Tag: John 10:11-16

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Third Sunday of Easter (Misericordias Domini)

Readings: Ezekiel 34:11-16 | 1 Peter 2:21-25 | John 10:11-16

Text: John 10:11-16

The name for this second Sunday after Easter is a mouthful: Misericordias Domini.  It’s also a strange name, unless you’re a Spanish-speaker.  Misericordias in both Latin and Spanish means “mercy.”  It’s from Psalm 33:5, which we heard in the introit as, “The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.”  But what is this “steadfast love” and “mercy”?  What does it look like, and how can we lay hold of it?  On this “Good Shepherd Sunday,” we have a picture of the Lord’s steadfast love and mercy.  He is the Good Shepherd, who calls and gathers His flock around Him.

But they are not just pristine, innocent lambs that He takes in His bosom.  They wandered into thorn bushes and thickets.  Without a shepherd, they have vied for power and shouldered the weak aside.  Some have been torn by wolves and left for dead.  Others have grown “fat and strong” on pastures they took for granted.  These are what the Lord’s sheep look like.  So, to look at the mercy of the Lord is to see how the Lord gathers His wandering sheep.

The reading from Ezekiel 34 tells how the Lord Himself will “seek out [His] sheep and rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.”[1]  This refers to the time when the Lord’s flock was gathered at the base of Mount Sinai:

16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled… 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. 19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain.[2]

From Mount Sinai, the Lord gave His Law.  To that frightful sight, the people swore, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”[3]  But they didn’t, and they weren’t.  And they couldn’t.[4]  Just 40 days later, they were fashioning a golden calf, calling it the Lord, and bowing down to it.[5]  The only thing that saved them that day was Moses’ intercession, where he implored the Lord to remember the promise made to their fathers.

            But there was another mountain.  It was a mountain in the Promised Land, just outside Jerusalem.  The glory of the Lord once again appeared over this mountain.  Thick darkness covered it, and the Lord was at the top of this mountain.  But this time the threats were not against the people.  The darkness lasted for just three hours, and the voice of God did not thunder, but choked out His dying words:

45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”… 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.[6]

On this mountain, the wrath of God against all human sin was satisfied.  “I am the good shepherd…I lay down my life for the sheep.”  God’s only-begotten Son laid down His life to redeem the flock of God.[7]

            Later in chapter 12 of John’s Gospel, Jesus would speak of the cross in this way: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”[8]  This is center point of the Good Shepherd’s call.  He calls the wandering sheep of Israel—and truly of all nations—to the cross.  There, as Zechariah wrote, the shepherd is struck.  For a time, the sheep are scattered, but soon, the Lord says, “They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God’.”[9]  The Good Shepherd’s call to the wandering sheep is to where He washes them from all their filthy sin and makes them His very own.  “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.”

            In clouds and thick darkness, when God’s holy Law brings death and hell, sinful sheep are scattered and frightened.  They are helpless and hopeless until the Lord, their Shepherd, gathers them to His cross.  Only there, can the terrors of God be silenced.  Only the precious blood of Jesus can wash sins away.  “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”[10]  The Lord Himself restores His stained and diseased sheep, so that they live before Him in righteousness and purity forever.[11]

            This is the economy of God: those sheep who were stubborn, who were lost, who even scoffed at the Shepherd, who longed to rescue them—are absolved. No more are their pushing and shoving counted against them!.  The Good Shepherd has “laid down His life so that He may take it up again.”[12]  He laid down His life so that they might rise with Him.  They now hear their Shepherd’s voice and follow only Him.  “They will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”  Only the Good Shepherd can guide them to “good pasture, grazing on the mountain heights of Israel.”[13]  Only He can lead them has His redeemed flock, protected from the wolves and well-tended both in body and soul.

