Third Sunday of Easter (2023)

John 10:11-16

My brothers and sisters what a blessed Sunday, Good Shepherd Sunday where we learn of who Jesus is to us. That we are His sheep, His flock, and it is with great love and compassion that He is our Good Shepherd who has come into this world to find us and bring us back home to Him and the Father, and is willing to even lay down his life for sheep that have wandered.

Shepherding Souls

The Bible often refers to God’s people as sheep.

Now when I was a child I did not have much interaction with sheep, but they always looked so cute and fluffy in pictures, but I found out later this wasn’t the compliment that I thought it was.

This is because we need a shepherd to lead us.

We are quite vulnerable in a world full of dangers that wants to destroy us. We need someone who can save us not only from the world, but at times ourselves.

Who is willing and capable to do this?

For this task is one that a person must be vigilant both day and night, and not receive much thanks. So need someone who has great love for the flock.

The Flock

The sheep need food and water.

They don’t know where these things are, so whoever is going to be the shepherd is going to have to know where they can find what they need for sustenance. So the shepherd needs to know where the sheep can find green pastures and still waters. Where they can eat in peace and safety.

They can also be a bit stubborn and willful.

The sheep are certain that they know where they can find the best food, and will not always care to listen to the shepherd. They will insist on their own way and become lost, and will then complain about the shepherd after they walk their own road.

A bit blind to danger.

There is one significant enemy to this flock and he tirelessly works to convince the sheep that they can do whatever they want and in spite of the fact that he has claws and fangs, the sheep don’t believe he will use them.

The Hired Hands

Those who are hirelings will feed and care for the sheep.

In the short term they will take care of the flock and make sure that it does not perish, but instead continues functioning and will even be close to some of the sheep, making sure they receive what they need.

You know them when the wolf appears.

This is the enemy of the flock, and when the wolf appears, the hired hands will abandon the field and use the flock to guarantee their own safety.

For them it is just a job.

They are only looking to secure for themselves comforts in this life, and will take advantage of the flock for their own sake.

What does this all mean?

The wolf represents satan.

He has been the foe of the church since the beginning, always seeking to devour the flock and to destroy that which belongs to God. THis is the one that Jesus has come to save us from.

The hired hands are false teachers.

They corrupt what the teachings of God are, and they end up pointing people away from the Good Shepherd, and they don’t care what they point towards so long as the sheep do not look to Jesus.

They take care of their own flesh.

If you saw this you would say no that can’t be. But they will do anything they can to save their own flesh, and they will put it in terms that sound familiar to the sheep. They will always be willing to bend on what the teachings of the Bible are in order to have more people join the church.

They won’t start off by feeding the sheep on noxious weeds, but bit by bit they will introduce them to their diet until the sheep get used to having a little bit of poison in every meal. They will include a measure of friendliness and kindness but only when it benefits them. But the other sheep who grow weak, or become too much of a problem, they will let the wolf take them, and will explain to the rest of the flock that this is good and needed to happen to keep the rest of the flock safe.

The Hired hands are hired by the wolf.

They made a deal and think that if they keep feeding the wolf that they can eventually escape from those jaws that bite and the claws that catch, so long as they have enough of the sheep that the wolf wants, but eventually they will run out, and the wolf’s appetite never stops, and the wolf will consume even the false teachers once they hit the end.

The Good Shepherd

Jesus leads the flock.

He is not hired, but was sent by God the Father to care for these sinful, stubborn, and blind sheep. He loves them, not because they are great or wonderful or because of all that they can do for Him. But because they are His sheep and He is their shepherd.

This is something that we as people may not like to hear. We want to have some pride in our abilities, our accomplishments, but that isn’t why Jesus loves you. The false teachers will point to these things, because they want you to trust in our self and not see the love that Christ has for you. That’s why Jesus

He doesn’t abandon them, but fights for them.

Because Christ has come to save His flock, and no matter if the sheep is a great or lowly, He fights to keep the wolf away from all of them, and to shepherd them through the valleys of this life, even that valley of the shadow of death.

He even lays down His life for wandering sheep.

This is where you see the difference between the Good Shepherd and the hired hands, a sheep that has wandered is one that is easy pickings for the wolf and the hired hand says the flock is better off without them. Because the wolf has something that will satiate its hunger for a bit. But the good shepherd goes out to find even that one on a day of darkness and thick clouds and bring them home.

Listening to Jesus’ Voice

Why do we read the Bible?

We want to know the voice of our shepherd, we want to know who He is, and when He calls us that we might hear his voice in a world that is full of noise. We need to know what He sounds like, that we might lead us to safety.

God does not want to deal with us apart from His Word.

This is an important point, and the difference between hired hands and the good shepherd. Jesus always pointed people back to the Word of God, for He Himself is the Word. The Hired Hand will not, but will encourage the flock to follow the world, their friends, their family, and will even encourage them to look inside adn find themselves, instead of looking to the Word.

The pasture will be green and will nourish us, but it won’t be as easy.

But like most things that are healthy, they don’t taste as sweet as the things that aren’t good for us. This is how the Hired Hands find success in this life as they lead people away from what is good to something else entirely.

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ we are blessed to Jesus as our Good Shepherd for as sinners we are aptly described as Sheep, and to see Jesus’ great love for us, that He is willing to lay down his life for us, that He seeks us out, and does not abandon us to the wolf, but continually calls out to bring us back home. We should always heed his voice. Let us also be on guard against Hired Hands who when the wolf comes abandon us. We have no need of them for we have someone far greater in JEsus Christ our Lord. In His name. Amen.