The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
Good Shepherd Sunday| John 10:11-16| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| April 19, 2026
Psalm 23 (KJV)
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me;
Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.
King David wrote that favorite of Psalms a thousand years before Christ Jesus was born. Yet, in our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd.” What does Jesus mean that He is the Good Shepherd? Who is the Good Shepherd and what does He do? First, the Good Shepherd is God. In our Old Testament lesson we heard the Lord God say, “I Myself will be the shepherd of My sheep, I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 34:15) Both David and Ezekiel confess the Lord God as the only true Good Shepherd of Israel. And Jesus claims to be the Good Shepherd Himself.
Yet, the Good Shepherd is also true man. Ezekiel records later on in chapter 34 the Lord God say, “I will set up over them one shepherd, My servant David, and He shall feed them: He shall feed them and be their shepherd.” (vs. 23) Now, this is quite a remarkable statement for two reasons. First, the Lord had just declared that He Himself would be the only true shepherd of His sheep, yet just a dozen verses later He says that David will be the one shepherd. Second, because King David died nearly four-hundred years before Ezekiel recorded these words of God. How can David, who is dead, be the shepherd of Israel? Because by David, God means the Son of David, the one who will sit on David’s throne and rule without end, as God promised David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13. He calls Him David, because He will reign over the house of David. And this Davidic King is also the Lord God. He is true man and true God. When Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd, He confesses Himself to be the Christ, the Son of David and the Son of the Living God.
And this is important, because of what Christ tells us the Good Shepherd does. He lays down His life for the sheep. The Good Shepherd joins His flock. He becomes a lamb like the rest of them, yet spotless, with not deceit in His mouth (Isaiah 53:9). Yet, He goes as a lamb to the slaughter without complaint to die for sheep who love to wander. As David’s Son, He dies. Yet, He is also the Lord God, David’s Shepherd. So, David’s Son’s death is David’s Shepherd’s death. This is how He is able to bear the iniquity of us all, and yet, laying down His life, He has authority to take it up again.
This is why there is only one Good Shepherd. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Him (John 14:6). There is no other possible savior; no other name given by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). And so, all other voices are voices of strangers. All other religions and gods and saviors are false. Jesus is our Shepherd. We know no other. No other has laid down his life for us. No other has taken away our sins. No other has risen from the dead to give us eternal life. No other voice leads us to green pastures.
Jesus says that He knows His sheep and that His sheep know Him. Who are Jesus’ sheep? First, we must know that all of Jesus’ sheep have 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,” the prophet Isaiah wrote (53:6) “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls,” the Apostle Peter writes (1 Peter 2:25)
Jesus’ sheep are sinners. They have wandered away because of their own foolishness. They were injured, starved, stranded, harassed. But they have returned. They returned, because they recognized the voice of their Good Shepherd. “My Sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me,” Jesus says (John 10:27). Jesus’ sheep not only hear Jesus’ voice, they recognize it as the voice of their Good Shepherd, and they follow it. This means that they have faith in Him. They trust in Him. It is by listening to Jesus’ voice that He makes them lie down in green pastures and leads them beside the still waters and restores their souls.
So much of Jesus’ teaching centers on His Word. “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed, and You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) “Whoever hears these words of Mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24) Jesus’ parable about the sower and the seed is a parable about the Word of God being rejected and accepted. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,” St. Peter exclaimed to Jesus in John 6. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ,” St. Paul reminds us (Romans 10:17). Of course, Jesus repeatedly exhorts us, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Marh 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8; 14:35)
Jesus’ sheep listen to His Word and follow His voice. Though it lead them through the valley of the shadow of death, they fear no evil, for they know that their Good Shepherd is near them. St. Peter alludes to this when He tells us to follow the example of our Shepherd in suffering. Though we suffer, we bear it with patience, knowing that Christ suffered for us first and much greater did He suffer, so that we may leave our suffering and receive Him in glory which surpasses the memory of all suffering. Jesus’ sheep listen and trust in His voice alone. When a stranger calls to them, they do not answer. Rather, they flee from strangers, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers (John 10:5).
