The Uniquely Qualified Shepherd

Miscericordias Domini Sunday (Easter 3)| John 10:11-16| Pastor James Preus|April 14, 2024

“I am the Good Shepherd,” declares Jesus. Well, what is Jesus declaring about Himself? Who is the Good Shepherd? Throughout Scripture it is the LORD God, who is declared to be the Good Shepherd. King David declares in Psalm 23, “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want…” And again, in Psalm 80, the psalmist prays, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.” And we just heard from the Prophet Ezekiel, chapter 34, “I Myself will be the shepherd of My sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.” (vs. 15) Yet, the LORD spoke through Ezekiel just a few verses later, “And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.” Well, which is it? Is the LORD the shepherd or is David? Both. This David of course, is not the shepherd boy turned king of Israel who died several hundred years before Ezekiel prophesied. This David is the Son of David, the shoot from Jesse, Jesus Christ. Ezekiel calls Him David, because He is descended from David and takes David’s throne. He is the son of David and the Son of God. The LORD is the Shepherd of Israel. David is the one Shepherd of Israel. The LORD and David are one Shepherd. Christ Jesus is true God and true man. This is why Jesus later says, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)

All of Scripture has built up to this moment. The LORD is the shepherd of His people. Yet, all the patriarchs were shepherds and served as types of Christ, from Abel to David. Shepherd-boy David even rescuing sheep from the mouths of lions and bears. Then Micah prophesies that the Christ will be born in Bethlehem, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days, and that He will “shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.” (Micah 5:2-4) For Jesus to call Himself the Good Shepherd is to claim to be the promised Christ, true God and true man.

What does the Good Shepherd do? He lays down His life for His sheep. This too was prophesied long ago. ‘“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,’ declares the LORD of hosts. ‘Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered,’” prophesied Zechariah. And Isaiah prophesied, “Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5) Jesus is uniquely qualified to lay down His life for the sheep. If anyone else were to lay down his life for the sheep, he would not be able to take it up again. But Christ has the authority to lay down His life and to take it up again. This is because He is both God and man in one person. As a man, He can suffer and die for sin, and as God He is able to bear the weight of all the worlds sins, and wash them away in His blood. This is why St. Peter writes, “you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19) Only the blood of Jesus could ransom you from your sins, because He is true God and true man. The Shepherd became a lamb and was slaughtered for the flock. God became a man and died to rescue His human sheep.

Only Jesus is the Good Shepherd. There is no other Good Shepherd. Only Jesus is true God and true man. Only Jesus suffered and died to take your sins away. And so, only Jesus can gather His sheep into His one flock, the Holy Christian Church. This leads us to the second thing the Good Shepherd does. He calls and gathers His sheep. “My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28) After laying down His life and taking it up again, ransoming His sheep from sin, death, and hell, Christ sent out His apostles to the whole world to preach the Gospel with the promise of the Holy Spirit. They all preached the same Christ with the same Holy Spirit working with them.

This is important for us to remember today, as the Church appears so divided into sects, some saying one thing and others another. And what is most alarming, is that many, in an attempt to bring unity, try to cast out Jesus the one true Shepherd and His sacrifice for our sins. You’ll notice that there is often talk about God without any talk about Jesus. Most people believe in a god. So, as long as we do not specify which god we are talking about, we can have the veneer of unity. And when they do talk about Jesus, they try not to talk about what He did for us, namely, lay down His life, so that He may take it up again. Instead, people would rather limit Jesus to vague teachings about love and acceptance. But that is not the Jesus we know from Holy Scripture. The Jesus we know from Scripture, is the only Good Shepherd, true God and true man, who laid down His life for us.

It has become increasingly popular for people claiming to be Christians, to claim that Jesus is not the only way to heaven, that people can be saved without faith in Jesus. But Jesus makes it abundantly clear that He is the only Shepherd and that there is only one flock. He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) And He says, “Whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16)

The nation of Israel is currently embroiled in a war against Hamas after the horrifying attack last October. As with most wars, there are protesters on both sides, accusing the other side of atrocities. Those who criticize Israel are quickly called antisemitic. And to avoid the charge of antisemitism, many Christians have gone so far as to say that the Jewish people will be saved apart from faith in Jesus Christ. This is a horrendous teaching, which is contrary to what Jesus taught and does no favor to the Jewish people. Jesus came first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. All His Apostles and most of His first followers were Jewish. The promise of forgiveness and salvation through faith, which Jesus proclaimed He first proclaimed to the Jewish people. Yet, Jesus also said, “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.” It is you Gentiles, who are those other sheep, which He has called to join His one flock. Christ did not set up a separate flock of Gentiles to be saved by faith in Him, while a separate flock of Jews were saved apart from faith in Him. Rather, St. Paul affirms, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of salvation to all who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

It is not antisemitic to pray for the conversion of the Jewish people. Christ’s Church on earth has been praying for the conversion of the Jewish people from the very beginning. They were the first believers and Christians, and many have been grafted back into Christ’s Church over the millennia. We should continue to pray for the conversion of the Jews and when given the opportunity, confession Jesus as the Messiah to them. Jesus shed His precious blood for them. And He stretches out His arms to them as a hen trying to gather her chicks under her wings.

So, if Christ is the Good Shepherd, true God and true man, who lays down His life for His sheep, what does that make you? It makes you a sheep, who has gone astray! “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) This is another error people accept today. They think it is a good thing to go their own way. But it is not. We are sinners. When we go our own way, we follow our sins and flee from Christ. But it is time for you to return to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls, Christ Jesus. Repent of going your own way, satisfying your own lusts and pride, pleasing your own ignorance, and worshipping your own identity. Christ has called you to come to Him and be part of His fold, to learn from Him, to listen to His voice, to be fed and nurtured by Him.

You need to be forgiven. Like a sheep trapped in the mouth of a lion, you need your Good Shepherd to pull you out, or you will be devoured by the jaws of death and hell. You need to be led, which means you need to listen to the voice of your Shepherd. And Jesus is still leading and guiding His sheep. He has given us the Holy Scriptures, the preaching of the Gospel, and His Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. He has commanded His ministers to feed and tend His sheep (John 21:15-19). St. Paul told the pastors in Ephesus, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood.” (Acts 20:28) And this charge remains on all ministers of the Word.

Christ did not abandon His flock when He ascended to heaven. Rather, He promises that He is with us always, where His Gospel is preached and where His Sacraments are administered in remembrance of Him. There is no excuse for going your own way, for ignoring Christ’s voice. We hear Christ’s voice today, when we listen to His Word preached. And Christ says that His sheep know His voice and follow Him. It is not only a sin to stay away from Christ’s preaching, it is remarkably foolish. It is to wander into the wilderness where there are devouring thorn bushes, lions, and bears. We are sinners, who have gone astray. And we stray frequently. So, we must return frequently to where our Good Shepherd has promised to be.

And what does our Good Shepherd give us? Eternal life. The only one qualified to lay down His life and take it up again, because He is both God and man, is also the only one qualified to give you eternal life. And He does. He forgives you, strengthens you, and leads you. He brings you to green pastures and quiet waters, that is He preaches His Word to you. The word for shepherd comes from the word to pasture. To pasture means to feed. Jesus commanded Peter and all His pastors to feed His sheep. Pastor means shepherd. Pastors feed Jesus’ sheep by preaching the Word. This is what it means that He makes you to lie down in green pastures. This right here is your green pasture, where you are strengthened in faith and given eternal life. He who feasts on these pastures will live forever. Amen.