John 10:11-16; 1 Peter 2:21-25; Exodus
34:11-16
In the Name of the Father and of the
+ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
The image of Jesus as our Good Shepherd has
suffered greatly in contemporary Christian imagination from an overly romantic
sentimentalism and from Gospel-reductionist pietism. From the pastel-colored
Precious Moments figurines of Christian kitsch to the airbrushed Sunday School and
church bulletin artwork depicting a smiling Jesus holding a young lamb over His
shoulder or surrounded by a flock of innocent enough seeming sheep, the popular
Christian image of the Good Shepherd is a soft, gentle, kind, and often
effeminate, young man who lives a happy, simple and pastoral life with His
greatest joy being young children and social outcasts. Now, that image is not
entirely wrong, mind you, but it is a far cry from the fullness of what it
means that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and from the Church’s historic
understanding of that office of Jesus Christ.
That Jesus is the Good Shepherd does not
mean that He is kind, gentle, happy, loving, etc. any more than it means that
He is merely a competent practitioner of animal husbandry. The adjective good here (kalos in the Greek) doesn’t mean that. Rather, Jesus is the Good
Shepherd in the same way that God proclaimed each day of His creation and work
to be good: Jesus is good in the sense that He knows the
Father and the Father knows Him. He is in complete agreement and harmony with
His Father’s will. He loves what His Father loves, and He does what his Father
commands. Jesus’ goodness is an innate goodness. Therefore, in calling Himself
the Good Shepherd, Jesus is referencing His inherent goodness, righteousness,
beauty, and unity with His Father. Jesus conformed perfectly and completely to
His Father’s will, even laying down His life unto death for His Father’s sheep.
The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He dies for them. For this reason the Father loves His Son Jesus,
because He lays down His life for the sheep. Therefore, Jesus is the Good
Shepherd because He saves us, not because He plays with us and rolls with us in
the grass.
The Good Shepherd lays down His life for
His sheep. He does not flee when the wolf comes, but He places Himself into the
beast’s jaws and teeth that His sheep may live. This is the Father’s will, and
the Father loves Him because of this, and the Son loves His Father and you in
this way. This is the way in which the Father loves you, His sheep: God so
loved the world in this way, He gave His only Son. The Good Shepherd protects
and defends His sheep. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep. The
Good Shepherd dies for His sheep. This is what it means for Jesus to be the
Good Shepherd. In contrast to the Good Shepherd then is the hired hand. The
hired hand is not a shepherd. The hired hand does not own the sheep, does not
love the sheep, and most certainly will not die for the sheep. When he sees the
wolf coming, the hired hand leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches
them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing
for the sheep. Not so the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep, and
they know Him, and He lays down His life for the sheep.
From man’s perspective Jesus is not a
good shepherd, but a fool or a lunatic. From man’s perspective, a good shepherd
raises his sheep for their wool or their meat. A good shepherd most certainly
will not die for his sheep, but rather, he will raise his sheep so that they
die for him, for his profit, benefit, and good. Not even faithful pastors are
ultimately good in the sense that the Good Shepherd is good, but, despite their
best intentions, they are still hirelings. Undoubtedly, however, Jesus had the
scribes and the Pharisees in mind, who were the teachers and shepherds of
Israel. Instead of leading the flock of Israel to the cool waters and wholesome
food of Jesus, they slaughtered them with legalism and false teaching,
directing them to works under the Law, rather than to the life-giving grace of
the Gospel. And, sadly, too many hireling shepherd pastors continue to do the
same today.
The problem with hireling shepherds and
pastors is that they are afraid of the wolf and flee, or they do not believe
that the wolf even exists. But, the wolf is real; Satan is real, and as St.
