The Watchman

The Watchman – If you have been a regular attendee of worship, or, maybe, even if you have not, you have heard this parable preached on a number of times. The illustration is one that is common in the words and teachings of Jesus, the idea of the shepherd tending his sheep. It communicates how carefully he looks after them, how he guards, and guides them, how he even lays down his own life that the sheep may be preserved.

Within this parable we also recognize the villain, the shifty-eyed, rotten-toothed, foul smelling villain who crawls over the wall, breaks in through any opening he can cram his body through. His one motive? To steal, rob, and kill. He cares nothing for the sheep. He only cares for himself.

Of course, then there are the sheep, the poor, dumb, weak sheep. In case you are wondering, that’s the role for me and you. Not the most noble part to play in our little skit, is it? We aren’t smart enough to stay protected by the shepherd’s house or barn, so we are put in a sheep pen. We would wander off after any eye-catching morsel of grass that called to us. We have no real means of defense. The shepherd provides all that for us.

There is, however, one character unaccounted for in this play, The Watchman. Who is this guy? He seems to hold great power over this little plot of land. He is the one who opens the gate for the shepherd. In a sense, he checks the shepherd’s credentials. The watchman asks, “Is this indeed the one who has authority over the sheep? Is this the one who will discharge the responsibility for keeping the sheep safe and fed?” We take the watchman for granted, but without him, the shepherd does not gain access to the sheep. The gate remains closed.

Jesus states his own claim to the sheep, but unaccounted for in this story is the confirmation of The Watchman. This person says, “Yes, this one, and ONLY this one is the one who will be given access to the sheep!” The Watchman, whoever, or whatever he is, bows before Christ recognizing his claim to the sheep within this pen. They indeed are his and they hear his voice. Here indeed is the one who has all power and authority. All others who come to claim these sheep are liars and deceivers. In an age and society of political correctness and required inclusivity, it is an even bolder statement now than it was when Jesus uttered it in the presence of the Pharisees and religious officials of his day. He, not they, was the one who was granted full rights and authority over the sheep! The only question remaining is whether we are true and faithful sheep or if we have lost the ability to discern the one true voice of the shepherd calling our name and staking his claim on us

.  Pastor Craig