Tag Archives: Good Shepherd

Dirty Work – Sermon on Ezekiel 34:11-16 for the Third Sunday of Easter

Ezekiel 34:11-16

11 “For thus says the Lord God: 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. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 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.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! 
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

One of the most common metaphors that the Bible uses for how we relate to God is the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. It’s not the most common image, but it’s toward the top. It’s probably merciful that God didn’t make it the most common one because it isn’t overly complimentary. Sheep aren’t strong or fast or smart or impressive animals. Sheep are needy and, honestly, stupid. They get themselves into all kinds of dirty, sticky messes. The imagery isn’t meant to be flattering, but we don’t need to be flattered. God be praised that He doesn’t expect us to be anything more than His sheep.

When you’re the sheep, the image is very comforting. That’s why Psalm 23 is so popular. When you’re the Shepherd, it’s a lot of work – in fact a lot of dirty work. That’s why this text from Ezekiel 34 isn’t as well-known as Psalm 23. The context of this passage is that God is speaking against the shepherds (i.e. the rulers and religious leaders) whom He had called to shepherd His people. He is speaking against them because they hadn’t been faithful (Ezk. 34:1-10).

These shepherds failed to do what God called them to do. They had been feeding themselves instead of the sheep. They had fattened themselves by devouring the sheep. They had not strengthened the weak; they had not healed the sick; they had not bound up the injured, brought back the strayed, or sought the lost. Because of these failures, God’s sheep had been scattered over the face of the earth. God’s sheep had become food for the wild beasts, wandered all over the mountains, and were scattered with no one to search or seek them.

So right before our text starts, God says to those shepherds, “I am against you and will require My sheep from your hand.” God says that He’s going to put a stop to their neglect and lack of care for the sheep. He Himself will rescue them.

One of the classic children’s stories that I enjoy is “The Little Red Hen.” You remember how it goes. The little red hen finds some wheat seed and asks her friends, the dog, the cat, the duck, and the pig a series of questions. “Who will help me plant the seed, water the seed, harvest the wheat, grind the grain, bake the bread?” To each question, there’s the rhythmic reply, “’Not I,’ said the dog, ’Not I,’ said the cat, ’Not I,’ said the duck, ’Not I,’ said the pig.” So, the determined hen says, “Then I will do it myself.” Then, when the bread is finally out of the oven, the little red hen asks, “Who’s going to help me eat the bread?” And of course, the dog, the cat, the duck, and the pig are all eager and ready to eat, but she says, “No, you didn’t help me plant, water, harvest, grind, or bake. I will eat it myself.” And she did.

This passage has a similar tone to it. The shepherds had not done their job, and so God says, “Ok. I will do it Myself.” And He does. He did exactly what we needed as His sheep.

God says that He, Himself, seeks us, rescues us from all the places we’ve been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. He brings us out from the peoples, gathers us from the countries, brings us into our own land, and feeds us with good pasture. He makes us lie down, seeks us when we’re lost, brings us back when we’re strayed, binds us up when we are injured, strengthens us when we are weak. He does all the dirty work that sheep need from their shepherd. God’s frustration here is not directed at the sheep – it’s directed to the shepherds. God willingly does all of these things out of His love, care, and compassion for you, His sheep.

When Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd in our Gospel reading today (Jn. 10:11-16), He says that He is that Shepherd. His work of seeking us lost ones, bringing back us strayed ones, binding up our injuries, and strengthening our weaknesses – all of this happens as He lays down His life for us. That is how He is your Good Shepherd.

You are His sheep. He cares for you and does all the dirty work of being your Good Shepherd. Christ does all of this dirty work for the joy set before Him (Heb. 12:2) of having you as His sheep. Your Good Shepherd fully knows that you need to be fed, found, brought back, bound up, and strengthened. In other words, He knows you are His sheep who need His care.

