Yes, I think Jesus would have compartmentalised.

And yes, I think he spoke not at all to the politics of his day… and *if* he did, that is not at all applicable now: for what one says to a semi-divine foreign monarch is not applicable in a secular democracy Unless the head (or attempted head) of that democracy attempts to inject divine approval or approbation into his secular rule.

Then, yes, I think Jesus had a lot to say.

My Kingdom, This World. Different.

Maybe there is something inherently unflattering in being compared to smelly, stupid sheep, but then maybe the point of being a Christian is not to be flattered.

As for the use of religious metaphors in other contexts, do you think Jesus has such a compartmentalised view of people? Does He think of people as having a religious side and a political side? Are all of His metaphors not of this world?

Just as an aside I’ve never liked the sheep metaphor: it’s culturally loaded from a tribal world and doesn’t speak to an urban society – who tend to think of it as “cute” and “quaint”. Back in the 1990s I asked who else finds it flattering to be compared to “smelly, stupid sheep.”