The Third Sunday of EasterJesse JacobsenTypeset |
Good morning, sheep! In John 10 verse 3, I’m called your gatekeeper or watchman. It’s my job to open the gate so that you can be with your Shepherd.
There are many shepherds in the world: many who would like to lead you somewhere.
But only one Shepherd is right for you. Today I open the gate that He may come to you.
Of course, you know you’re not really sheep. And the one Shepherd for you is not really a Shepherd.
This is picture language, a metaphor that shows us what He does for us.
But with the Evangelist John, we will use this picture language today.
We will learn why this one Shepherd is right for us. We will see that we are a special kind of sheep: not the fuzzy animals in a field, but creatures living in the green pastures God made.
Our theme: Some Sheep have a Good Shepherd. Because of our danger. Because of God’s love.
John 10:11–16
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”
There are two dangers that Jesus mentions, that threaten the life of His sheep.
For us, that means they threaten not only our bodily life on earth, but even our spiritual life, and life in heaven.
The wolf is a threat we don’t see very easily. It is a creature like sheep, but different. Instead of eating grass and plants, the wolf eats sheep and other animals.
It attacks swiftly and without mercy, but sometimes it holds back, waiting for a chance.
Usually the wolf waits outside the sheepfold, which means in our daily lives outside the shelter of church and home.
But sometimes the wolf sneaks in, under the gate. Once inside, he’s like a fox in a henhouse.
Even within a church like this, or in our very homes, the wolf may do his best to consume us.
Of course, the wolf is Satan, along with all of the spirits that follow him.
We don’t see him easily, because he lies low and hidden, awaiting his chance to attack.
Unlike real wolves, when Satan attacks us, it doesn’t always hurt at first.
Sometimes it feels pretty nice, when he uses pleasures and enticements to lure us away from the safety of the sheep-fold.
So he finds us to be willing accomplices, like dumb sheep that love to wander where we shouldn’t go.
“Oh, my life is so busy, I need that time for myself!” “I’ve heard lots about God’s Word already. This is more fun.” “God will understand that I have to put food on the table.”
Time after time, reason after reason. The wolf tempts us with sweet words, until we follow so far that we can’t return.
But the goal of this wolf is not to please us. His goal is murder: to maim and kill, to devour and inflict harm.
So his sharp claws are the rebellious spirit that we should care not at all for God’s will. And his gleaming teeth are the biting despair that God would ever love us, who hate Him so.
His purpose is spiritual and finally eternal death, that we should share in the judgment of hell.
The hirelings are not ferocious like the wolf, but they are just as pernicious for the sheep.
They are the ones who care for the sheep only in return for their day’s pay.
They are supposed to feed and protect the sheep, but that only lasts until the real danger comes.
King David was a shepherd, and bravely fought wolves and lions, by God’s grace.
But a hireling is one like the chief priests and pharisees, the ones who arrested Jesus and sentenced Him to death, hurling insults and mocking words while He was dying.
They were hirelings because they cared nothing for the sheep. They only cared about their own well-being.
So the Shepherd was struck, and the sheep scattered.
Hirelings abound today. When threats arise, they protect themselves first and the sheep second.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s our sinful nature. They are like a babysitter unwilling to risk herself for the children she’s taking care of.
But the Good Shepherd is like the mother who goes into harms way without even thinking, to save her babies.
The hirelings that Jesus is talking about want the trust of the sheep.
They want the honor and status of a real shepherd, without actually being the real Shepherd.
There is only one Shepherd right for us, so it’s no surprise when the hirelings flee.
You may see the difference between hirelings and the Shepherd right now, but it’s not so easy after we leave this place.
Turn on the TV or the radio, and there’s a preacher. Attend a baptism, a funeral, a wedding, and there’s a preacher. He looks like the real thing. He sounds like the real thing. He may even say things that are great.
But he may also be a hireling. It’s even likely, given the sinful nature we all share.
How can you tell?
Here’s a way you can remember. What we call pastors are not really shepherds, because there’s only one Shepherd for us all. What we call pastors are really the doorkeepers, as Jesus said at the beginning of this chapter:
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
If that person on TV, or radio, or in that book or magazine or pulpit —
if he wants to be your Good Shepherd, to have your full trust, then he is surely a hireling, and will stay only until the wolf comes.
But if all he does is open the door and bring you Jesus, (the exact same Jesus we hear about in holy scripture) then he is a faithful doorkeeper.
Between the wolf, the hirelings, and our own sinful nature, we need a good shepherd: to guard and keep us from the world’s hirelings, and to save us from the wolf’s death and hell.
Some sheep have a good shepherd. Do you?
If you walk on two feet instead of four, and don’t produce wool fleece, but speak in words, then you do.
You see, that’s just the sort of creature that the Son of God became.
He is called “the Lamb of God,” but He isn’t a sheep either, He’s human! So He’s the Good Shepherd for all human beings.
God has provided the Good Shepherd we need.
You might wonder what makes Him different from other shepherds. What makes Him better for us?
First, it’s what He said in our text.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
Regular shepherds are more like hirelings. Oh, the do care about their sheep. They don’t want their sheep to be harmed.
But there’s a limit to how far they will go.
A regular shepherd will endure cold and heat, hunger and thirst, and a lot of discomfort for the sake of his sheep.
But not death.
The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
This quality wouldn’t make much sense for a regular shepherd. If the shepherd dies in defense of his sheep, then what would defend them?
Not the dead body of their dead shepherd!
But Jesus is no regular shepherd. He’s the Good Shepherd. He did not die by accident, either. In verse 18, He says:
No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.
So Jesus threw himself into the gaping jaws of death to save you and me from what we rightfully deserve.
The wolf consumed Him, but He soon tore out of its belly. Now, death has consumed itself and the Good Shepherd lives eternally.
Besides His death for us, one other thing sets the Good Shepherd apart.
I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
A regular shepherd gets to know his four-legged sheep too, he may know which ones are apt to stray, which ones are playful or hungry, or when they’re not feeling well.
But the Good Shepherd knows His two-legged sheep better. He knows us personally.
In Matthew 10, He said, “The very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Which regular shepherd knows his sheep that well?
On one hand, it means that He also knows every dark secret. You can’t hide anything from Him.
But those dark secrets are also why He died. Now, they are forgiven. Every one.
So on the other hand, He knows all that we feel, all that we need.
Four-legged sheep know their regular shepherd. They follow his voice, and generally trust him as animals do.
But the two-legged sheep of the Good Shepherd know Him, too. In verse 27, Jesus said, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
The voice of the Good Shepherd is the Word of God. When we hear, or read His Word, we know our Good Shepherd is there for us. When another voice calls out to us that changes the message of Holy Scripture,
then we know it’s not our Good Shepherd, and we should not follow that voice.
The Good Shepherd’s voice even extends to the Sacraments, where He feeds His sheep with His own body and blood, and where He cleanses His sheep from all sin, giving us forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation from the power of the wolf.
Finally, our text shows us something unusual that the Good Shepherd does. He said,
And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Do you know who those other two-legged sheep are? Look around you. Look in the mirror.
We are the other sheep.
When you greet your neighbor and coworker, when you see your friends and associates:
These are also ones for whom our Good Shepherd died. You are the ones who can tell them.
So our one Shepherd has already begun gathering His one flock. He gathers us here on earth, and He also is gathering us to Himself in heaven.
That is the sheep-fold without wolves without hirelings, without sickness or sorrow.
So let the gates be opened for our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. May He enter today with His Word, may we receive His loving care with faith and gratitude, and so He will keep us safe with Himself today and always.
These sheep have a Good Shepherd!
Amen.
This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.