But don’t miss the fact that, as your Good Shepherd, He knows what tasks and responsibilities you can handle. So, He calls you to be His under-shepherds. Just because you are an under-shepherd doesn’t mean you are no longer His sheep. You are always a sheep. But He, as the Good Shepherd, entrusts the care of His sheep to you. Can you imagine a parent saying about their kid, “That’s God’s child, not mine”? Of course not! A parent recognizes, “That’s my child that God has given and entrusted to me.”

Dear saints, every relationship you have is a calling from God to care for His beloved sheep. Be faithful in those callings whether you are a parent, a worker, a student, a friend, a sibling, whatever. You are an under-shepherd.

In our Gospel reading, Jesus calls us hired hands (Jn. 10:12-13). Jesus doesn’t say that all the hired hands are cowards who run away at the sight of the wolf simply because they are hired hands. He says that the ones who flee do so because they don’t care about the sheep. Christ has given you callings and wants you to have the same care for His sheep that He has entrusted to you. Again, the context of this passage from Ezekiel is clear that God intends that His under-shepherds be faithful in doing the dirty work of caring for His sheep. So, be a good under-shepherd.

Dear saints, you have been called to follow Christ’s example (1 Pet. 2:21). Imitate and follow Him. Your Good Shepherd has joined you to His cause of bringing back the strayed to the Shepherd and Overseer of souls (1 Pet. 2:25). Jesus is the Shepherd who clears the path before you, His sheep. Christ is also the janitor who cleans up after you when you fail as His under-shepherd.

Dear saints, you are called to do the dirty work of being shepherds, caring for God’s flock, and ministering to all the different needs of God’s sheep. You are to bind up the injured, bring back the strayed, and strengthen the weak.

I want to close with these verses from 1 Pet. 5:2-4 where the Holy Spirit says to all of us, “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” And listen to the conclusion, “And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” 

God be praised that Christ Himself is our Good Shepherd who both leads us and follows after us as He cares for all His sheep. Amen.

Alleluia! 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.

Hirelings – Sermon on John 10:11-18 for the Third Sunday of Easter

John 10:11–18

11 “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.”

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

When Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd it means more than how we use the term ‘good’ today. We often use the word ‘good’ in such a subjective or comparative way. A six-year-old might be a ‘good’ baseball player because he can field a ground ball four out of ten times, but he’s only ‘good’ when you compare him to other six-year-olds who let nine out of every ten grounders roll between their legs. That six-year-old is not ‘good’ when you compare him to some high school players, who can field +90% of the ground balls that come their way. Jesus is not the good shepherd because He is better than other shepherds.

Another misconception we have about Jesus being the Good Shepherd is that we think Jesus means He is the nice shepherd. When Jesus says He is the Good Shepherd, He doesn’t simply mean that He is the nice shepherd. Of course, Jesus is nice, and there is a sort of sentimental comfort of God being our Shepherd. A lot of the imagery of Psalm 23 as well as the parable in Luke 15:3-7 of the shepherd who seeks out his lost sheep offers that comfort. But when Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd here in John 10, He is offering another comfort, a deeper comfort.

Throughout human history, shepherds have kept sheep for their wool and their meat. The first shepherd in Scripture was Abel. At least one of the reasons Abel kept sheep was to offer them as a sacrifice to God (Gen. 4:2-5). Today, shepherds keep sheep to put food on the table and a roof over the heads of their family by sheering sheep and slaughtering them for food. So, a “good shepherd” is someone who is successful in making money off of his sheep. We can be thankful that Jesus is not a good shepherd in that way.

When Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd, He defines what makes Him the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. Imagine if a cattle rancher said, “I am the good rancher, and I will die for my cows.” You would not call that rancher ‘good.’ You’d call him a lunatic and fool. In fact, that is the response of the crowd who heard Jesus call Himself the Good Shepherd. Their initial reaction, which comes just after our text ends, is that Jesus is insane and has a demon (Jn. 10:20). That’s a double whammy.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd because He is uniquely qualified to be the Shepherd of sinful sheep. It is perfectly legitimate to translate the word Jesus uses there as ‘good,’ but it means more than that. The word means, “right, fitting, true, beautiful, and competent.” I think one of the best ways to get the idea across is, actually, to consider the creation account in Genesis 1-2. Throughout the days of creation, God would look at what He had made and would see that it was “good.” Then, at the end of the sixth day, God looks at everything that He created and sees that it is “very good” (Gen. 1:31).

