Of all animals, Jesus compares us to sheep.
In Matt. 12:12 He says: “How much more valuable is a man than a sheep!”
Some people dislike or feel disgusted about this comparison. Who would want to be compared to a sheep that’s been regarded as the dumbest of all creatures?
But did you know that in ancient times, they were valued and often loved as pets? Never mind that they smelled bad, or that they followed their leader blindly, sheep were regarded as too valuable to kill for food back then. Sheep were raised for their wool and milk, not for meat and hides. The average person rarely ate sheep meat in the ancient world, since animals were far more valuable for their secondary products.
Obviously this is not the case today when a lot of species are endangered because modern men kill them for the products that can be made from them.
So is it really appropriate to be compared to sheep? I’d say yes for many reasons.
Sheep smell bad but don’t we too? Before the soap was invented, we smelled. And even with soap and other deodorants today, we can still smell bad.
Sheep follow their leader blindly but don’t we also follow other people unwaveringly? Sometimes we are so loyal that we compromise our integrity and values. For Filipinos, utang na loob is an ingrained value.
Sheep are often ultimately eaten or deprived of wool. They are multi-purpose animals—created for these purposes: to be eaten, to provide wool, meat, milk and hides. Aren’t we also created to serve God and other people, too?
In both ancient and modern religious ritual, sheep are used as sacrificial animals. Aren’t we also called to sacrifice and give our lives to God … our sins, our love for worldly things? Aren’t we told to present our body “as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Romans 12:1–2)? But sadly, we abuse it with drugs, alcohol, cigarette and food. Some even sell their flesh without any qualm.
Sheep tend to congregate close to each other. That’s why moving them and putting them together even in open pastures is easy. Why do you think it’s hard to break a region, a club or a family? Everyone in the group have close ties that they tend to go together, behave in a similar way, follow the same norms, etc. They are most comfortable with their own kind.
Sheep can become stressed when separated from their flock members. When my husband died of cancer, I was not only stressed. I hibernated! I couldn’t shake off his memory for sometime. Others become cynical when they get jilted or betrayed by a loved one. For overseas workers, there’s much stress, even trauma, to be separated from their families and adjust to living in a foreign land.
The primary defense mechanism of sheep is simply to flee from danger when their flight zone is crossed. Also, a cornered sheep may charge or threaten to do when there’s hoof stamping and aggressive postures. Don’t we also panic when we lose our jobs, when our finances go down, when our health fails? Don’t we also tend to escape or ran away from problems? Today, suicide cases are increasing not only among the poor but even among the rich and famous.
It is the sheep’s herd mentality, quickness to flee and panic in times of stress that make them appear dumb. They don’t have survival skills, so they are totally dependent upon the shepherd. The sheep knows the shepherd’s voice and this is the only one they recognize and follow. This is not dumbness. Simply obedience and total dependence on God—something we could all learn to have even if things happen differently from what we expect. Just trust that God knows what He’s doing.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord in Isaiah 55:8. So how dumb can we be to depend in God? How crazy can we be to follow more God’s voice and not the world? In the face of all our troubles, do we stay quiet and just trust the Lord that He is in control?
Jesus was the epitome of obedience and He was himself compared to a sheep. “When He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)
So why can’t we be compared to sheep, too, if we profess to be Christians (followers of Christ)?
If total obedience and dependence unto our Blessed Shepherd is looked at as dumbness, I’d gladly be called dumb.