The Door Means Compassion
The Door Means Compassion
In the evening, when the shepherd had led his flock back to the fold, he stood at the door, gave them a cool drink of water (“my cup overflows,” Ps. 23:5), and inspected each animal as it passed under his crook. A faithful shepherd was a “physician” as well as a guide and protector, and if a sheep had a serious bruise or laceration, the shepherd would apply medication. “You anoint my head with oil” (v. 5) describes this ministry. The shepherd would also remove any burs or thorns that had been picked up during the day. Was any animal limping? The shepherd would detect it and seek to find out the cause. Was one of the sheep missing? The shepherd would make certain the flock was safe, enlist another shepherd to be the door, and search for the missing sheep.
In other words, the shepherd was concerned about the welfare of individual sheep as well as the general condition of the whole flock. One sheep or lamb was important to him. He used soothing oil on wounds; oil in Scripture is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit (Exod. 30:22–33). When our Good Shepherd wants to comfort and encourage us, it is through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, for each believer has received the anointing of God’s Spirit (2 Cor. 1:21; 1 John 2:20, 27). The shepherd would give each sheep a satisfying drink of cool water, another symbol of the Spirit (John 7:37–39).
It continues to impress me how Jesus always had time for individuals, whether an unclean leper, a Roman soldier, a Samaritan woman, a perplexed Pharisee, or a dying thief; and He is just as concerned today as He was yesterday. His under-shepherds need to imitate Him and take care of the individual needs of the sheep. In our pulpit ministries, we can teach, warn, and encourage the entire flock; but it takes personal ministry to discover the hidden needs and remedy them.
I have had enough pastoral experience to know that almost every church has its share of “problem people” as well as “people with problems.” Many people with personal problems don’t want to share them with others, especially their busy pastoral staff, while “problem people” get attention and sympathy by telling as many people as possible all that they are enduring. They don’t really want to solve their problems; if they did, they would lose their identity and importance! They schedule frequent meetings with the pastor, who patiently listens to the same stories he has heard many times over. He knows that honest confrontation will not bring about any changes because these people hear only what they want to hear and interpret it their own way.
In spite of these difficulties, shepherds need to take a personal interest in their people and invest the time necessary for uncovering problems and offering solutions. Pastoral preaching is effective when the listeners detect in the preacher’s manner a loving concern, an understanding heart, and a biblical approach to solving the problem. The prophet Ezekiel was writing about selfish civil rulers in 34:11–16, but the application to the shepherd of the church flock is perfectly legitimate. God wants His shepherds to search for the lost sheep (v. 11), rescue those in danger (v. 12), bring them out of their bondage (v. 13), bring them back into the fellowship of the flock (v. 13), and care for them (vv. 13–16).
I recall hearing that one of our men in the church had walked out on his wife and family and nobody knew where he was. I asked the Lord to bring us together as if by accident so I could chat with him, and He did! I walked into a restaurant to get some lunch, looked at a booth, and there he was! “Got room for another hungry man?” I asked, and he graciously asked me to join him. An hour later we were praying together. He said he would go home and make things right; and he did, and he came back to church.
The gifted American preacher George W. Truett was frequently approached to leave his Dallas pulpit and become a full-time denominational leader, a college or university president, or an itinerant evangelist, and his reply was always the same: “I have sought and found a pastor’s heart.” No wonder he stayed at Dallas First Baptist Church forty-seven years!