            But, the Lord also tells us, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.”  His call from the cross continues to go out!  Now, He rules in heaven, the Lamb whom all the heavenly host adore, but His voice is still heard on earth.  It’s heard among His flock every time they gather for worship.  The Lord says, “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.”  This sets things straight when it comes to missions. It’s all too easily to manipulate people by the fear that people are going to hell if you don’t do _______. This is dishonest, and does not allow God to be the author of faith.  In the Word preached, in the Word washing, in the Word binding and loosing from sin, and in the Word eaten and drunk for the forgiveness of sins, the Good Shepherd cares for His flock.

            Ultimately, there will be one flock, even as there is one Shepherd.  All of us together hear His voice and listen—the flock of old in Israel, the flock in Lebanon, and the flock that will be.  What unites this flock is not the name of a church body like “Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.”  It’s not the citizenry of a certain country.  It’s not in outward appearance and personality.  The Church is those who hear their Shepherd’s voice.  To put it another way, “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.”[14]  They do not refuse Him who speaks,[15] but follow where He leads.  He calls His sheep, He cleanses them from their iniquities, He renews them, and He leads them to green pastures.

            At the Last, the one Good Shepherd will gather His flock all around Him.  They will be delivered from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation,[16] and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Amen.

[1] Ezekiel 34:12

[2] Exodus 19:16-20

[3] Exodus 24:7

[4] Romans 8:7

[5] Exodus 32

[6] Matthew 27:45-46, 50

[7] Acts 20:28

[8] John 12:32

[9] Zechariah 13:7, 9

[10] Isaiah 1:18

[11] Small Catechism, IV, “What does such baptizing with water indicate?”

[12] John 10:18

[13] Ezekiel 34:14

[14] Luke 11:28

[15] Hebrews 12:25

[16] Small Catechism, III, 7th Petition

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Third Sunday of Easter

~ Misericordias Domini ~

Readings: Ezekiel 34:11-16 | 1 Peter 2:21-25 | John 10:11-16

Text: John 10:11-16

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

The Lost Sheep published 1864 Sir John Everett Millais, Bt 1829-1896 Presented by Gilbert Dalziel 1924 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/A00792

People sometimes say, “If you want it done right, you’ve gotta do it yourself.” Whether it’s cleaning the bathroom or fixing something that broke, sometimes this is true. Maybe that’s how the Lord felt when He was speaking through Ezekiel: “Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” After all, no one on earth seemed to get it right. Later in this part of chapter 34, He says, “21 Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, 22 I will rescue my flock.”

As Jesus is speaking to the crowds, it doesn’t seem like it’s gotten any better either: “12 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. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”

It’s not for lack of instruction. He had made it clear what He had done, and what He expected of His people. The Lord, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery [Ex. 20:1], never betrayed them. But it seemed like they just couldn’t live up to their end of the covenant! In fact, in sharp contrast to the people’s faithfulness, the Lord uses a marriage analogy in Jeremiah 31:

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.

And for us to understand this, remember these sacred vows which husbands and wives take in the presence of God:

P [To the bridegroom]: Will you have this woman to be your wedded wife, to live together in the holy estate of matrimony as God ordained it? Will you nourish and cherish her as Christ loved His body, the Church, giving Himself up for her? Will you love, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health and, forsaking all others, remain united to her alone, so long as you both shall live? Then say: I will.

P [To the bride]: Will you have this man to be your wedded husband, to live together in the holy estate of matrimony as God ordained it? Will you submit to him as the Church submits to Christ? Will you love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health and, forsaking all others, remain united to him alone, so long as you both shall live? Then say: I will. (LSB p. 276)

When we hear the words of these solemn promise, it can bring tears to our eyes. Tears of joy in the promise of years to come, of gratitude that God would give us such a gift as this man or woman.

It also brings tears of regret for our failures and those promises made to us which were not kept—the times we have bristled at what it really means to be with them in all circumstances till death, for the husband to sacrificially (not selfishly) love his wife, and for the wife to submit to her husband and not dismiss him as an oaf.