In creation, God orders everything by His Word. Days 1-3 God creates spaces by His Word, and days 4-6 God fills those spaces by His Word. You can think of it as God creating shelves on days 1-3, and God filling those shelves days 4-6. Day one, God creates light and time; then on day four, God fills it with sun, moon, and stars. Day two, God creates the atmosphere and waters; then on day five, God fills those spaces with birds and fish. Day three, God creates land and plants; then on day six, God fills the space with animals and mankind. And through all this, God creates things that are distinct from each other. God separates the seas from the land (Gen. 1:9-10). God put the sun, moon, and stars into the sky. And each of those are designed to do the same thing but for different purposes. The sun rules the day and the moon and stars rule the night (Gen. 1:16). He created the birds to fill the skies, the fish to fill the waters, and the animals to fill the land (Gen. 1:20-23). Everything had its place and purpose according to God’s Word and design.

Genesis 2:4-25 circles back to the sixth day and zooms in on the creation of Adam and the woman to give us a fuller picture. After God breathed into Adam’s nostrils and made him a living creature but before God created the woman, God says something important, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18). Adam was not complete without a wife. Adam could not be what God created him to be without the woman. So, God takes Adam’s side and forms the woman. This was good for Adam, for the woman, for us as their offspring, and for all creation.

After this, creation is complete, and God looks at everything He created and says it is all, “very good,” which is the same word[1] Jesus to describe Himself as the Good Shepherd. All of this is to say that goodness, according to the Scriptures, is to be well ordered according to the Word of God.

Bring all of that to Jesus calling Himself the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd because He restores the order and relationship between Him and the sheep as well as the relationship His sheep have with the rest of creation. Christ, the Good Shepherd and the Word who became flesh, fixes the chaos and disorder that sin introduced into creation and brings order and peace back into creation, and He does this by His death and resurrection.

Now, all of that was to set this up: Jesus talks about the “hired hand.” Christ saw a problem with those hirelings. They were fleeing when they saw the wolf because they didn’t care for the sheep (Jn. 10:12-13).  The verses before our Old Testament reading (Ezk. 34:11-16) tell us more about the environment under those hirelings and the problems they created (see Ezk. 34:1-10). There, the shepherds are the spiritual and political leaders who failed in their function because they didn’t take care of the sheep. Instead of feeding them, they were eating the sheep. They were not seeking the strayed or binding up the injured which meant that God’s sheep were scattered over the face of the earth.

Because of that, God promised that He Himself will be the Shepherd of His sheep. And that is precisely what Jesus does. He seeks out His flock, rescues them, brings them into their own land. He feeds them with good pasture, binds up the injured, and strengthens the weak. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who restores the proper order for His sheep. That is the main point of this text. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, restores the order that was broken because of sin and the hirelings who cared nothing for the sheep.

Today, though, we are going to go a step further. The hirelings Jesus talks about here aren’t bad merely for the fact that they are hirelings. No. Those hirelings were bad because they were fallen, sinful, and cared about themselves in such a way that they could not and did not care about the sheep. Those hirelings were out of step with how God had ordered creation. But Jesus has come to restore that order by making you right with Him and right with creation.

Dear saints, just as God created the woman to be a helper fit for Adam, God calls you to your proper place in His creation. Our Epistle reading (1 Pet. 2:21-25) points to this. It says that we are under the Good Shepherd and Overseer of our souls, and we are to follow His example (1 Pet. 2:21) and in His steps in the places He has set us.

