Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [John 10:1-3 ESV)]
Heather Kaufman’s novel Up From Dust is historical fiction. Based on what Scripture tells us about Martha of Bethany, her sister Mary, and their brother Lazarus, it gives the reader a fictionalized version of their backstories. Kaufman’s extensive research for the novel allowed her to paint a vivid and accurate picture of 1st century life in Judea. Even though the story is a figment of her imagination, it reminded me that the people who spent time with the Lord while He walked on earth were real (and flawed) people like us—each with their own personal history. Ordinary people with parents, friends and, for some, spouses and children, they had jobs, responsibilities, secrets, regrets, and weaknesses. Like us, they were people who worried, disagreed, cried, laughed, loved, rejoiced, and mourned. The only thing that made them different from their neighbors was their love for a man called Jesus!
Kaufman’s novel presents the very real possibility that some of Jesus’ followers may have encountered adversity or intimidation while the Lord was alive. Scripture describes the hostility of the religious leaders toward Jesus (and to Lazarus after being raised from the dead), but I hadn’t paused to consider whether that hostility carried over to others who followed the Lord. Her story reminded me that when Jesus told His followers to bear their own cross and count the cost before following Him [Luke 14:27-28], some may have paid heavily to follow the Lord while He still walked the earth. In the face of opposition and threats, I couldn’t help but wonder how faithful a follower of the rabbi from Nazareth I would have been before the crucifixion and resurrection.
Being a 21st century city dweller, I know little about shepherds or shepherding but one of Kaufman’s fictional characters was Uri, a shepherd. His death gave me greater understanding of Jesus’ references to shepherds, the sheepfold, and the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. During the summer heat, shepherds would move away from the villages and take their flocks to higher ground. With the hills of Judea filled with predators like bears, leopards, wolves, jackals, and hyenas, the flock’s sole protection against death was their shepherd. Armed only with his slingshot and rod, shepherds were all that kept the sheep from death and, sometimes, they died protecting their flock.
While up in the hills, the shepherd would lead his sheep into a natural cave or safe spot carved into the hillside at night. With no gate at the opening, the shepherd acted as the gate and would sleep at the entrance. No sheep could leave and no predator or thief could enter the sheepfold without his knowing.
When the fictional Uri fails to return to Bethany with his flock, another shepherd discovers his mutilated body (as well as the remains of several wolves) outside of the cave he used as a sheepfold. The sheep, however, are found safe inside the cave. Apparently, when a pack of wolves threatened the flock, Uri erected a high barricade of branches covering the mouth of the cave. To prevent the wolves from pushing in the barrier, he built the wall from outside the cave—which left the shepherd out with the wolves! While many shepherds might have abandoned their sheep in the face of such an attack, Uri did not. Like a good shepherd, he chose to give up his life to protect his flock. The man suffered a violent death so his sheep would not! Kaufman’s vivid description helps me consider Jesus’ words about the good shepherd with a 1st century mindset.
Picturing the violent and grisly way Uri died helped me further appreciate the horror of Jesus’ torturous death. The fictional shepherd had nothing to gain and everything to lose when he chose to save his flock by sacrificing his life—the same goes for the Good Shepherd who gave up His life to save us, not from wolves, but from sin. Thank you, Jesus, for being our good shepherd and laying down your life for us!
Devotions of the Heart 