These marriage vows are a humbling reminder to us that our promises—our most heart-felt and solemn oaths—are always subject to failure. But there is faithfulness in the world, upon which we can stake our very lives: the faithfulness of God.

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep... I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 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.

When we hear the story of God throughout Scripture, it resounds with His faithfulness. He is the faithful Bridegroom, the faithful God who never speaks an idle promise, or says what He is unable or unwilling to do. He is the Good Shepherd, who truly does the utmost for His flock. He never leaves, nor forsakes them. He leads them to streams of living water and restores our souls [Rev. 7:17, Psalm 23:3].

He is intimately acquainted with each piece of His world, and especially of man and woman in it. He redeemed even when our parents and us had turned to sin and rebellion. He rescued from slavery as He had promised, despite the power and stubborn refusal of a wicked ruler. [Exodus 12-14] Under a different tyrant, when the fires of hell threatened, He faithfully took the place of His people so that they would come out without even the smell of smoke. [Daniel 3]

This is the very faithfulness we need to be saved. All of us have turned aside. All of us have failed. But He has forever remained the faithful Bridegroom, the faithful Savior, the Good Shepherd:

33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

This is God’s solemn promise to you. It was sealed, not with a ring, but with His own blood upon the cross. He gave you this pledge in the saving waters of Baptism. And because we fail each day, He gives the pledge of His faithfulness in the Lord’s Prayer and in the Absolution. He is so committed that He even gives us the sacrifice He made for us to eat and drink. This is a foretaste of what He is bringing His bride to, as He tells us in Revelation 19:

Yes, He wanted it done right, and He did it Himself. He laid down His life for His sheep, for His Bride, that we may live with Him eternally.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Third Sunday of Easter (Misericordias domini)

Readings: Ezekiel 34:11–16 | 1 Peter 2:21–25 | John 10:11-16

Text: John 10:11-16

The Lord Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd.”  This Sunday in the Church year has come to be known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.”  So, let’s to dig deeper into what this statement of Jesus means.  Let us not just pass over this, and adopt a picture of Jesus that spends the day nuzzling cute little sheep.

I. “I am” – Greek: ego eimi

Jesus is saying that He is true God, together with all that implies.  John’s Gospel is known for seven such “I am” statements.  This is more than your typical metaphor.  It goes back to way God revealed Himself to His people of old.  Most notably, with Moses in Exodus 3, we read:

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

The translation which we see in our Bibles, “the Lord” (small caps) is the Hebrew traditional way to render this covenant Name of God, “I am” (especially see Gen. 2:4 creation, Ex. 13:21 deliverance)  It means that this is the living God; the God who is without any qualifiers, who created all things ex nihilo (out of nothing, John 1:3), and He depends on no other.

It’s not apparent from the English, but this is why Jesus gets into such hot water with the Jews in John 8.  If He were nothing more than a raving lunatic, saying He lived before Abraham, they could have overlooked that.  But He says, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am…[and] before Abraham existed, I am.” (John 8:28, 8:58)  He is saying that He is truly God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

II. “Good” – Greek: kalos

The word “good” gets thrown around like an old t-shirt in our day.  “How are you?” “I’m good.”  Jesus caught the rich young man off guard when He replied to the address, “Good Teacher” in Mark 10 by responding, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:17-18)  Well, when you put it that way, it contracts all our measure of good against the “gold standard” which is God Himself.  So also here in the Gospel:

The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 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. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Since Jesus is the Lord, the “I am,” we should also recall in creation where the Lord God saw what He made and said, “It is good.” (Gen. 1:10 ff.)  But to teach us what this means in action, He contrast what the good Shepherd does compared the hireling.  There’s no personal stake in the sheep’s welfare for the hireling; they are not his sheep, and if they perish, he’ll simply move on to another gig.

Also, lest we think “good” is talking about the quality of His shepherding, what actual shepherd, seeking a livelihood, would lay down his life for the sheep?  This is not a lesson in how to successfully make a living by owning sheep.  If anything it’s the sheep who ought to be shorn and to die so the shepherd and his family have something to wear and eat.