We are all hirelings. As your pastor, I’m a hireling. The word “pastor” means “shepherd.” Jesus is your Good Shepherd, your Good Pastor, and Christ has called me here to be a good, faithful under-shepherd. If I fail to be that, God will remove me for your sake.

But the roles of hirelings go further than pastors and their congregations. Parents, you are hirelings too. You aren’t the Source of food and shelter for your family – God is. But you, as a hireling, are to do what God has called you to do in your work, in our society, and in your home to join with God in feeding, protecting, and providing for your family. The same is true for you kids. You are to listen to your parents. Learn from them. Obey them and make their job easier. In other words, honor your father and mother (Ex. 20:12). In every interaction and every relationship you have with others, God has called you to be His hirelings assisting Him as He shepherds His flock. You have your proper place and function within creation because you, as Jesus’ sheep, have been redeemed and restored by the Good Shepherd.

Dear saints, you are hirelings, so be good, right, fitting, competent hirelings. In a world full of evil wicked hirelings who care nothing for the sheep, faithfully do what God puts in front of you to do.

Christ, the Good Shepherd, has laid down His life and has taken it up again. He invites you to join Him in His work of shepherding those entrusted to your care. And always remember that He Himself has finished the work of redeeming you. He Himself bore your sins in His body on the cross, that you might die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24), so that you would resume your proper place in creation. By Jesus’ wounds you have been healed both now and forever.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Amen.

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

[1] When it is translated from Hebrew to Greek.

Made to Lie Down – Sermon on Ezekiel 34:11-16 for the Third Sunday of Easter

Listen here.

Ezekiel 34:11-16

11 For thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12As 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. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 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.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Today, we could add:

Alleluia! Christ is our Shepherd!

He is our Shepherd indeed! Alleluia!

Repeatedly, Scripture gives us the picture of God being our Shepherd and us being His sheep. It came up in all three readings today – epistle (1 Pet. 2:21-25), Gospel (Jn. 10:11-16), and this Old Testament lesson, but it comes up all over the place. I’ve seen it suggested that this shepherd-sheep metaphor is the most common way Scripture describes our relationship to God. I couldn’t verify that, but it certainly is common throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Now, sheep are probably the most desperate, vulnerable, weak, prone to wander, and defenseless creatures in all of creation. So, this imagery isn’t meant to be flattering, but that’s ok. We’re Christians and don’t need to be flattered. It isn’t meant be a complement, but it is meant to be comforting. 

My fellow sheep, we have all lived down to the reputation of sheep. And, God be praised, Jesus has no expectation of us beyond being His sheep. He has no expectation that you figure out how to provide for yourself, to take care of yourself, or even to defend yourself. Sheep don’t run fast or kick hard. Sheep don’t have sharp teeth to bite back or a stinky musk to spray at their attackers. Nothing. Sheep have one defense, and that is their shepherd. God does not expect us to be anything more than a sheep, and, God be praised, He desires nothing more than to be our Shepherd.

Deep down, we all know that we are helpless and unable to do anything for ourselves, and that is probably why the sheep-shepherd imagery is so often used for comfort in times of trouble. It’s probably why Psalm 23 is so often used at funerals. Sometimes, when families are picking out texts for a funeral, they’ll ask me, “Would Psalm 23 be a good text to use? It seems so common at funerals.” Yes, of course it is a good text. Some things, no matter how often you hear them, don’t get old. Hearing your spouse or children say, “I love you,” doesn’t get old. Neither should the comforting picture of God, and specifically Jesus, being our shepherd because the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

We love to hear the many ways that Psalm 23 describes how God provides for us as our Shepherd. He provides so that we have no want, leads us beside still waters, restores our souls, leads us in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake, and defends us from all evil even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. And you probably noticed that I skipped over one phrase in there. But you are smart people, and if you noticed the title of the sermon at the bottom of your Scripture insert, you realize that phrase is what I am going to focus on today. Psalm 23:2 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” And, just so you know, that phrase, “makes me lie down,” wasn’t a fluke we heard it again in this text from Ezekiel where God says, “I Myself will be the Shepherd of my sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down.”