Peter warns, he prowls this earth seeking sheep to devour. Satan prowls in the
Church disguised as works righteousness, which falsely comforts the flock by
causing them to put their trust in their works, in being good, fair, and
tolerant people. Satan prowls in the Church tempting pastors and parishioners
to misrepresent and misunderstand God’s Word and commands so that they do not
fear His holiness and righteousness but minimize and deny their sins, believing
that God only wants them to be happy and prosperous, but not obedient. Hireling
shepherd pastors preach “Peace! Peace!” where there is no peace, because they
do not preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins but exhort the flock to
keep on doing as they are doing with the false assurance that God is love and
doesn’t care about sins so long as you are loving and tolerant and kind. And so
there are prosperity preachers teaching the power of positive thinking and
self-improvement instead of repentance, humility, and true love, which is
sacrifice and selflessness and service to your neighbor to the glory of God
Through His prophet Jeremiah the LORD
has said, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My
pasture!” “You have scattered My flock and have driven them away, and you have
not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds,
declares the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the
countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and
they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will
care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any
be missing, declares the Lord.” “Behold, the days are coming, declares the
Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as
king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is
the name by which he will be called: The Lord is our righteousness’.” That is a
direct messianic prophecy of the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ. “I Myself,” says
the LORD, “will be the Shepherd of my sheep.”
Hence Jesus proclaims, “I am the Good
Shepherd.” This is one of seven great “I AM” statements of Jesus in St. John’s
Gospel. “I AM,” in Greek ego eimi, is
a rendering of the LORD’s Name given to Moses in the burning bush. Thus, Jesus
at once communicates that He is the LORD’s promised Good Shepherd, even the
LORD Himself. Jesus is the fulfillment of the LORD’s prophetic promise to seek,
gather, and rescue His lost sheep Himself from all the places they had been
scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. That dark day was, first, the
day our Frist Parents fell in the Garden and, second, Good Friday, yet another
instance in which good means
something substantially other than pleasant, competent, or kind. In Jesus, God
Himself sought and gathered and rescued His sheep from the Satanic wolf by
laying down His life unto death. “The Good Shepherd lays down His life for His
sheep.” By dying, He destroyed death and broke the wolf’s jaws so that now he
is a toothless, wounded, defeated, but furious, dangerous, and still powerful
enemy. No one took His life from Him – indeed, no one could possibly do that –
but Jesus had authority from His Father to lay it down and authority to take it
up again. Indeed, the Father loves Him because He laid down His life in love
for His Father and for you.
This day in the Church’s Year of Grace
is called Misericordias Domini, the merciful goodness of the LORD. No one made
the LORD lay down His life for you. He did so because of who He is, not because
of who you are. God is love. Love is sacrifice. And, God so loved you in this
way: He died for you that you may live for Him and in Him, not for yourself.
And, you honor, thank, praise, and obey Him by laying down your life in love
for Him and for others. He promises, “I will give you shepherds after my own
heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” Your pastor shepherds
may be hirelings, they may be sinners themselves in need of mercy and
forgiveness, but they are called and ordained by God through His Church for you
and for your sake, that you may be fed and nourished, protected and defended
from the attacks of the Satanic wolf and his demons. Follow where they lead
you. Eat and drink what they feed you. Heed their warnings and exhortations,
all the while listening for the voice of your Good Shepherd. They are called
and placed under holy orders to care for you in the stead and by the command of
Christ the Good Shepherd, and they will called to account for their
shepherding.
However, you have a call as well: “For
to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you
an example, so that you might follow in His steps.” You are called to suffer,
to lay down your lives for others as Christ suffered and laid down His life for
you. “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was
reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten,
but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.” You are not to
fight with the weapons of men and with violence, but remain steadfast in His
Word and in the confession of Christ crucified and risen. This may very well
mean maintaining the good confession before family members, neighbors, your
employer, lawyers, judges, and people who will revile you and mock you and
curse you and hate you, even fine, imprison, torture, or kill you. “He himself
bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like
sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
Truly, this world is still very dark and dangerous, and the Satanic wolf still
prowls, but, do not be discouraged, and do not be afraid. Christ is risen! He
is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The earth is full of the merciful
goodness of the LORD! “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on
those who hope in His steadfast love, that He may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and
our shield.”
In
the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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