But that is the stark difference with the Good Shepherd, who is Himself God. And this is what God the Shepherd does: “Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” (Ezek. 34:11-13)

III. “Shepherd” – Greek: poimein, pastor

God makes clear His definition of a shepherd.  It’s something like David, who wrote the inspired Psalm 23, which we prayed today.  It’s much more than what the spiritual leaders were doing which occasioned the strong rebuke in Ezekiel 34.  It’s more than any person could claim, for, as Isaiah and Peter said, “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Pet. 2:25)  Only this Good Shepherd, true God and true man can fully fit the bill.  All others are flawed reflections at best.

But, then why do we use the word, “Pastor,” (which is simply Latin for shepherd) to address those men whom the Lord calls to His service?  Having anyone call you “pastor” s hould make you quake in your boots.  I could take a cue from the Lord and say, “Why do you call me pastor? There is no shepherd but Jesus alone.”

Here to wrap up the discussion of the Good Shepherd, it’s beneficial and necessary to understand the similarities and the differences between the Good Shepherd and those who come in His Name.

Thankfully Scripture does give us other ways to conceive of this office.  Jesus in Luke 12 and St. Paul in 1 Corinthains 4 compare the pastoral office to that of a steward who is in charge of the household: “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.” (Luke 12:42-43) and “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” (1 Cor. 4:1-2)  The holy things don’t belong to the steward at all, but to Christ.  In both passages, the measure is not how “nice” or “personable” or “clever” he is, but “faithful” to His Master.

This past week at both our Synod’s seminaries, 101 candidates [45 from Fort Wayne and 56 from St. Louis] for the pastoral office received calls into the Lord’s harvest.  This is an exceeding gift for so many men to be willing, well-equipped, and tested to tend the Lord’s flock.  It’s a tradition, at least at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, is for the seminary president to send the candidates off with this charge:

“Go, then. Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with his own blood. [Acts 20:28] Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being an example to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. [1 Pet. 5:2-4]

The Lord bless thee from on high, and make thee a blessing unto many, that thou mayest bring forth fruit, and that thy fruit may remain unto eternal life. [John 15:16] Amen.”[1]

“Amen,” because we can only but trust that God will accomplish what He has promised to do through the Office of the Holy Ministry.  Here, the portion of 1 Peter gives another description of the shepherding office: Feeding the flock, overseeing their welfare, willingly devoting yourself to God’s heritage and—though they themselves are just as thoroughly a sinner—being an example above reproach.  Their commendation comes not from the praise of men who call them reverend or gush over their sermons, but from the Chief Shepherd (Archshepherd, literally).  Because of this, many use the term, “Undershepherd,” but it’s a little clunky for daily use.

Jesus alone is the One who lays down His life for the sheep, and requires nothing in return.  He relies on nothing from the sheep to accomplish this work.  But, the men who serve Him do.  These men and their families have to eat, and so, “the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” and “the laborer deserves his wages” (1 Cor. 9:14, Luke 10:7).

They need their own Sabbath rest, sleep, and time off.  These undershepherds also have other vocations—that of husband, father, son and brother.  These vocations cannot be neglected any more than they can in any Christian’s life.  But of the Good Shepherd, we can be sure from Psalm 121, “Behold, He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.” (Ps. 121:4)  Only our Immanuel can promise, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20)

The undershepherds are also, every one of them, fallible men.  They serve a Church which is comprised of fallible people.  This Church together is gathered around Christ, who washes these servants and the flock they serve in His holy, precious blood.  These undershepherds will have faults, they will need to recant of things they’ve said in error, repent of their vanity, apologize for their hot temper, and so on (just think of the example of Peter).  And yet the Lord has been pleased throughout time to accomplish His work through sinful servants.  It is a proof of His power and goodness that He shepherds His people though wicked men. 