Yet, how do Jesus’ sheep distinguish between the voice of their Good Shepherd and the voice of strangers? Jesus does not speak to us directly, as He did to His apostles many years ago. Today, Jesus speaks to us through His ministers (Luke 10:16), whom we commonly call pastors. Pastor is just another word for shepherd. All pastors are under-shepherds of the one true Head Shepherd Christ Jesus. St. Peter instructs all pastors, “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 when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” (1 Peter 5:2-4)
So, how do Jesus’ sheep recognize the voice of their Good Shepherd if so many voices claim to speak for Him? Jesus’ sheep recognize whether a pastor is a faithful under-shepherd of the Good Shepherd, first, if he is faithful to God’s Word found in Holy Scripture. Christ Jesus confessed that all Scripture is true. He said in Matthew 5, ““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (vss. 17-19) Likewise, He said after His resurrection, “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44) And Jesus says in no uncertain terms in John 10, “Scripture cannot be broken.” (vs. 35) This means that pastors who claim that there are errors in Scripture or teach contrary to Scripture are strangers, hirelings, thieves and robbers, who must be avoided. They will not defend the sheep from wolves, but will run away with their bellies filled with shameful gain.
Second, a faithful pastor preaches the Law, that is, the commands of God. Jesus’ sheep must be guided with the rod and staff. They must know their own sin, so that they know their need for Christ. Pastors who neglect to preach the Law hide the Gospel from their hearers. What healthy person wants to take medicine? What person with a full stomach accepts an invitation to a feast? Who will go to the hospital if he is not injured or sick? So, pastors must proclaim the Law. They must convict the sheep of their sin so that they realize their need for forgiveness and repent.
Not all sheep are Jesus’ sheep. Yes, all sheep have wandered, but Jesus’ sheep return. They repent of their sins. They listen to His voice. They follow Him in suffering rather than satisfy the desires of their own flesh. In Ezekiel 34, God says, “Behold, I, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.” (vs. 20) The fat sheep are those who push the lean sheep aside, eat their food and muddy their waters. These are the proud hypocrites who do not repent of their sins, who insist on their own way, who ignore the voice of the Good Shepherd. Pastors must warn the sheep not to be fat, proud, arrogant sheep. Rather, you must hunger for what the Lord offers: forgiveness and healing. You must be humble and love the other sheep, and consider their needs before your own.
Yet, most importantly, a faithful pastor must preach the Gospel. He must proclaim the forgiveness of sins which Christ won on the cross. This is how Jesus’ sheep are fed, bandaged up, and led to green pastures. This is how Jesus’ sheep recognize the voice of their Good Shepherd in the preaching of His under-shepherds. The Holy Spirit teaches Jesus’ sheep His voice through the message of grace and mercy, that is, the message of Christ’s cross and resurrection to save sinners and grant them everlasting life. This forgiveness and salvation is received through faith alone, apart from your works. It is a gift. It was won by the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ alone. There is nothing lacking in the salvation Christ won for us.
A pastor who teaches that the Bible is God’s Word without error, and who preaches the Law according to God’s Word, yet, who does not preach the Gospel is a stranger. Though he fall on the right side of every moral issue, if he neglects to preach the forgiveness of sins, he is no shepherd. A pastor who refuses to comfort Christ’s sheep with Christ’s forgiveness and mercy, who come to him wounded and hungry to be bandaged and fed is bully. The purpose of holding to Scripture, and of preaching the Law, is so that he can lead Christ’s sheep to green pastures through the preaching of the Gospel. The Gospel is our food and drink, our medicine and bandages, our heat on cold nights and our hedge against ravenous wolves. Without the preaching of the forgiveness of sins for which Jesus laid down His life, it is not Jesus’ voice. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s sheep know this. They must flee from any so-called pastor who neglects to preach the message of Christ’s cross and resurrection, which promises full forgiveness of sins and eternal life to poor sinners.
Yet, where the Gospel is preached purely and the Sacrament of Christ’s body and blood is administered according to Christ’s institution, Christ’s sheep are bound to gather, listen, and feed. Christ’ sheep recognize Jesus’ voice in the proclamation of the Gospel. And so, they come to feast and rest.
Sheep that from the fold did stray
No true shepherd e’er forsaketh;
Weary souls that lost their way
Christ, the Shepherd, gently taketh
In His arms that they may live:
Jesus sinners doth receive. Amen.
609 Jesus Sinners Doth Receive, verse 3