Sunday, May 2, 2021

Sermon -- Good Shepherd's 40th Anniversary (May 2, 2021)

JOHN 10:11-18

JESUS IS THE FAITHFUL SHEPHERD.

M: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name + of Jesus.

     The hymn chosen for the Verse of the Day is based on the words of the prophet Samuel.  It came after a series of events, some bad and some good.  The bad events had to do with the Israelites being unfaithful to the Lord.  They had adopted the spirit and religion of their culture.  They were a practical people, doing whatever seemed to bring prosperity and joy to them.  If turning to Canaanite gods made them richer (or so they presumed), why not?  The Lord, however, was not willing to let them drift off into damnation, much less to threaten the promise of a Savior through this nation.  To drive them to repentance, the Lord afflicted them with hardship and oppression.  He raised up the Philistine nation against them.

     Then came the good.  The prophet Samuel gathered the people in repentance.  While the people worshiped, the Philistine army mobilized against them.  Israel cried out to their Savior-God.  “The people of Israel said to Samuel, ‘Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines’” (1 Samuel 7:8).  While the prophet made the sacrifice and the people worshiped, “the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel” (1 Samuel 7:10).

     It was an event that deserved recognition and remembrance.  The Lord had proved faithful yet again, and God’s people were delivered.  Therefore, “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Till now the Lord has helped us’” (1 Samuel 7:12).  Samuel reminded Israel how faithful God had been in the past.  He did not question God’s faithfulness for the future.  Rather, he reminded the people that they needed to remain faithful to their Lord.  He alone saves.  He alone protects.  He alone is the faithful shepherd. 

     An anniversary of a congregation is also an event that deserves recognition and remembrance.  For forty years, God has gathered here a group of people who delight in hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd.  He has brought little lambs into the fold through the waters of Holy Baptism.  He has nourished and sustained the flock by feeding them in the Holy Supper.  He soothes weary and anxious sheep by his words of Holy Absolution.  He has blessed newly-weds.  He has consoled people at the sick bed and the grave site.  He has not owed us these things.  But he is the Good Shepherd.  He serves his flock not because the flock is cute or even good, but because he is merciful and faithful.  He alone saves.  He alone protects.  Jesus is the faithful shepherd.

     Jesus declared, “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).  Jesus does everything for the good of the sheep.  That is because sheep are helpless and defenseless against all enemies.  If you saw sheep being tended in Michigan, you would see them kept safely in a fenced in area.  They can be left alone since there are not many predators around to threaten them.  But in Jesus’ day, the sheep were taken out into wilderness areas to graze.  There were no fences to keep the sheep penned in or to keep wolves out.  They were in constant danger.  Their only hope was to have a shepherd watch over them.

     Not every shepherd was a good shepherd.  Often, the job was given to a teenager such as David.  But not every teenager was enthused about the job.  If a hireling saw a wolf coming against the flock, he was not willing to risk his life or to shed his blood for a sheep.  He had nothing invested in the flock.  The sheep weren’t his, so it was easy for the hired hand to abandon the flock, to save his own skin, and to let the sheep be devoured and destroyed.

     We, too, have enemies that have us marked for destruction.  Our enemies are sin, death, and the devil.  Sin infects us all.  We prove we are sinners with sinful thoughts, words, and actions.  Sin brings wrath and results in damnation.  Death is your enemy.  The grave calls your name and summons you to the place it holds for you.  And the devil is your enemy.  He accuses you over and over and claims you as his own.  All we, like sheep, are easy-pickin’s for our enemies.  We cannot outmaneuver them, outsmart them, or fight our way free from them.  The only way sheep can be spared from predators is by a good shepherd, and so it is with you.  But good news!  You do have a good and faithful shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.

     The Lord has a great deal invested in you.  He is your creator, and he loves what he has created.  So, he became a man to rescue mankind from sin, death, and the devil.  Jesus stood between us and our enemies, and he let these enemies do to him what they should have done to us.  Jesus took up our sins and suffered for them in our place.  He laid down his life and submitted to the grave so that he could overcome it for us.  He let the devil do his worst to him.  The devil thought that by destroying Jesus he could keep his claim on all mankind forever.  He sank his teeth into Jesus to kill him.  Jesus gave up his body and shed his blood to save the sheep.  This is how Jesus demonstrated that he is the good and faithful shepherd; for he said: “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). 