Imagine this!  That with this ordering of the Church in mind—with Peter standing right before Him—that He would say, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 16:18-19)  What treasures are handled by human hands, and what potential there is for abuse and corruption.  But what an Almighty Good Shepherd we have, that He, who laid down His life for His sheep, would continue to enlarge His fold in our midst:

“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.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

[1] https://callday.ctsfw.edu/Home/Calls

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Third Sunday of Easter (John 10:11-16)

Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR

Third Sunday of Easter (Misericordias Domini) + May 5, 2019

Baptism of Lincoln Thomas Vorderstrasse

Text: John 10:11-16

Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd.” But what is meant by “good”?  When you want to find out more in Holy Scripture, you go to the original languages—Greek in the New Testament and Hebrew in the Old.[1]  In His wisdom, God chose these languages to record His Holy Word for generations.[2]  So, to learn what is meant by “Good Shepherd,” we go to the Greek.

In Greek, the Holy Spirit directed John to use kalos in this passage.  Kalos means noble or virtuous.  There’s another word for good, agathos, which is more descriptive of qualities or moral convictions a person has.[3]

But kalos—noble or virtuous—is used here.  It’s also what describes the wine at the Wedding in Cana (2:10), and later in chapter 10 of Jesus’ good works.  Kalos is about meeting an objective standard, a code of conduct, of someone fulfilling the highest and best he can be.

It may seem pretty rudimentary to be analyzing what “good” means, but we live in an environment where anyone is free to make his or her mind about what is good.  Good could mean pleasurable, helping me meet my own personal goals, or having qualities that are popular at moment.

As a result, people can’t agree on what is good or evil, virtuous or base.  The argument goes that pleasure is good, so you should pursue whatever is pleasurable to you as long as it doesn’t immediately impact other people.  Whether its to use drugs or not, who to pair up with and how long, whether to provide for yourself or mooch off others—all such things are left up to individuals and no authority dares to call their bluff.

It sounds much like what the Lord said through Isaiah about the people of his day: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness” (5:20). Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were an objective, unchangeable standard for good, an ideal to which we strive and model our life?  From God there is a template of what is noble and virtuous versus what is depraved and gross.

Today, into this foggy human mess of selfish ambition, Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd.”  He first establishes who He is, the I Am.[4]  He is God who made all that exists—visible and invisible—including us as creatures.  “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” (Psalm 95:6-7)  He is our Maker, and He has every right to determine what those made in His image ought to be like.  It’s sad proof of our wretched hearts and minds that we question and ignore the very Word by which we exist and have life.

“Good Shepherd”—We must learn from Him what good is, because our fathers and us have believed the Serpent’s lie—“you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).  It’s not just the corrupting influence of unbelievers; the evil lies within.  We say we have “good common sense” but all too often our Creator finds us fighting for and making excuses for seems right to us, but is evil in His eyes.

The very reason you are here, gathered into the place where God and His Good are known is by the powerful working of His Spirit.  “Where shall I go from your Spirit?” the psalmist wonders, but truly, “Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with You.” (Psalm 139:7, 12).  God shines through the darkness of your heart.

So if we are to learn anew from our Creator what truly is good, let us look to Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

“The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  This is the perfect act of devotion that it took to bring us back to God.  This is what we just meditated on in the death of Jesus—from His agony in the garden, betrayal, cruel mockery, pain, to His death—for Him it was all intentional, done for our sake.  This is the cause for great joy, the alleluias, the hymns of praise, because Jesus our Shepherd has done this for us and gathered us into His fold!

Remember how kalos is the word for virtuous?  In contrast to this virtue is the self-serving cowardice of the hired hand.  He has no dedication because he has nothing to lose.  But the Good Shepherd holds nothing back and places everything on the line, becomes one with us.  He refuses to let His creation be debased by Satan, sin, and death.  He counts them enemies for the sake of saving His creatures and He tackles them head on.

