Sermon Index
The Good Shepherd
April 13, 2008 Good Shepherd Sunday
John 10:1-10
Since most of us are not country boys and girls, first, a few notes about sheep raising at the time of Jesus in Palestine. Depending on the time of year, it seems to have been the custom of taking the sheep out to pasture during the day and bringing the sheep back closer to town in he evening. They would then be put into a walled pen. Here they would be safe: they could not wander off and get lost, and the walls would help protect the sheep from wild animals and thieves. It seems that a number of flocks could be kept in the same sheep pen. In the morning, each shepherd would come to the pen and call his sheep. His sheep would know his voice and follow only him, they would not follow a different shepherd. The sheep would run away from a different shepherd or a stranger because they don't recognize the voice. A sheep knows its shepherd. At the gate of the sheep pen there would be a watchman. In the morning he would let the proper shepherds in. Any thief or robber would have to climb over the wall.
GOSPEL LESSON: John 10:1-16 [I am the gate for the sheep.]
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."
Jesus is telling a parable. He tells it to his disciples and the people of Jerusalem first, but it is also for us. To explain the parable, Jesus first says, "I am the door of the sheep" (John 10:7). It is through this door that the sheep go in to find safety and go out to find pasture. Jesus protects and nourishes the sheep. Jesus said,
"I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). A thief would lead he sheep to slaughter, that is, lead them to the meat market, just to kill them for a profit. But the sheep do not listen to the thief; they do not follow him because they do not know him. Jesus it talking about sheep that are his disciples, people who believe in him and who know his voice.There are many voices in the world trying to steal the sheep of Jesus. Strange religious cults find Christians easy prey. Cult leaders try to sound like prophets of God, when all they want is the money of the believers or power over their souls. And when cults use the Bible and quote Bible passages, it may sound like Jesus. You have to be careful of the Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, and the Moonies. There are other voices calling us too. The atheists try to call us with familiar words or logically sounding words of science. The sinners of the world try to call us to their immoral ways by twisting scripture, or by saying that the culture of the world is the true will of God for this day and age. Our sinful hearts try to shout louder than our consciences. "It's okay. It is not a sin." But following those voices will not lead us to green pastures, but rather to the dry wilderness of empty promises, spiritual defeat, and spiritual abandonment. They don't lead us to safe, peaceful waters, but rather to anxiety and uncertainty.
When their are thousands of voices around us, how can we know which one is that of Jesus? We know it is Jesus when we hear these word:
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. " (10:11). These are the words that identify Jesus as our Savior. How did Thomas know that Jesus was the Good Shepherd? It was when he saw the nail prints and knew that Jesus had laid down his life for him. At that point Thomas declared, "My Lord and my God, " and was willing to follow Jesus his Shepherd. We know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd because he laid down his life for us. He didn't run away from the wolf and abandon us to the devil, hell and death. Jesus is not just a hired hand, but rather he loves and cares for us because we are his sheep. We are valuable to him. He takes responsibility for us. He is a good shepherd, and we are proud to be his sheep.Just a couple more details from the parable that I think are encouraging to me. Jesus says,
"He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." (10:3-4). "He calls his own sheep by name ... they follow him." Your name indicates your relationship to someone. If your name is John or Jane Smith, it means that you are in the Smith family and you have a connection with all those Smith relatives. When a woman gets married and changes her last name, it means that she now has a new relationship with a new family. When we are baptized, we are given a new name. The words in the baptism rite say, "John or Jane Smith, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The new name becomes "John or Jane Smith Trinity," "John or Jane Smith Christian." Jesus comes to the gate of the sheep pen and calls out, "Hey, John Christian! Hey, Jane Christian! Hey, Michael Christian! Hey, all you Christian kids, let's go out for a day in the pasture. Let's go out into the world and I'll be with you." Jesus know our names, we are that precious and special to him. And Jesus says that the shepherd "goes before them and his sheep follow him." Jesus is not a cowboy riding rough over the herd. I always think of a cowboy who has to push the cows ahead of him and force them to head down the trail. But Jesus goes out ahead and expects us to follow him. It is a bit risky. Sheep wander, Christians are tempted, and we get lost and get in trouble and Jesus has to come and find us. -- But that is another parable for another day. -- Jesus leads and we follow. God loves us and trusts us to follow him. He has given us freedom. In that freedom, we hear the voice of our Good Shepherd and follow him.Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church