And Is My Good Shepherd

Christ-Conscious Friends Follow His Steps

4.30.23 [1 Peter 2:19-25] River of Life (4th Sunday of Easter)

(Ps 23:1-3) The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. The opening verses of Psalm 23 are moving. This divinely inspired poetry from the shepherd-king David is idyllic and inspiring. God sets before us something beautiful, desirable, & excellent. This is (Jn. 10:10) life to the full. Everyone wants to experience this (Ps. 23:6) all the days of their lives. Everyone wants this kind of goodness and love to follow them. It would be hard to find anyone who doesn't want this kind of Shepherd present at every moment in their everyday lives.

We eagerly feast upon this spiritual comfort food. We hunger for seconds and thirds. We pig out in the very best way. We want God to prepare this table before us again and again and again.

Then we read Peter’s tart letter and we're surprised. So much of what we know about following our Good Shepherd is sweet good news. But Peter shocks our spiritual taste buds. We may wonder why we are reading these words on Good Shepherd Sunday at all.

But in Psalm 23 and in John 10, it’s not all comfort food and cozy spots. There are ominous figures looming, too. In Psalm 23, we are told (Ps. 23:4) we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. That there is evil to face and (Ps. 23:5) enemies nearby. In John, those threats are portrayed as (Jn. 10:8) thieves and robbers, who have come (Jn. 10:10) only to steal, kill, and destroy. Knowing this, Peter writes to people who are walking through the valley of the shadow of death, who witness and experience monstrous evils and feel scads of enemies surrounding them.

Peter writes that once we were people living in the darkness of sin. (1 Pt. 2:9-10) Now, God has called us into his wonderful light. We have received God’s mercy. We are his chosen people. So we must live differently. When we do, we’ll be treated differently. Following in Christ’s footsteps produces problems & persecution.

Many times, that catches us by surprise. We expect things to go wrong when we (1 Pt. 2:25) go astray. But when we are doing our very best to keep in step with our Good Shepherd, trouble still finds us. Wicked desires embedded in our sinful nature will still emerge. When we fall short of righteousness, the sinful world around us will cackle with glee. They love to see Christians crash or collapse.

Even when we follow in paths of righteousness for Christ’s sake, the sinful world gaslights us. They demand that we acknowledge evil as good and good as evil. They insist we do what is wrong. When we refuse, they wound us with the Word of God crudely understood and applied. How can you rebuke anyone when you’re not perfect? How can you say God condemns this or that behavior when you ignore O.T. passages about diet and clothing? Aren’t you supposed to love your neighbor? Didn’t your Jesus command you not to judge? Didn’t he welcome sinners? Why aren’t you like him?

We may try to be respectful & thoughtful. We hope to show them that ceremonial laws about bacon and shrimp or polyester and cotton were about Israel living differently than the world around them and not about how God’s holy people must eat and dress today. We can show them that God condemns (Pr. 23:2) gluttony, whether it's kosher or not. We can show them that God demands his people be (Col. 3:12) clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness & patience. We can show them God’s standard is not mono-material fabrics but that we (1 Cor. 6:20) honor God with how we view, adorn, & use our bodies.

But it hurts when we discover that they don’t care to listen—when wicked people know enough Scripture to (1 Pt. 2:16) cover up evil. It stings when they mock our prayers as worthless.

It wounds more deeply when people who profess to be Christians ignore God’s Word and call evil good and good evil. The pain is compounded when these ones join in the insults. It undermines the truth of God’s Word and isolates those who are conscious of God.

In moments like these, how do we react? How do we respond? There are three instinctive battle tactics: Fight. Disguise. Flee.

Part of us wants to fight fire with fire. We want wicked people to pay for what they have done to us. And we would delight in that. But God does not. He takes (Ezk. 33:11) no pleasure in the death of the wicked. So when we find ourselves craving that, we must confess our sin and return to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.

The second tactic is to disguise. Make ourselves less of a target. Tone down our righteousness to a level that the world around us can tolerate. But this isn’t God’s will. (1 Pt. 2:12) It is God’s will that we live such good lives that even though the pagans accuse us of doing wrong, they see our good deeds and when God returns they will have no choice but to glorify him. When we are tempted to tone down our commitment to God’s truth and love we must repent. (Pr. 3:5-6) In all our ways, we must submit to him and (1 Pt. 2:23) entrust ourselves to the One who judges justly.