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.”  Not only does He sacrifice all for the sake of gaining life for us, but He knows us.  Here again, the original languages are helpful.  Know in Scripture means more than head knowledge of facts.[5]  It means to have an intimate, shared bond.

“Adam knew his wife, and she conceived a son.” (Gen. 4:1)  Husbands know their wives (or they should), and wives know their husbands.  Sure it includes what to get her for mother’s day or her birthday, but it’s really about thinking of and acting in the way that best serves the other’s needs, setting aside what would serve your needs for the sake of theirs.

When our Good Shepherd says knows His own, our human knowing only gives us a faint glimpse.  He knows us intimately, incarnationally—“Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.” (All of Psalm 139 is a beautiful meditation on this knowing.)  He has intimate knowledge of each of us—our joys and pains, how we think, what our strengths and weaknesses are, our past and our future.  Nothing escapes His notice. What an incredible wonder that this doesn’t make Him forsake us!  Instead, because He laid down His life for the sake of His sheep—for you—He draws all the closer because He earnestly desires for you to have life eternally.

He also says, “My own know me.”  His Spirit has enlightened your minds and hearts to know Him with that same intimate bond.  It’s not too much or blasphemous to say you know what God thinks of you.  Yes, He sees all your sins which make you unworthy to stand before Him, but you also know His extraordinary, divine love which atoned for your sins and sought you out!  You know how God thinks, what God delights in, and what is pleasing in His sight.  Pore over His Word, leave behind the laziness of your weak flesh, so that you can know Him better each day of this life!  Look forward to the Day when God’s enemies and yours—sin, death, and Satan—lie in ruins. “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1 Cor. 13:12)

This morning, we witnessed a beautiful thing in God’s sight.  Before it, we sang, “Dearest Jesus, we are here, Gladly your command obeying; With this child we now draw near In response to Your own saying That to You it shall be given As a child and heir of heaven.” (LSB 592:1)  This is truly a good thing—a noble and virtuous thing—for parents to bring their child to Jesus in faith, trusting the Word He has spoken: “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” (Mark 10:14-15 NKJV)  It is also a noble thing for parents to raise their children in the faith—what the world calls brainwashing and empty tradition, Jesus calls good.  It is a noble thing to sacrifice time and love to drag oneself out of bed on the weekend, because however good sleep seems, the faith that is created and strengthened here is better.  It’s the easier thing to stay home, but it turns out that’s the basest thing, because it results in your children being swept away by the Devil and the unbelieving world.

So repent and bear noble fruits.  Let the good shepherd gather you into His fold.  Hear His voice of forgiveness, and be made new for noble and good things in the sight of your Creator.  Amen.

[1] Portions of Daniel and Ezra are in Aramaic.

[2] Hebrew was the language of Eber and his descendants (Genesis 10:24, 11:14-15)

[3] Agathos is used in Nathanael’s snarky comment about Nazareth (1:46), the judgment (5:29), and human opinion of Jesus (7:12).

[4] Exodus 3:14

[5] Hebrew is YDA (yadá). This was brought into Yiddish as “yadda” and the phrase “Yadda, yadda!” means “You know the rest.”  Ironically, this phrase is usually used to brush off insignificant details.

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Second Sunday after Easter (Misericordias domini)(John 10:11-16)

Bethlehem Lutheran & Bethel Lutheran Church, Lebanon & Sweet Home, OR
Second Sunday after Easter (Misericordias domini) + April 15, 2018
Text: John 10:11-16

“A Psalm of David. 1The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23)
But what does that look like here on earth, and day to day?  To care for His flock, Jesus appoints shepherds (that’s what the title pastor means).  He said to Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?…Feed my lambs…Tend my sheep…Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-17)
 
Jesus does not hire employees; He calls men to shepherd His flock.  That’s why the language and practice of trying to compare a pastor’s work to that of another job doesn’t fit.  Pastors do not work 40-hour weeks.  If he does, you’re out of luck if your husband dies on Friday, or if you’re in the hospital at 11pm on a Sunday night.  A hired hand will leave the office, and you will not be able to get ahold of him because he will shut his phone off.
 
