Vice – Part 1

Introduction

Matthew 9:35 (ESV): 35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.

Matthew 9:36 (ESV): 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Two Ministry Realities

These two passages communicate two different outlooks on the same ministry

• Sheep is an ancient metaphor that characterizes how people follow leaders.

Characteristics of Sheep

First of all, sheep are. . .

• Defenseless
• “Sheep are defenseless animals. Without a shepherd they are vulnerable to any attack. Even without predators they are in trouble if they have no shepherd, for they are not good foragers.”–Leon Morris [John Frederick, “Mercy and Compassion,” in Lexham Theological Wordbook, ed. Douglas

Mangum et al., Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).]

• They cannot stop an attack or protect themselves from natural threats

Sheep are also. . .

• Dependent
• “Goats manage very well by themselves, but sheep do not.” — Leon Morris [John Frederick, “Mercy and Compassion,” in Lexham

Theological Wordbook, ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).]

Sheep rely on humans (help that comes from outside their world)

• Disempowered
• Sheep without a shepherd points to people who are in great danger and without the resources to escape from it.”–Leon Morris [John Frederick, “Mercy and Compassion,” in Lexham Theological Wordbook, ed. Douglas

Mangum et al., Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).]

▪ Sheep are without the means to address their greatest threats

• Sheep are
• Defenseless
• Dependent
• Disempowered

What Sheep Teach Us About People

• In calling the people sheep who need a shepherd, Jesus is tapping into a metaphor that also applies to us.
• John 10:14 (ESV): 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me.

The Need for Laborers

▪ Matthew 9:37–38 (ESV): 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

• The ministry of the shepherd hinges on other human beings who give expression to His pastoral work.

The Call to be Sheep and Shepherds

• What are the pastoral priorities of Jesus?
• They’re two-fold:
• Jesus wants people to receive pastoral ministry AND
• Jesus wants people to participate in pastoral work

Ephesians 4:11–12 (ESV): 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

• Hebrews 5:12 (ESV): 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.
• There’s more than one way to teach
• We teach through word
• We teach through deed
• We teach through example
• We teach through proximity

That people assigned to his care are

• Defenseless
• Dependent
• Disempowered

The Issue That Receives the Least Pastoral Support

The Social Factor

We have a social anxiety about sin that prohibits us from the help that God administers through other human beings.

Not only is the effect of sin social, but the healing of sin is social.  

The Power of the Listener

• James 5:16 (ESV): 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

▪ We put all the emphasis on the person confessing and no emphasis on the person listening. 

The sin in our lives makes us 

• Defenseless against Satan’s attacks
• Dependent on the grace of pastoral care AND
• Disempowered from a fulfilled spiritual life