THE DIVINE PLAN PART 3

 

When I posted Part 1 of The Divine Plan, I inserted just a detail of this picture which I found on the internet without knowing who the artist was. A couple of readers pointed out to me that the picture was not complete and advised me of the name of the artist. One reader told me the entire picture had a broader meaning and when I found it, I understood why. I read the artist’s story behind the art but to me this painting has a broader meaning.

The symbolisms surrounding Christ’s birth were plentiful and subtle. This painting brings to light two of them: the shepherd and the lambs, both of which represent the baby in the womb of the virgin Mary travelling to Bethlehem for the birth of the ultimate shepherd and the ultimate sacrificial lamb.

Jesus Christ is often called the Good Shepherd (see D&C 50:44; John 10:7-18; Alma 5:38-60; Helaman 7:18). Is there a more tender proclamation of this title than the one that fell from the Saviour’s lips: “I know my sheep and they are numbered” (3 Nephi 18:31). Consider the reality of this:

“By day and by night the shepherd is always with his sheep…as he is always with them, and so deeply interested in them, the shepherd comes to know his sheep very intimately. One day a missionary, meeting a shepherd on one of the wildest parts of Lebanon, asked him various questions about his sheep, and among others, if he counted them every night.

“On answering that he did not, he was asked how he knew if they were all there or not. His reply was: “Master, if you were to put a cloth over my eyes, and bring me any sheep and only let me put my hands on its face, I could tell in a moment if it was mine or not.” (George M. Mackie, Bible Manners and Customs, [n.d.], 33, 35)

A shepherd knows his sheep and cares for them out of love. There are so many facets about the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. It’s very worth learning about it to better understand why the Saviour used this metaphor when He described His relationship to us.  

I would like to share here one that I find most important. I do not know the source of the following information but I want to share it because this is the greatest thing a shepherd can do for his sheep:

“Sheep can get their head caught in briers and die trying to get untangled. There are horrid little flies that like to torment sheep by laying eggs in their nostrils which turn into worms and drive the sheep to beat their heads against a rock, sometimes to death. Their ears and eyes are also susceptible to tormenting insects. So the shepherd anoints their whole head with oil. Then there is peace. That oil forms a barrier of protection against the evil that tries to destroy the sheep.”

This is the ultimate work of the Good Shepherd. He saves. He saves those who go astray and he saves those who get tangled in impossible situations and he saves those who are tormented by evil of this fallen world. He can anoint our heads with the oil of peace and protection to ward off the enemy of our souls.  

King David wrote Psalm 23 titled “The Lord Is My Shepherd”, paying homage to Jehovah who would one day sit on his throne. He acknowledged that it was He who ‘anointed his head with oil’ and for that his cup of gratitude ‘ran over’. King David knew and understood all about sheep because before he was king, he was a shepherd…..another connection, another symbolism.

How grateful to know Your voice

In this world of utter despair

And hear it echo

In Your loving tender care.

 

How fiercely You watch,

How tenderly You care,

How safe You make me feel

Knowing You are ever there.

How grateful I am to be in Your flock,

How grateful to be in Your keep;

You are my shepherd

And I am Your sheep.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Journey to Bethlehem by Joseph Brickey)