     Jesus is the faithful shepherd, but he is not a dead shepherd.  He has done exactly as he said he would: “The Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.  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” (John 10:17-18).  Jesus is the good shepherd.  He is the faithful shepherd.  And he is the living shepherd.  He has risen from the grave to assure you that he has conquered your enemies and has set you free from them.  If he is risen, the payment for your sins is complete; they cannot condemn you.  If he is risen, the grave has been robbed of its power.  Jesus will raise you from the dead at the resurrection on the Last Day.  If Jesus is risen, he has conquered Satan, has crushed him underfoot, and strips him of any claims on you. 

     There is no “if” in regard to Jesus’ resurrection.  Jesus Christ is risen from death—a fact witnessed by his disciples, confessed by their words and lives, testified even by their blood.  It is a confession that has persisted in Christ’s Church to this day, granting peace to troubled hearts and producing godly lives in sinful people.  Since you have been baptized into Christ, the Holy Spirit has worked in you a trusting heart, confessing lips, and loving hands.  You belong to Christ and receive all the benefits he has won for you.  Jesus lives and reigns, forever serving as your faithful shepherd.  He alone saves.  He alone protects.  Jesus is the faithful shepherd.

     The enemies still seek to devour, though.  Sin, death, and the devil have been defeated by Jesus.  Nevertheless, they still claw at and threaten and taunt God’s people.  They are like chained-up dogs which bark and snarl at us.  We don’t see the chains, and so we fear that they pose a serious threat to us.  Of course, if we wander over to them, they are.  We become easy pickin’s again if we think we can play with these enemies.  Since we are sheep, we are still prone to wander.  That is why we still need our Good Shepherd.  Only when we are with him are we safe.  And the only way we stay near our Good Shepherd is by listening to his voice.

     Jesus is your faithful shepherd.  He does not tire of speaking to you words of comfort, forgiveness, and encouragement.  If he gives you a strong nudge or whacks your side, it is because he does not want you to drift off into dangerous territory.  So, yes, he will seem harsh to you—not because he is mean, but because he loves you.  He does not want you to be enticed away from the safety of the fold.  So, if you do not want to perish, listen to your faithful shepherd.  The path he leads you on may seem difficult, but it is the only path of righteousness there is, and it leads to eternal life.

     Jesus is the good and faithful shepherd.  His disciples were content to have this Good Shepherd all to themselves.  But Jesus was not just for them.  He told them, 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” (John 10:16).  Who are these other sheep?  Who would be these strangers in God’s flock?  Though they would be strangers to Israelites, they would not be strangers to the God who created and redeemed all mankind.

     Jesus is the faithful shepherd, faithful to all creation.  He takes away the sin of the world, and so he wants all the world saved.  You are among the Gentiles who have been added to the fold of the Holy Christian Church.  The chosen of God come from every nation, tribe, race, and language.  So, the confession of faith in the Good Shepherd is made in Hebrew, Greek, German, Finnish, and English.  And there are still other sheep who need to be gathered in among us.  May God grant us the wisdom, the courage, and the commitment to have this congregation of the Good Shepherd also have its confession made in Japanese, Chinese, Hindi, Urdu, and whatever other language may be strange to us.  And sure, may God grant us more Americans, too.

     How would God do this?  Just as Jesus said, “They will listen to my voice” (John 10:16).  The voice of Christ is heard as the Church confesses and proclaims it.  We confess it as God’s flock gathered in worship.  And we confess it as precious lambs who go out into a world of lost sheep.  Remember: Your enemies are sin, death, and the devil.  Only these could cause you to perish.  Your enemy is not people who want nothing to do with the Good Shepherd.  They cannot kill your soul.  If they seem like enemies, it may be because they don’t know that Shepherd is good, faithful, and merciful.  They will only know it when we confess it.  By our confession, they will recognize the real enemy—sin which damns, death which destroys, and the devil who deceives and devours.  But then, they will also know the Good Shepherd who sets them free, who laid down his life to save theirs.  And they will delight in his voice.  Unlike the enemies, Jesus forgives, saves, and restores mankind to glory.  In Jesus, they will find salvation, safety, peace, and hope.  This is why we continue to gather to hear his voice.  And it is why his voice needs to be heard in the world as well.

     Jesus is the good and faithful shepherd.  For 40 years, his voice has been heard at this Good Shepherd congregation to bless and to save, to give comfort and peace, to provide strength and encouragement.  “Till now the Lord has helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12).  Since he is faithful, he will remain our help and our hope.  Our prayer is that we will always be faithful to our Good Shepherd.

     God, bless us with courage and wisdom to confess your salvation—not because we are great; for, we are but sheep.  But you, O God, are our Good Shepherd, our Savior, and our faithful God.  Bless us.  Have mercy upon us.  And fill us with your love so that it pours out upon others.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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