Easter 4C, 2025

4th Sunday of Easter, Year C

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

As with the other Sundays of Easter, the fourth Sunday also has a particular focus - that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. All three years of the lectionary focus on John chapter 10, but each takes a different section. Year A uses verses 1-10, where Jesus very clearly states that He is the Good Shepherd of the flock, and also the gatekeeper who protects the flock, and those He lets in through the door will be saved. Year B covers verses 11-18, where Jesus contrasts Himself as the shepherd who will give up His life for His flock, but the mere hired hand will flee when the wolf comes, because he cares nothing for the sheep.

But we’re in Year C, using verses 22-30. This is focused on how the sheep of Jesus’ flock follow Him, because they know His voice. But let’s start at the beginning of this passage, which sets the context. The Feast of Dedication, more formally the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple is another name for what most of us know as Hanukkah, “or the festival of lights. The specific dedication which prompted the feast occurred in 164 BC, when Judas Maccabeus [cleansed and] reconsecrated the temple in Jerusalem after it had been defiled by Antiochus IV Ephiphanes. The celebrations commenced on the 25th day of the 9th month (Kislev), and were marked at night by blazing lights and lanterns. The stories of brave opposition by the Maccabees to the crushing forces of paganism were recounted, and the feast was one of praise to God for his marvellous deliverance of the Jews during the Maccabean period.” [Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 787] - that’s the period between the Old Testament and the New Testament, which is chronicled in the books of the Apocrypha.

Just think for a moment about how appropriate this is - the festival that celebrates the re-dedication of God’s Dwelling Place, and when Jesus describes his own body as “this temple” - he *is*, in fact, God dwelling among us. And he’s walking along the colonnade of Solomon. Ancient writings tell us that this was the only part of the original Temple of Solomon left standing after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. The first Temple of God, built by man, destroyed and later rebuilt, defiled and then cleansed and rededicated, is the setting for this discussion with the Son of God, who is the new Dwelling Place of God among humans.

With that as the backdrop, a group of Jews confront him. In fact, they physically surround him. It’s clear that these are not believers. They are not there to grow in faith toward Christ. They are there to find a reason to kill him. They had this in mind before they asked their question. And if he would just plainly answer their question with a simple, “yes, I am the Christ” then they could get on with stoning him to death. They’ve already made up their minds. There will be no trial. Just an execution. They’ve had it with him. In chapter 9 and earlier in chapter 10, Jesus’ declaration of his Messiah-ship had begun to cause division among the Pharisees and Sadducees. This had to stop, and they thought the best way was to just eliminate the source of the conflict. Stone this Nazarene carpenter and shut down the whole issue permanently. If he answers “yes” to their question, they can just start the stoning.

But Jesus knows their intentions. He knows who they are, what they want, and what they plan to do. So he turns the tables on them: “I did tell you.” If they had a problem with what he’s been saying — and saying it for a while now — why are they just now presenting this as a big problem? Where were they when they first heard him? Why now? But of course, Jesus *is* answering their question in his response. He’s ALREADY said he is the Christ. He’s not denying it. But the way he says it here is taking control of the conversation… (and it kind of throws the Jews off their guard).

And then Jesus takes it a step further by laying the problem at their feet. The problem is not with Jesus, but instead with these Jews, because they do not believe. “After all his telling, including the present word, they do not believe. All his telling is in vain—in vain through fault of theirs; is so even now.” [Lenski, 751] And it’s not just that he’s told them with words; he has given them the most convincing way of telling them in the “works that I do in my Father’s name”. Anyone could lie about being the Messiah of prophecy, and we know that many did. Many tried to declare themselves as “the Christ”. But none did the works of power that Jesus did. And, in fact, Jesus was *still* doing such works even as these Jews are interrogating him… and these people knew about them, and still denied that Jesus is who He says He is.

We should not overlook that Jesus declares that it is by the Father’s authority and power that he does these works. Jesus is not doing this independent of the Father. He is the Son of God, yes, and that means that He has authority and power. But He is careful to keep himself connected to the Father, and he’s very consistent about that.

And then Jesus gets to the root of the problem: John 10:26–27 “but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Jesus is telling them that THEY are the problem. They are not among Jesus sheep, and so they do not believe. It’s not that they CANNOT believe, it’s that they DO NOT.