Sure, we understand that we are sheep. We need to be protected from dangerous wolves, lions, and bears. But does God really need to make us lie down? Aren’t we capable of doing that? Can’t we just let gravity take over and lie down? Why does God need to make us lie down?

Apparently, to lie down and rest, is even beyond the capability of a sheep of God to do. Sometimes it might be because we are bored being a sheep. Sometimes it is because we are foolishly curious. Sometimes it is because we get afraid and run from the danger, but in running from that danger, we leave the protection of our Shepherd.

In fact, our inability to lie down might be the greatest danger that we face. Peter says in our epistle lesson, “You were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Here, Peter depicts our main problem is us going astray and leaving our Shepherd. God making us lie down is the solution. Our biggest danger is walking away from the flock and from the care of our Shepherd. So, Christ, our Good Shepherd, makes us lie down. And this is remarkable when you think about it.

The world tells us to fear all sorts of things. When you watch the news, it’s all about fear. One of the heads of a major news network this past week was caught saying that his network intentionally put the most dire, bleak news in front of their viewers in an effort to get higher ratings. He actually used the phrase, “If it bleeds it leads.” In other words, the more violent, fearful a news story is, it’s more likely to be put in front of you. The guy even talked about how he caught himself hoping that the COVID death toll ticker they kept on the screen for their viewers, he hoped that it would go higher so the station would get better ratings. Thankfully, he admitted feeling bad about it. Pray for him. Hopefully, the Holy Spirit will continue to use his conscience to bring him to repentance and faith in Christ.

But this is what the world does; the world preaches fear. Fear the virus. Fear global warming; oh, wait, it’s ‘climate change’ now, right? Fear terrorists. Fear Iran, China, North Korea, Russia. Fear riots. Fear the other political party. Fear fascists. Fear anti-fascists. Fear gun violence. Fear the government taking away your Second Amendment rights. Fear immigrants. Fear the national debt and deficit spending. Fear. Fear. Fear. They all do it – CNN, Fox, it doesn’t matter. Because the world does not have the protection Jesus, the Good Shepherd, they mock and ridicule Christians if they don’t join them in their fear.

My dear, fellow sheep, yes, we need to be vigilant and aware of what is going on around us. All of those things are predators like wolves, bears, and lions that threaten the flock, but those are not things to be afraid of. Not when we have Jesus as our Good Shepherd. Instead, those are the things we should bring to our God in prayer.

And I do want to be clear; this isn’t at all to say that you should do nothing when it comes to any of those things. Do what you can. Work, write, vote, engage, and be the change that this world needs. But as you do all of that, remember none of those things are worthy of your fear – not if your Good Shepherd is risen from the dead and is watching over you. And He is.

Instead, dear sheep, recognize that leaving the promises of the Gospel is the greatest danger we face. It is when we leave the Gospel promises and the care of our Good Shepherd that we fall into sin and are incredibly vulnerable to becoming lunch to all sorts of things in this broken, fallen world. If a sheep was smart, the thing that sheep would do is stay close to its shepherd. But since we aren’t that bright, our Shepherd makes us lie down. 

And when we have been scattered, when we have wandered into the valleys and caves of the wolves, when the days of clouds and thick darkness leave us cowering in fear, God searches for us sheep and seeks us out. He brings us into His church and feeds us with the good pasture of His Word. Because that is what God does. He seeks the lost. He brings back the strayed. He binds up the injured. He strengthens the weak.

This is exactly what Christ has done. Jesus has sought you out. He Himself bore your sins in His body on the tree, that you might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. Your Good Shepherd laid down His life for you. He laid in the tomb, and now He is risen and lives forever to be your Good Shepherd.

Come now to His altar where He prepares a table for you even as you continue to live in a fallen world. Today, He brings you close to Himself. He makes you lie down so He can feed you, defend you, protect you, heal you, and deliver you. He has won the victory. So, come. Be made to lie down.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Amen.

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