Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this morning is from the Gospel according to John, the tenth chapter:
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! And our risen Lord is indeed the Good Shepherd. What does this mean except that our Lord has sheep? And what is a sheep but one that needs to be cleaned, guided, directed, fed, protected? A sheep, by nature, is not the smartest of animals. They are prone to wander. They have no real defense against attacks. They need to be lead. They can’t find their own way.
And our Lord says He has sheep. More than that, He compares me, and all of you, to these dumb, dirty animals. It’s not a compliment to be called a sheep. It’s not. I’d rather be a wolf, or a bear, or… I don’t know, a lion or something. At least those animals are big, they can defend themselves or run fast. Everyone stops to stare at them. Very few things can defeat them. But the Lord insults me by calling me a sheep.
Well, it’s really only an insult because I think of myself more highly than I ought to. Don’t you? I mean, I think of myself as a strong, independent, confident, intelligent person. I’m the best person I know. But that’s my sinful self speaking. I don’t like to be put down. I don’t like to admit fault or weakness. I’m prideful and boastful and completely self-absorbed. But, we all are. That’s because we’re sinners. Admit it, you like you the most. No one likes you more than you do. We don’t have self-esteem issues. We have sin-esteem issues.
And because of that, we’re unwilling to admit, according to our sinful nature, that we are dumb, dirty animals. But that’s what our Lord calls us. He calls us sheep. And that’s okay. He’s not disgusted by the fact that I’m a sheep. He hangs out with sheep. He loves sheep. He loves them because He is the Good Shepherd.
He is the Shepherd who stops at nothing for the sheep, not even death. Of course, nothing, not even death, can stop Him. But, the sheep don’t know that. When a sheep looks at a shepherd, the sheep can no more comprehend the shepherd, his life, his thoughts, his feelings, his duty, than a rock can contemplate an ant. A sheep doesn’t understand the shepherd. But the shepherd knows the sheep. He knows the sheep’s comings in and goings out. He knows what the sheep needs. He knows how the sheep will react. He knows all of this because the shepherd is greater than the sheep.
And our Lord is greater than us. No wonder we cannot understand Him. Why would He care for me, a poor, miserable sinner? Why would He die for me, for the forgiveness of my sins, when I have nothing to offer Him? Why would He give to me all of His righteousness and take all of my sins? Doesn’t He see how dirty I am? Doesn’t He see how unclean I have made myself? Doesn’t He see? Is He blind? Is He deaf? Is He dumb?
No, He is the Good Shepherd. And the Good Shepherd, the protective shepherd, the defensive shepherd, the caring shepherd, the loving shepherd, the shepherd who sees all, knows all, owns all, the Good Shepherd lays His life down for the sheep. Everyone who came before Jesus came to steal the sheep. They were thieves and robbers.
Those hired hands had been set over the sheep, but when they saw the thief, when they saw the robber, when they saw the wolf, the bear, the lion… they ran away. They didn’t own the sheep. They would lose nothing if they abandoned the sheep. They would lose their life if they stayed. So, they ran, they ran so far away. And there was no one to protect the sheep.
The robbers and the thieves came. They came whispering to the sheep thoughts of wealth and prosperity. They came whispering to the sheep thoughts of working your way into salvation. They came whispering to the sheep thoughts of greed, malice, envy, anger, lust, gossip. And our Lord saw this. And He had pity on the sheep. So, Jesus came, the Good Shepherd, and our Lord took aim at the thieves, the robbers, the wolves, the bears, the lions, and the Lord killed them all.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has taken away all the danger the thieves and the robbers represent. For indeed, any pastor, any preacher, anyone else who would come to you and lead you astray from the Gospel, they are children of Satan, the accuser, the greatest sheep-robber there is. And the Lord has taken the head of Satan and has ground it into the dust to protect you and keep you safe. The Lord has taken that danger away from you. And where the head of Satan goes, his children are soon to follow. As Satan goes to hell, so go the false teachers, straight to hell. The Lord does not abide a robber.
And He does this by dying. He dies in the battle against sin, death, and the devil. By His death He destroys death for the sheep. They have no more worry of dying. But, it does not end there. Jesus doesn’t stay dead, in fact, He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Jesus doesn’t die because the animals, the robbers, overpower Him. He doesn’t die because He’s weak. He dies because the only way to stop those who would seek, kill, and destroy His sheep, the only way to give the sheep everything they need, is to pour out His blood into the ground.
By the shed blood of Jesus, no enemy can pass over. The blood is a protection, guarding the sheep. The blood of Christ makes for the sheep a pen. And so long as the enemies of the sheep are out there, the blood works to keep them safe. The enemy can no more pass over the blood than the snow not come in winter. And by this same blood, the sheep are fed. It is the richest of wines, the best of meats, the cleanest and purest of waters. The sheep are protected, fed, watered, and washed, by this very blood of the Good Shepherd. The sheep, we, are protected, fed by the body, watered by the blood, washed in the waters of Baptism. But even this death that gives us such good things is not enough on its own.
The Good Shepherd must rise. And why? Because the Shepherd loves His sheep and desires always to be with them. The Shepherd doesn’t want to do a Weekend at Bernie’s, where the sheep just play with a dead guy. He loves them, wants to be with them, wants them near Him, and so He rises from the grave by His own power, His own authority, because all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the Shepherd by the Father.
And here, by His rising from the dead, He provides, not only no more death for the sheep, but life everlasting, the good life. In His rising from the dead, He gives the sheep the green pastures, the still waters, the paths of righteousness, the oil for anointing, goodness and mercy, a feast before the enemies of the sheep. The sheep dine on richest food, while the robbers dine on the hunger pains of their own bellies.
There is no life outside of the blood of the Good Shepherd; there is only death for those who seek to kill and destroy. The Lord will not abide any who come to steal His sheep. While they seem to get away with it for a little while, while Satan seems to be having his little day, while some prosper off the sheep, while some drag the Shepherd’s name through the muck and the mire, while the sheep even gnaw at themselves because of their sin, the Shepherd will not abide with it forever.
So, as much as I would like to be a wolf, or a bear, or a lion, a strong animal, I must know that I cannot. I know I am not any of those things, so I must be a sheep. The wolf, the bear, the lion, they maul the sheep. They are independent, they are dangerous. They have no Shepherd. But I do. And you do. We have a Shepherd who guides us with His staff, who gives us what we need, who beats away all those who would attack us.
Already He has come and conquered Satan. Satan has no more power; he has no more teeth, Jesus kicked them all in. This the Father’s work, this is the Father’s will: for Jesus to protect the sheep. And so, soon, Jesus shall come to erase all the damage done even by all the evil and lawless men, those children of Satan. Soon He shall come to set the sheep free from their pen. Soon, there will be no more danger. Soon there will be no more trouble. Soon, the entire world shall be the pasture of the sheep and there will be no more threat. Soon, indeed, for our Lord is coming because He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment