Gates, Shepherds, and God Images

John 10:1-10

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter, also known as Good Shepherd Sunday, because every year we read Psalm 23 and a part of the 10th chapter of the Gospel of John. Last year during my children’s message I showed the kids a funny video on YouTube of a modern shepherd boy with one of his sheep stuck in a ditch. The boy struggles to set the sheep free, while somebody records it. The boy uses all his strength and pulls the sheep’s leg and eventually yanks the sheep out. The sheep shakes it off and prances away, galloping alongside the ditch. Unfortunately, it seems to have immediately forgotten about the ditch, takes a big leap into the air, and falls right back in.

Commentators online point say it’s a funny and accurate metaphor for human life. One blogger posted the video and wrote: “This is me: when God bails me out, I run away and fall right back in.” And in light of today’s scripture readings, this video is not only a funny metaphor for human life. It’s also an excellent portrayal of the metaphor of God as our good shepherd.

There’s a lot of images and metaphors used for God the Bible. Jesus has two to describe himself right here. He says I am the Gate and I am the Good Shepherd. A gate is what protects sheep. It provides safety and a home. It is strong and trustworthy. It keeps out thieves and bandits. It opens and closes allowing the sheep to come in and go out, to go about their daily lives in safety and security.

The same can be said about a good shepherd. One that cares about his sheep, offers them safety and security, and is willing to pull them repeatedly out of a ditch they jumped into. The image of divine shepherd is one of the most common and beloved metaphors for God throughout the Bible. We see it in Psalm 23 when the psalmist, traditionally understood to be David, declares “the LORD is my shepherd.” This psalm is treasured in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and is often considered the world’s most famous poem. It reflects beautiful images of the divine shepherd guiding us along gentle waters and right pathways. And even when the going gets tough and we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God is with us and we fear no evil. And through it all, the goodness and mercy of this divine shepherd will guide us all the days of our life. And when the end of life comes we will dwell in the house of the good shepherd forever. It’s good, it’s true, and it’s beautiful. It’s easy to see why this Shepherd metaphor is so many people’s favorite image for God.

There are a lot of metaphors for God throughout scripture and the history of Christian theology. And I think it’s helpful for people of faith to occasionally explore these images and how others have understood God throughout the centuries. Doing so may help us grow in our own understanding of, and trust in, the divine reality to which these images point.

The earliest metaphors for God we have in scripture seem to be images like God as warrior. In parts of the Old Testament God is sometimes called “God of the angel armies.” This image may be comforting to some, especially if you lived in the ancient world where war was constant and you could understand God as protecting you and fighting by your side. Such an image reveals the truth that God is strong and courageous and powerful. It probably meant a lot to ancient Israelites. But in today’s world, and even by the time of the Hebrew prophets, this image of God was seen as problematic. It can suggest that God is inherently violent, aggressive, and chooses one side over another. We can take what’s good about the metaphor, like the courage and heroism it implies, and understand why it was so important to certain people at a certain time, and also notice that the biblical authors’ metaphors for God expand as the story of the Bible unfolds.

Another early image for God was God as king. This metaphor revealed God as almighty and all powerful. It was comforting to ancient Israelites and early Christians, people who were often oppressed, to see their God as king of kings. The image reveals that God is in control and is wise and rich in glory and honor. But this image of God as king also had cause for concern, especially in an ancient world where monarchs were often corrupt and cared little about the people they ruled. And in today’s world, even the word king reminds people of colonial empires, patriarchy, dictators, and oppressive leaders.

Another image was God as judge. Along with Jesus as the defense attorney, and Satan as the prosecuting attorney. That metaphor probably spoke more truth about Jesus than it did about God. And that idea of God as a judge obsessed with keeping track of good deeds and bad deeds really caused problems in Christian history, something Martin Luther eventually helped clear up.

And if we’re searching for appropriate biblical metaphors of God, we of course have Jesus’ own favorite image for God, that of Father, or Abba—the informal word for father which means daddy or papa. God as a loving parent is very appropriate and meaningful. We could also say God is our Mother. The Old Testament, particularly the Book of Proverbs, uses feminine imagery to describe God as Wisdom personified.

There’s also some more mysterious, mystical images like Jesus saying he’s the light of the world, and that we also are called to be the light of the world. And later in John’s Gospel Jesus will use the image of a tree with many branches and say “I am the vine and you are the branches” highlighting our oneness with Him and with God—and calling us to bear fruit.

Each image, each metaphor reveals something important about God. Meditating on any one of them can be a good spiritual practice. They all help us understand and know God more deeply. And at different times in our lives we ay be drawn to different images of God. Like the ancient Israelites we may long for justice and feel comforted knowing that God is a righteous king. We may feel drawn to God as our personal Abba or the divine feminine wisdom used in Proverbs. Or we may feel drawn to the mystical unity described by Jesus when he says “I am the vine, you are branches”. And today our readings highlight the safety and security we have knowing that Jesus Christ is our Gate and our Good Shepherd.

All of these images express truth about God. Perhaps all of them fall short in one way or another, because after all God is beyond human imagination and understanding, beyond description and comprehension. But that doesn’t mean these images are not useful.

As we consider the particular image that the Gospel reading presents us with today, that of the Good Shepherd, we know that even in the midst of all the pain and suffering of life, the uncertainty of wars, the threats of natural disasters and climate change, refugee crises and racism, diseases like cancer and dementia that take our loved ones away, widespread depression and anxiety and addiction. The list goes on and on. In the midst of all this suffering, we have the promise of our Good Shepherd who walks with us through it all. Jesus says that even if wolves try to take his sheep, even if robbers and bandits try to snatch them away, even if one of his sheep wanders off and is lost, even if he helps us escape from a ditch and we jump right back in—Jesus promises that no one will snatch us from his hands. Jesus knows his sheep. And his sheep know him. He calls us by name and we trust and follow.

And so I invite you this week to reflect on the images you use to understand God, especially that of God as Good Shepherd. This is an image of God we can count on. We know it to be true. Even in all the crises of life, our divine shepherd invites us to trust, to hope, to experience the love of God in this life and forever. Our Good Shepherd is always with us. He is present in your life in times of still waters and in times of the valley of the shadow of death. Our Good Shepherd pervades the universe and transcends time and space. And at the same time, our Good Shepherd walks with us personally and sustains us in life. We know our Good Shepherd and we trust his voice. He calls us by name and welcomes us to his sheepfold. He loves us, protects us, brings us abundant life, and promises that nothing will ever snatch us from his hands. Thanks be to God!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pastor Brian | Sunday, April 26, 2026 | Fourth Sunday of Easter