Listen here.

John 10:22-30

²² At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. ²⁴ So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

¹   The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

²           He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

³           He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

⁴   Even 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.

Jesus is just a few months away from being crucified. The Lamb of God will soon be led to the slaughter. As Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is walking through the Temple, some of the Jewish leaders come to question Him. And their question reveals that they are not Jesus’ sheep. They do not know the green pastures of the Good Shepherd. All they can see is the stony colonnade of Solomon. The waters are not still – they are frozen wintery solid. As they walk through the valley of the shadow of death, they fear every evil because even though the Good Shepherd is with them, they deny His presence. And so they know no comfort.

If Jesus was their Shepherd, they would not want – they would lack nothing. But not only do they want, they are dying in their want. Not only are their souls not restored, they are in torment. Our translation says they ask Jesus, “How long will you keep us in suspense?” Literally, they ask, “How long will you lift our souls from us?” In other words, “We are dying to know. If You are the Christ, tell us plainly, boldly.” Which is downright absurd because everything Jesus has been doing reveals that He is the Messiah.

Demons are confessing that He is the Christ. His works point to the fact that He is the Christ. His teaching reveals that He is the Christ. But these Jewish leaders have absolutely refused to believe. If they believed, they would be Jesus’ sheep and would know the peace and comfort of Psalm 23. But these Jews, probably the scribes and Pharisees, who come to question Jesus are not simply doubting that Jesus is the Christ. Instead, they are unbelieving. Now, there is a difference between doubt and unbelief. To be in unbelief is to be damned. To doubt is different.

Brothers and sisters, as God’s own sheep, we all suffer doubt because we have two minds – an old and a new – constantly warring against each other. The new mind is faithful to God, and the old mind constantly tries to push us slowly and persistently back toward unbelief.

Doubt grows when we do not listen to God’s Word. If we are not drinking from the still waters and refuse to eat in the green pastures, the voice of the old, sinful mind will get stronger and stronger. And the devil knows this about us. He knows our old mind is constantly pushing us, driving us, back to unbelief. So Satan feeds that doubt in very subtle, very tricky ways.

That is why Jesus teaches us to pray the 6^th Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation.” “We we pray in this petition that God would so guard and preserve us that the devil, the world, and our own flesh may not deceive us nor lead us into error and unbelief, despair, and other great and shameful sins; but that when so tempted, we may finally prevail and gain the victory” (Small Catechism).

How does God guard and preserve you? What will make you prevail and gain the victory? Well, dear sheep, let me tell you. Hear your Shepherd as He speaks to you. Your dabbling in doubt does not frustrate Him. Instead, He lovingly speaks words of comfort to you. It is His tender words that make you recognize His voice. Follow that voice even though you may have a head full of doubt.

Listen to what He says, “I give you, My sheep, eternal life.” Jesus says, “My sheep will not ever, no never, ever perish – for eternity.” And your Shepherd promises, “No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Do you hear what your Shepherd is telling you? He says to you that nothing and no one – not even death – can separate you from Him. Your Shepherd has already walked through the valley of the shadow of death on His own. He knows every step of that valley, and He conquered it. Your Shepherd now leads you guiding you with His nail-scarred hands. And you are held safely, securely in those very hands.

Your Shepherd says that God the Father Himself has given you to Jesus to be His sheep. That Heavenly Father is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch you from the Father’s hand. And Jesus and the Father are one. So, my fellow sheep, what is in store for you? God will

⁵   …prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

⁶   Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever. Amen.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.