According to Jesus, the problem with being human is that humans are like sheep.
Sheep, despite all they offer our world (wool, milk, meat), have a fatal flaw—they can’t conquer wolves. Even a varsity sheep can’t outrun a JV wolf, and once caught, a sheep can’t fight back. It has no bearlike claws or sharklike jaws. No protective scales or tail. Sheep without a shepherd are dead meat.
Some people make the mistake of thinking they don’t need Jesus because they are, by comparison, pretty good people. That might be true, as true as some sheep being faster than others, but that doesn’t deal with their/our fatal flaw. Without a Shepherd/Savior, we are dead meat. We are unable to fight back against the reality of our sin and the soon-to-come judgment of God. We don’t have the perfection required to defend ourselves before the holiness of heaven.
But that is why we sheep love our Good Shepherd. Jesus affirmed, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:14), and with those words he offered us his protection. A shepherd can fight back against a wolf, striking with staff, sling, and rod; Jesus fought back against our sin, conquering it with his life, his cross, his blood.
Our problem has a solution. His name is Jesus, our Good Shepherd and great Savior.
