John 10:11-18—I am the good shepherd. 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. 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. ¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ¹⁸ 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.”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our crucified Lord and risen Shepherd Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Poets, film directors, and comedians all know the importance of… timing.  It’s all about timing.

In many places of Scripture, you find this shepherd/sheep imagery used: Ps. 23 and Ezek. 34 are two very important places.  But you find the shepherd/sheep metaphor scattered throughout the Bible (Is. 40:11; Jer. 23; Mic. 5, 7; Zech. 11; Jn. 21; etc.).  This text and others like it have been a source of comfort for Christians for thousands of years.

The picture in your Scripture insert is an example; it is taken from Roman catacombs (Christian burial crypts) from the 100’s AD.  In the face of death and persecution, Jesus’ description of Himself as the Good, Noble Shepherd gave peace to early Christians.  Images of Jesus as the Good Shepherd gently leading a flock (like the one in our entry way) or searching out a lost, troubled sheep continues to dominate Christian art and literature today.

Timing.  It’s all about timing.  Today, we are three weeks removed from Easter—Jesus’ resurrection.  But consider the timing when Jesus originally spoke these words.  He spoke these words as He was teaching about Who He was at the feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem five months before He would lay down His life for the sheep.

Jesus, as He describes what it means to be the Good Shepherd, gives a similar picture of Ps. 23, but it’s a somewhat limited version of Ps. 23.  Jesus’ focus is the Good Shepherd as the Protector of the sheep.

Translating Jesus words as ‘Good Shepherd’ are maybe misleading because of the way in which we use ‘good’ today.  Jesus is the ‘Noble Shepherd.’  He is the Shepherd Who recklessly serves the sheep.  The Noble Shepherd goes far beyond what you would expect even a good shepherd to do—the Noble Shepherd puts His life on behalf of the sheep; He lays down His life for the sheep.

This is what sets the Noble Shepherd apart.  Jesus emphasizes this as He repeats in v. 15 that His work as the Noble Shepherd is to lay down His life for the sheep.  You would expect a shepherd to risk his life for the sheep and fight the wolf or the bear or the lion threatening the flock.  But you do not expect a shepherd to lay down his life for the sheep.  What shepherd risks his own life for the sheep?  Yet, that is what the Noble Shepherd does.

In the first several verses of Ezek. 34, God speaks against the shepherds of Israel who were not protecting or feeding the sheep.  In fact, they were stealing food from the sheep and eating it themselves.  They were not healing the sick or binding up the injured or bringing back the strayed.  They ruled with force and harshness.

Jesus says the same thing in our text about the hired hand guy who is not really a shepherd and does not own the sheep.  When that guy sees the wolf coming, he doesn’t risk his life for the sheep.  He flees; he is no shepherd.  He flees, the wolf ravages the sheep and snatches the sheep, and the sheep scatter.

The flock is no more.  Some are eaten, the rest are scattered and defenseless, and the wolf wins.  The sheep become endangered and are easy prey for the beasts that would steal them and snatch them.

The hireling, who is not a shepherd, flees because he is only taking care of someone else’s sheep.

But Jesus, the Noble Shepherd, faces the ultimate enemy of the sheep, death.  The Noble Shepherd lies down His life—dies—for the sheep.  The Noble Shepherd Himself goes through the valley of the shadow of death for His flock.

Again Jesus says, “I am the Noble Shepherd.  I know My own and My own know Me.”  Look how strong the bond is between the Noble Shepherd and His flock.  Just as the Father knows Jesus and just as Jesus knows the Father so Jesus knows who are His sheep.  The bond between God the Son, Jesus, and God the Father is the bond between the Noble Shepherd and His flock.

Jesus knows who are His sheep, and His sheep know that Jesus is their Noble Shepherd because their Shepherd has laid down His life for them.  Jesus seeks out all the scattered sheep of His flock from the nations.  From every tribe, there will be one flock, one Noble Shepherd (Jn. 10:16).

Here the metaphor ends.  Metaphors can do a good job explaining the relationship between two things, but now Jesus leaves this metaphor of the Noble Shepherd because its usefulness has ended; He says something more.

God the Father loves the Son because the Son freely lays down His life.  Notice that Jesus lays down His life in order that the He can take it up again.  Jesus lays down His life for the purpose of rising from the dead.  Jesus leaves no way to separate the laying down and the taking up of His life.

Jesus lays down His life for the sake and purpose of taking it back up.  Here, Jesus views His death and resurrection as one thing.  Five months before Jesus was crucified, He spoke about laying down His life for the purpose of taking it back up.  And that should give you hope.

Despite how bad everything looked on Good Friday, despite the religious leaders and crowds and soldiers appearing to be in control on Good Friday, Jesus says not so.  Jesus was not killed.  He willingly laid down His life.  “I Myself lay down My life.  I am the One Who is in control.  I freely lay My life down of My own accord.  I have the power to lay My life down and I have the power to take it up again.”

The will of God the Father is followed unto death by God the Son.  The mission which the Father gives the Son is fulfilled as the Son choses to lay down His life so that He could take it up again all for the sake of His sheep.

So as we ponder this text not five months before the crucifixion, but three weeks after the resurrection, remember that Jesus is not the Noble, dead Shepherd.  He is the Noble Shepherd Who died and now lives forever.

Since your Shepherd has died, and yet lives forever, you can look at Ps. 23 in a new and different way.

The Lord is your Noble Shepherd.  The Noble Shepherd Who laid down His life for you.  You are lacking nothing; your desires are filled.

The Noble Shepherd makes you lie down in green pastures and leads you beside still waters.

He restores your soul and leads you in paths of righteousness—not for your sake—but for the sake of His Name.  He is the Noble Shepherd and out of His Own interest, He makes His sheep righteous so that He can remain the Noble Shepherd.  If the Noble Shepherd doesn’t have a noble flock, He is not going to be the Noble Shepherd anymore.  For the sake of His Name which He has placed upon you in baptism, He leads you in righteousness and gives you all good things.

And even though you face death’s shadow, there is nothing for you to fear because you are part of the one flock of the Noble Shepherd.  He is the One Who is with you.  The Noble Shepherd Himself has passed through death and has taken up His life once again—just as you will because you are His noble sheep.

The Noble Shepherd’s rod and staff comfort you.  You hear His Word, and He teaches you with His Law and Gospel what it means to be His sheep.

Though you are surrounded by enemies, your Noble Shepherd prepares a table for you.  You can sit and dine and feast in the presence of your enemies without fear or worry because your Noble Shepherd has defeated your enemies—sin, death, and the devil.

Your Noble Shepherd anoints you with oil.

Your Noble Shepherd fills your cup with His forgiveness.  Your cup is so full that His grace spills from you to others.

Certainly goodness and mercy will follow you, noble sheep, all the days of your life.

You will dwell in the house of the Noble Shepherd who died and rose again.  You will be with Him forever.  Death shall be no more.  Amen.