Why?  Because there is no bond of love.  The hireling is in it for the paycheck and not much more.  The Lord requires love of His pastors, and you can’t put that on a job description or measure it in a quarterly review the way you can other workers.
 
The Good Shepherd calls pastors to shepherd His flock, to tend to them whenever and wherever they may be—whether they are in the hospital in Portland or having a family crisis on what most people get off as a holiday.  It’s an earthly reflection of how the Chief Shepherd Himself is with us.
 
This is what is so significant at those points in the service when the pastor faces the congregation—the absolution, the readings, the sermon, the pax domini, and the benediction.  These are all sacred points in the divine service where it is not just the man who speaks, but the pastor speaks in the stead and by the command of the Good Shepherd.
 
Because the pastor isn’t an employee, it is unnatural for the flock to become an executive board to manage their pastor.  At times they will, and they have in many places—but this isn’t the way it’s supposed to be.  The Gentiles lord it over each other and exercise authority, but it shall not be so among you.[1]  It’s quite unnatural for a congregation to talk in terms of “getting their money’s worth” out of their pastor.  If a congregation has a faithful pastor who loves them, those Christians are blessed beyond anything that money can buy.
But it can’t be ignored that the men the Lord appoints, starting with St. Peter, are sinners.  Although they are called to “Shepherd the flock of God which is among them” (1 Peter 5:1), they just as much are in need of daily forgiveness.  They themselves struggle with weak faith, pride, they hurt people with their words and actions.  Their sinful failings bring shame upon the Office of pastor which the Lord has entrusted to them.  Their words and actions can do real, sometimes irreparable damage to the faith the Lord’s little lambs.  To put it plainly, pastors are just as bad as the people they are called to lead.  The only difference, perhaps, is that they have the devil’s target on their back, and experience more frequent spiritual attack.  They need the Good Shepherd just as much as anyone.
 
“11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12He 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. 13He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:11–15)
 
The Lord arranges things this way because He knows that His flock needs this.  Christians are people who need congregations, who need shepherds.  They need someone to love them with a steadfast love, both when things are good and when they get ugly.  The sheep need someone who feeds them, even when some of the louder ones complain about doctrine as “worthless manna.”  God’s flock needs a shepherd who will stick with them, even when they deal low blows and make the complaints personal.
 
The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep—all Christians, both pastors and laity.  “24He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:24–25)  Again, He did it because we need it.  We often find ourselves wandering from our Shepherd.  His Word becomes burdensome and we instead lean on our own understanding.  We stay away from church after disappointments and hurts. Even within the church, fights break out among believers because of jealousy, fear, and greed.  The human limitations and failings of this divine relationship cloud our vision of what the Lord is doing among us.
Even in the valley of the shadow of death, our Good Shepherd tends us.  He sends His Word of grace and peace from heaven to purify our hearts.  He feeds us with His very own Body and Blood in the Sacrament for our forgiveness, restoration, and strength of body and soul.   We can thank Him that He has continued steadfast among His flock in this place, and He continues His work: “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.”
Let us pray,
Faithful Shepherd, You are ever with us.  In divine love, You laid down your life for us. We thank you evermore that You cause this life-giving Word to be preached among us.  Support our shepherd and bless his service in among us. Guide us with your Word and move us by Your Spirit to receive your tending gladly and follow where you lead, in the way that leads to eternal life.  In Your precious, saving Name we pray. Amen.
 
Note which didn’t fit in the sermon:
It’s true that in Matthew 9, when the Lord sees the crowds harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd, He does call those He sends “laborers.”  But that’s an incomplete picture because those he sends are called to do so much more than a simple wage-earner.  Most of the Apostles He sent gave up their lives in the service of the harvest.
 
[1] Mark 10:42-45