what do we do when Jesus uses a parable to explain about himself? What about the ‘I am’ parables and sayings?
Should we retell an ‘I am’ parable – or should we explain it?
That’s the next commentary.
Parables That Shouldn’t Be Retold?
Previous parable: The Coffee Shop Assistant (Luke 17:7-10)
Next parable: Counting the Cost (Luke 14: 28-33)
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