WHY DOES THE BIBLE REFER TO CHRISTIANS AS SHEEPS?

Looking at the old testament of the bible, sheep were sacrificial animals used for the remission of sins and this is also why Jesus is referred to as the "Lamb of God". A lamb is a baby sheep and Jesus being the son of God who died for our sins is called the "Lamb of God". So many times in the scriptures, God refers to us as his sheep while he's the shepherd. Shepherding was one of the lowliest occupations; it was done by people who were unqualified to take up better jobs in the society. Most of the time, shepherding was done by the last child of the family. We can see this in the life of David who was a shepherd boy before becoming the king of Israel. In fact, he was seen as insignificant in the family to the point that he wasn't included as a candidate for kingship. It takes the humble to do such a job as this and this must have been the reason Jesus being the meekest person ever lived called himself a shepherd. I've wondered so many times why God chose to refer to us, his people as sheeps of all animals in the world but after looking through the scriptures, I couldn't have found a better metaphor/animal to depict us Christians.

REASONS

● SHEEPS NEED A SHEPHERD. 

They need someone to lead them, care for them, protect them from wolves (danger) becuase they get frightened at the sight of danger. A sheep is totally helpless without a shepherd (Psalm 23 is a good scripture to explain the duties of a shepherd). No one could have written the psalm 23 better other than David. Being a shepherd boy made him see God in that light as well. With the presence of a shepherd, the sheep lacks nothing. It is the shepherd's duty to identify which sheep is sick or injured within a large number of sheeps. Also, the strength of a sheep lies in its shepherd just like our strength lies in God; our shepherd.

● SHEEPS ARE KNOWN TO HAVE A GOOD RETENTIVE MEMORY. 

They can remember the faces of humans and their fellow sheeps for as long as 2 years after their absence. They are known to notoriously follow people they are familiar with. Therefore, just like sheeps, we Christians recognize our shepherd's voice just like Jesus said in John 10:14-16. For as long as a sheep is still familiar with a person's face and voice, he keeps following and obeying such person just as we humans are. For as long as something still looks familiar to us, we never back out of it until something happens and changes our perception before we do otherwise.

● SHEEPS WANDER A LOT. 

As intelligent as human beings are, we are prone to wander just like sheeps do. The only way this can be handled is by having a shepherd that makes sure that not a single sheep is missing from the flock. Even at this, sheeps still act rebellious and act like they can stand on their own. They tend to look for a greener pasture on their own hence their wandering. And it is in this time the enemy comes to attack a sheep; when they wander from the flock, they become a good target for predators. And God assured us through Jesus Christ that he'd leave the 99 sheeps in the flock to look for that 1 sheep that went astray (Luke 15:4-7). Such a responsible shepherd!

● SHEEPS ARE USED TO SEPARATE CHRISTIANS.

Sheeps and goats are of the same family but certain features and characteristics differentiates them. In the bible, sheeps are referred to Christians ehile goats refers to those in the world. Only the shepherd can know the difference between these two animals. Shepherds protect their sheeps from their environment while with goats, their environment is protected from them because of their stubborn nature.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.   “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

Matthew 25:31‭-‬34 NIV

Been referred to as sheeps shows our helplessness without Christ. We are defenseless without him and can't do anything tangible without the wisdom of our shepherd. In summary, the sheep is sensitive to the voice of its shepherd and relies on the shepherd to feed and have a good well-being. If a sheep wanders, the shepherds looks for it and brings it back to the flock. Sheeps tend to be nervous when separated from their shepherd because they have no ability to survive on their own. However, what God sees in his sheep is a gentle and yielding spirit to trust it's shepherd every step of the way.