Sermon Text: John 10:22-30
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alelluia!
Let us pray:
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of (our) heart(s) be
acceptable in your sight, O LORD, (our) rock and (our) redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
In the name of Jesus.
What is a
shepherd without sheep? That sounds like
the beginning of a joke, doesn’t it?
It’s actually a really good question.
What is a shepherd without a sheep?
A man with a wooden stick? A man
who knows a lot about sheep? A man who
wants to be a shepherd? You see, if
there aren’t any sheep, a man can have all the qualifications necessary to
serve as a shepherd; he may have even served as a shepherd in the past; but if
there aren’t any sheep to tend, what is he?
We could
ask the same question about pastors?
What is a pastor without people?
He may be caring and compassionate; he may be a top-notch theologian,
and be able to speak about the complex mysteries of God in simple ways that
even children can understand; he may be the husband of one wife, sober-minded,
self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, gentle, generous, and
every other attribute which the Scriptures use to describe a man fit for the
Pastoral Office, but without people, what is he?
You see, pastors and people go together
because pastors need to have people to serve or they aren’t really
pastors. And shepherds go together with
sheep because shepherds need sheep to serve or they aren’t really
shepherds. And all of this has been said
so that you might rejoice in knowing how it is with Jesus.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd, which
means that Jesus is going to have a flock of sheep. It means that Jesus is always going to have a
flock of sheep. Yesterday, today,
forever: Jesus will have a flock of sheep because the Father has given him a
flock of sheep as His eternal reward for living in perfect obedience and for
giving his life on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the entire
world.
Jesus did not flee from the flock
like a hired hand when danger threatened to kill the sheep. On the contrary. In order to keep his sheep from being damned
by their sinful thoughts and actions; in order to preserve his sheep from being
ravaged by death and being destroyed; in order to stand between His sheep and
the accusations of that roaring lion we know better as Satan, Jesus, the Good Shepherd,
laid down His life so that His sheep would have life.
For living that life—for giving
His life—and for paying that price on behalf of each and every person, the
Father has raised Jesus from the dead, and given Him a flock of sheep that
forever He will love, and forever He will serve, and forever He will feed, and
protect, from every evil foe. Of this
you can be certain: Jesus will always have a flock of sheep. After all, He is the Good Shepherd. If He didn’t have a flock, and if He didn’t
keep a flock, and if He didn’t serve this flock, then what kind of shepherd
would He be?
Unfortunately, not everyone is a
part of His flock. He says this plainly
in today’s Holy Gospel. When confronted
by the Jews in the colonnade of Solomon, and when asked to tell them plainly
whether or not he was, in fact, the Christ, he does not pull any punches, or
tell them that they are free to believe whatever they feel in the hearts is
best for them. He says, “I already told
you and you didn’t believe.” “Haven’t
you seen what I’ve been doing in my Father’s name? I preach clearly from the Scriptures, and I
forgive people of their sins, and because I know that people are slow to
believe I have even accompanied my Word with powerful and miraculous signs so
that you would know that I and the Father are one. Everything I’ve been doing bears witness, and
should be sufficient to answer your question.
The truth has been right in front of you. But you do not believe because you are not
part of my flock.” You aren’t my sheep.
It’s tragic, really. I mean, these Jews were religious in every
way. They gathered in the synagogue for
prayer; they read the books of Moses; they read the Psalms; they read the
Prophets, and yet, when the Christ about whom all those writings were about was
standing right in front of them, they would not believe it. They read the words, but they did not know
the voice of their Shepherd, because they were not a part of the flock.
Today,
some of the leading biblical scholars in the world are some of the fiercest
opponents to Christ and His Church. If
you were to attend a meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, you would
be hard pressed to find more than a handful of members who believed that the
Bible was actually the authoritative Word of God, or that Jonah was a real man,
or that Jesus was actually raised from the dead.
And while
a majority of Americans still claim some form of Christianity, the latest
numbers I’ve read indicate that on an average Sunday, only 15-17% of Americans
are going to a church to hear the voice of their Good Shepherd. Which means that the rest of those who call
themselves Christian believe that they can be a part of the flock without
hearing the voice of Jesus in the Word of Jesus.