The final instinctual tactic is the most cowardly—to run away. As sheep, we’re not fleet-footed. The devil is a lion and a wolf. We can’t outrun him. Even if we ran, where would we go where we wouldn’t be surrounded by sinners? Most importantly, withdrawing from the culture is not following in the footsteps of our Christ.

That’s where Peter points us: to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. He reminds us how Christ Jesus responded and reacted and then encourages us to keep in step with our Shepherd.

The scene of Psalm 23 and the life to the full of John 10 were won for us by a Christ who suffered for us, died for us, and is now leading us. Peter watched and learned from our Lord as he suffered for doing good and endured it. Peter was there when Jesus’ enemies called him a glutton and a drunkard and a friend of sinners because he broke bread with those who had been embroiled in sin. He did not let those insults intimidate him. In fact, he used his public associations to illustrate God’s way of dealing with sinners.

In Luke 7, Jesus was at Simon the Pharisee's house for dinner. A woman with a sordid reputation approached Jesus. She wept and wet his feet with her tears. She poured expensive perfume on his feet and even kissed them. To Simon, this was deplorable. (Lk. 7:39) If Jesus were really God’s prophet he would know what kind of woman she was and he would have refused this shameful behavior. To Simon, Jesus associating with sinners made him unclean and unacceptable.

So Jesus told him a story about two people in debt. One person owed more than a year's wages. The other more than a month. Neither of them could pay up. So the moneylender forgave both their debts. Then he asked: Which will love the moneylender more?

The answer was clear. The one who had the bigger debt erased.

Jesus explained to Simon that by receiving her affection & anointing Jesus was not winking at her sin or giving her a free pass. He had come to save sinners and to atone for all sins. Then Jesus declared something that astounded Simon’s dinner guests. (Lk. 7:48) Your sins are forgiven. Jesus made that declaration because he knew that he would bear her sins in his body on the cross.

He died for all our sins so that we might have no part in wickedness and instead live for righteousness. (Jn. 10:11) He came to lay down his life for his sheep, so that we might have life with him—(Jn. 10:10) life to the full.

As he laid down his life for the sins of the world, the world hurled insults at him. They challenged him to come down from the cross and prove that he really was God’s Chosen One. He chose to remain so that we might be healed. As he suffered, he made no threats, only promises. Today you will be with me in paradise. The Shepherd and Overseer of our souls has always put us first.

That is the real gem of Psalm 23. As we read it we tend to focus on the tangible stuff and the personal impact. But look again at all the Shepherd does for you. He makes you lie down where you need to be. He leads you to the right places. He refreshes you. He guides you along the right paths. He is with you. He comforts you. He prepares a table before you even when your enemies are lurking. He anoints your head with oil. He follows you with his goodness and love. There is nothing in this well-worn chapter that speaks of our Shepherd selfishly concerning himself with his own comfort, relief, or delight.

We are his priority. He leads us where is eternally best. He provides for us exactly what we need as we are surrounded by death, sin, and the wicked foe. The path he leads us on will include insults and hardship. It will include colleagues and social connections accusing us of doing wrong. It very well might mean that our friends & family wound us deeply. Entrust yourself to the one who was wounded to bring you healing. He is your loving Shepherd. He will take care of you.

We need only (Ps. 46:10) be still and know that the Lord is God. We do not need to defeat evil. Sheep do not attack. (1 Sm. 17:47) The battle is the Lord’s. He has won for us. Sheep follow their Shepherd’s steps.

We do not need to hide. Sheep are not masters of disguise. (2 Cor. 4:2) We do not use deceit because (1 Pt. 2:22) none could be found in his mouth. We will not distort God’s Word. Sheep follow the Good Shepherd confidently. He will protect us from those who steal, kill, and destroy.

We do not need to run away. Instead, we are called to (Heb. 12:2) run the race marked out for us with perseverance, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. (Heb. 12:3) When we consider Christ and his sacrificial love for us, we will not grow weary and lose heart. Because we have everything, when we have the Lord as our Good Shepherd. Amen.