Jump directly to the Content
Jump directly to the Content

Sermon Illustrations

Home > Sermon Illustrations

450 Sheep Jump to Their Deaths

It all started with one self-destructive leap.

Shepherds eating breakfast outside the town of Gevas, Turkey, were surprised to see a lone sheep jump off of a nearby cliff and fall to its death. They were stunned, however, when the rest of the nearly 1,500 sheep in the herd followed, each leaping off of the same cliff.

When it was all over, the local Aksam newspaper reported that "450 of the sheep perished in a billowy, white pile" (those that jumped from the middle and end of the herd were saved as the pile became higher and the fall more cushioned). The estimated loss to the families of Gevas tops $100,000, —an extremely significant amount of money in a country where the average person earns about $2,700 annually.

"There’s nothing we can do. They’re all wasted," said Nevzat Bayhan, a member of one of the 26 families whose sheep were grazing together in the herd.

Related Sermon Illustrations

Christians Struggle with Opposing Desires

We want to be a saint, but we also want to feel every sensation experienced by sinners; we want to be innocent and pure, but we also want to be experienced and taste all of life; we ...

[Read More]

Longing for the Closed Door

When one door closes, another one opens, but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us.

[Read More]