Now, if you’re anything like me, you may have thought “well, how do you become one of Jesus’ sheep?” And that’s the right question to ask here. Some Christians talk about “the elect” - as though God pre-determines who is going to be saved and who isn’t. This is an area that not all Christians agree on. As Lutherans, it’s important that we understand this, as it’s a vital part of our understanding of salvation.

Let me start with this: it’s one thing to say that God decided who He will save and who He won’t save. This tells us that God pre-determines both of those groups. That’s referred to as “predestination”. It’s entirely different to say that God knows who will be saved and who won’t be saved. God is all-knowing; of course He knows who will accept His gift of salvation and who won’t. Just because He knows that you will be saved doesn’t mean He made you accept His gift. Can you see the difference?

As Lutherans, we don’t believe that God forces us to make a choice. His will is not irresistible. But we also don’t believe that EVERYONE is going to be saved. And that’s really and truly sad. There are some people who will reject God. Remember us talking about the unforgivable sin? Those people who go to their grave in a state of rejection of God and His gifts to us will not be saved in eternity. That might be the saddest thing in all of creation. As Christians, we have a calling and a mission to ensure that all people are at least offered the gifts of God. We do that by sharing the Gospel with them. We don’t want anyone to reach their dying breath without having at least heard the Good News. That’s why we need to take evangelism seriously. I wouldn’t wish an eternity separated from our Loving Creator on anyone.

So how do we know if we’re Jesus’ sheep? Well, for starters… we’re all here this morning. We’ve listened to the voice of our Good Shepherd, calling us together, called to be fed at feeding time. He’s feeding us not simply with the grass of a green pasture, but with His Word and His Sacrament - the means of grace which bolster our faith and draw us closer to Him. Your presence here this morning shows your belonging to His flock.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” Jesus says. There are some who are not here today but are certainly in His flock. They have also heard their Shepherd’s voice. All of us in this flock follow where He calls. Sometimes some get separated from the flock… it’s on all of us to draw them back in when we can. But we can’t let that distract us from finding the sheep that don’t have a flock. We are called to do both.

He then tells his hostile audience that John 10:28 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Now, this is only chapter 10 of John’s Gospel, so this is still before Jesus’ arrest and execution. And that means that none of his followers yet understood *how* he was giving them eternal life. But we know that. We know full well all that Jesus’ death and resurrection achieved for us. We know and appreciate that his suffering and death paid the price for our sins. And we will joyfully celebrate that when we come to be fed at His Table in few short moments when we receive the Sacrament. We also know that his Resurrection is what ensures our eternal life - he has shown us that he has power over death, and that death is not the end. This is where our hope is.

“...and they will never perish” is another hope-filled promise. “‘To perish’ is to be separated from God, life, and blessedness forever... It is the opposite of being saved... ‘Shall in no way perish’ would itself be enough, the modifier ‘forever’ is [added to be redundant, which is for emphasis]: this dreadful act shall never occur. This promise does not refer only to the time after the believer’s death, implying that then he shall be forever safe; this promise holds good from the moment of faith onward.” [Lenski, 755–756] And as a Good Shepherd, no one can take any of the sheep of his flock away from him. He is able to protect them from any sort of thief.

Verse 29 then is where Jesus shows his relationship to the Father. It was the Father who gave the sheep to Jesus. It is the Father who is “greater than all”. And since He’s greater than all, no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. Which brings Jesus to his final point: “I and the Father are one.”

In that final statement, Jesus has arrived at the heart of John’s Gospel message: Jesus *is* the Son of God. Jesus *is* God in the flesh. This theme permeates every story, every chapter of this whole Gospel. And of course, this statement is the reason that in the very next verse, John 10:31 “The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.” This is the statement they were waiting for, and it is this claim that he makes here and elsewhere that the Jews ultimately deliver him to Pontius Pilate to be killed at Roman hands. And as sad as it is that they killed our Lord, it was necessary for him to deliver on what he promised: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.”

Brothers and sisters: we do have a Good Shepherd. And just like actual sheep, we are helpless and nearly defenseless against some of the wolves we face in the world. But our Good Shepherd always protects us. I am grateful that we have heard his voice, and I hope you are, too. Let us all pray that He would use us to find those sheep who are lost, as well as those who have yet to be found at all. May we all hear His voice whenever and wherever He calls us to follow Him.

Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Hallelujah!