A blue jean and flannel shirt clad man proudly speaks up. “I’m a farmer; my father was a farmer and his father was a farmer.”  Your church pastor emeritus celebrates fifty years of service to congregations and to his Lord; he agrees to say a few words to the crowd. “I’m a simple country preacher; my dad, grandpa and great-grandfather were all preachers.” An occupation or trade often flows through family lines.

Jesus is the Great Shepherd. Caring for sheep went back to ancestors, Abraham, King David, Joseph and his father-Jacob. “This is the history of the descendants of Jacob and this is Jacob’s line. Joseph, when he was seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers (Genesis 37:2a Amplified Bible).” Joseph later made the family occupation clear when his family joined him in Egypt.

“I will go up and tell Pharaoh and say to him, My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been keeping livestock (Genesis 46:31b-32a Amplified Bible).” Yes, Jesus followed in His earthly father’s trade as a carpenter; yet, He has the heart of a shepherd. He continues to gather His sheep and appoints family members to carry on shepherding responsibilities.