Maybe those numbers are better
here in the Bible belt, but even then, there is a difference between hearing
the words of Scripture, and hearing the voice of the Shepherd. Those Jews had read the Words of Scripture,
remember, but they had never heard the voice of the Shepherd.
There are people within every
Christian congregation who are there against their will; attending in order to
check a box, or to keep so-and-so happy.
And there are those in every Christian congregation for whom the Bible
is nothing more than a book of quotes that get you motivated to go about your
day. And in every Christian
congregation, there are people who are bored with the preaching of Christ, and
would rather have the pastor move on to something more exciting, or something
that made them feel better. And believe
it or not, because the Holy Christian Church is made up of all true believers
in Christ, it is tragically true, that there are people in every Christian
congregation who appear to be religious in every way, but who do not know the
voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
Those who are not a part of the
flock do not believe. But Jesus is the
Good Shepherd, which means that Jesus continues to have a flock of sheep. Jesus will always have a flock of sheep. Yesterday, today, forever, there will be a
flock of sheep who hear the voice of the Shepherd and follow it. Jesus says.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” My sheep hear my voice…and they follow me. The Sheep hear the voice of the Shepherd, and
the follow that voice, because that voice is full of Good News.
Have you felt like you’ve been
walking through the valley of the shadow of death lately? I’ve almost been afraid to turn on the
news. Some days I’d rather not know
what’s going on around me. Bombs
exploding in Boston; explosions in Texas; an earthquake in China that has
killed at least 179; 5 snowboarders killed in a Colorado avalanche; 200 homes
in California are evacuated because of a fire; and this is just a glimpse of
what is happening this week around the world.
You are sheep who are walking
through the valley of the shadow of death.
And if the events of the world aren’t enough to bring you to despair, there
is your own list of faults and failures, we call sin. And even though you try to do what is right,
and to love and serve your neighbor, you know that daily your heart is full of
sinful desires, some of which you act upon, and that you have fallen short of
the glory of God. And Satan does his
best to bring up that list, and uses that list to in an attempt to make you do
one of two things. Either He will tempt
you to believe that if you just work a little harder, you will be able to
please God with your works. Or, on the
other hand, he’ll try to lead you to despair, and to believe that there could
be no hope for someone with your sinful desires. Either way, all he’s doing is trying to keep
you from hearing the voice of the Shepherd.
For if you hear the voice of the
Shepherd, even though you are walking through the valley of the shadow of
death, you will have nothing to fear.
When death surrounds you on all side, the empty tomb is the Jesus’
testimony that death has been defeated, and that even if our bodies would thus
be destroyed, yet, in the resurrection, we will live with Him victoriously.
If Satan shows you that you have
not kept the Law of God, and have sinned in every way, simply remind him, that
your Good Shepherd was perfectly obedient, and kept every bit of the Law in
your place. When Satan puts your sin before you, put Jesus’ life before him. For what the Law of God demands, Jesus has
already accomplished in your place.
When the devil, the world, and
your sinful flesh attack you, it is the voice of your Good Shepherd that calls
to you, and comforts you, and strengthens you who walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, so that you would not need to fear any evil. The voice of Jesus announces that your is
forgiven, and the cross is its proof.
The voice of Jesus testifies that even death cannot hold you down, and
the empty tomb bears witness to this truth.
The voice of Jesus declares you to
be holy and righteous—a forgiven child of God—not because you have been able to
stop sinning, but because Jesus’ blood and righteousness covers your sin, and
in Holy Baptism, He has given His own righteousness to you as a gift to wear as
your very own. When Satan seeks to
devour your faith, and to silence the voice of Jesus who seeks to renew you in
the forgiveness of sins, remember, that in the waters of Holy Baptism, the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit was placed upon you and
marked you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified.
This is the voice of Jesus, your
Good Shepherd. It is the voice of one
who has a flock. It is the voice of one
who will always have a flock. And that
flock—the sheep—will always hear His voice and come to Him. You see, even if there isn’t much Good News
on Television, or in the newspaper, the voice of Jesus will always be heard as
Good News by those who are His sheep. And
that’s why the sheep and the shepherd will always be together.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.
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