Third Sunday of Easter

John 10:11-16

What a wonderful Sunday our Gospel lesson for today is on Christ our Good Shepherd, who watches over the flock and rescues them from danger. He is not afraid to stand between them and danger, but comes to their rescue in their hour of need in order to save them unlike the hirelings that leave them to the wolf that waits to snatch them when they are far from their shepherd. Rather we ought to cherish our Good Shepherd who is cares for the flock and will not abandon them, but calls them to Himself. We have several lessons here focused on the Lord who is our Shepherd, and each presents different challenges, and dangers for the flock, but for the sake of clarity, we are going to focus on that Gospel Lesson by itself to understand what Christ is teaching His disciples.

The Flock of God

This is a common theme in Scripture.

It makes sense for agriculture remains a huge focus in the world. We need food in order to survive and since the fall, it takes patience, and diligence to sow crops, water them, and make sure they are growing well. When it comes to tending to flocks, they didn’t have the major operations that we have today, but like years ago, having a herd, or flock was important for survival. This means the people also knew,

It isn’t flattering for mankind.

We aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, and are in need of constant and continual care. We need a shepherd who can not only direct us to where we need to be, but to fend off the dangers of the wilderness like wolves, and lions. We need someone who can bind up our wounds, and make sure that we receive the care and support that we so desperately need, and loves us enough to find us when we are lost because we just put our head down and kept eating without a thought to the dangers we might be in.

It teaches us to rely upon God.

This upsets those who wish to be independent, to have their own spirituality, their own journeys. Since there is only one God, the holy trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that means either you are drawing closer to God, or walking away from Him. There’s no neutral or middle ground in this scenario, for even if you want to remain in one location, and not move, Christ is guiding this flock towards those Green Pastures of the eternal Kingdom. So don’t be distracted from your savior, for there is a very real threat to the flock.

The Threat to the Flock

The wolf represents Satan.

Which includes not just the devil himself, but all his agents and forces that he would bring against the church. But his desire is to destroy the flock of God why? Because no matter how much satan might try, he cannot harm God himself, no matter how bad the devil wants it, the fact remains that God is over and above him, and despite all his murderous rage, he cannot harm the creator. So he went after that which was made in God’s image, mankind, and has worked to destroy that which God had created and bring it down into hell, make no mistake.

He has worked diligently to destroy the flock.

His goal remains the same, but he makes use of many different means to accomplish it. He will attempt to mislead and convince people to ignore the true God and creator of all things. He would confuse us and mislead us and have us believe that there is no real danger and that all this concern that God has over sin, and death is overblown, and that he just doesn’t want you to enjoy the good grass that is just over the hill out of his sight, what can this one shepherd, this one religion really know, far better to eat from many different fields of your own choosing, just follow him over the hill.

His aim is to separate sheep and shepherd.

The wolf knows that as long as the sheep are near the shepherd they are safe and so he makes it his aim to separate the flock, to lead them astray, and to get them far from their shepherd so that he can pounce upon the sheep and devour them. Now if Satan showed up looking like a wolf, then the sheep would realize how big his eyes are, and how sharp his teeth looked, and it doesn’t look like he has hooves, but sharp claws meant to tear and rend. So who does this wolf enlist?

The Hired Hands

In this passage, it would be false teachers.

There is nothing more dangerous than false teaching in the Church, and it is the greatest plague upon the world. We think of cancers, wars, famines, etc. why is false teaching more dangerous than these things? False teaching would have you believe you are worshiping the truth, when instead you are believing a lie and people perish for all eternity. For when people lie about who God is and lead people away from repentance, and into death, they bring additional judgment on themselves. How do you know them?

They care about themselves.

They will look good on the outside, but the truth is finally shown when the wolf attacks, and they are willing to sacrifice the sheep to the wolf in order to maintain peace, and not rock the boat too much. The concern is that the fight would cause too much damage to them, and they have no intention of opposing that evil. So they worm their way into the flock, and persuade the flock that they are really on the side of the flock, all the while the flock is being led quietly away from the Good Shepherd.

The tricky part is the wolf waits quietly.

The wolf watches and sees what the Hired hands are up to, and waits patiently as they move farther away from the safety of the shepherd. If he strikes too soon, they will be able to flee too quickly back to the shepherd. What makes the wolf so dangerous is his ability is that ability to wait and strike at our darkest moments. When Satan came after Jesus during great affliction and pains, it was after Jesus fasted for 40 days and His flesh was suffering from hunger and thrist that he attacked. Then Satan waited for another time, and came at Jesus through Judas, and Peter, Judas was lost, but Peter restored. That is why you cannot judge a teacher of the faith based upon his looks, his personality, or any of the other ways in which we measure men.

This is why they need to be examined.

They must be examined according to the Word. Do they point people to the good shepherd even when times are hard? Do they point you back to Christ with the Law, and the Gospel? What is the Church service about, is it primarily to have a fun time, or is it about your Good Shepherd coming here to give you gifts? That’s what really matters, not how funny, charming, intelligent, if he shares the same interests as you. A faithful Pastor will continue to point you to Christ who comes to you through the Means of Grace, that is the Word and the Sacraments. A good pastor wants to make sure you know Jesus because He is the

The Good Shepherd

Jesus cares for and loves the flock.

His compassion is just astonishing. For Jesus didn’t just sit off far away from us and remain in heaven, but entered into the mess of this broken world, with all of its sin, its filth, and all the mess that we see around us every day. He didn’t run away or flee, he didn’t just take one look and hit the eject button and go back up to heaven. When you consider who Jesus is, the Son of God in the flesh, the one whom angels adore, the one at whose name every knee in heaven, earth, and under the earth will bow down and worship. That he takes the time to teach mankind, that when He goes into the temple, to argue with the Pharisees, He doesn’t just flip a switch and make them into instantly believers. That He walked the roads of that day and joined us in our joys and sorrows, that He might not only hear our cries for help, but that Jesus sought you out to save you. Why is Jesus doing that? Well its because

The flock is his own possession.

He is the good shepherd that cares for each member of the flock, and that means he cares for you. He saw you in your need, and didn’t turn a deaf ear to your cries, but descended from the heavenly realms and by His miracles showed us that He is not only our Shepherd, but our savior, and that He had come to rescue us from that vile wolf, and the power of sin, and to stop the voice of all the false teachers who had led his flock away into danger. This is where we can be encouraged for

Jesus will gather all His sheep.

It is Christ who seeks them out and finds them. This is what our Ezekiel text is about that the Good Shepherd goes out on a day of darkness and thick clouds, a day like we saw this past week, when the sky turns black, and tornados are threatening to form at a moments notice, but what does our shepherd do? He went into the storm of this world that He might find every last lamb that belongs to Him that He might bring them home.

One Flock, One Shepherd

The one flock are those who listen to the Shepherd.

They hear His voice and gather together around where there Shepherd is at, that is why when people try to make Church about something other than Jesus they are missing the point and acting like false teachers. Yes numbers might grow for a time, but if people are being led towards fun times, and not towards Christ you are no longer a church, but social gathering. This is why we must be clear.

All churches are not equal.

Find me a church that acknowledges on their website that they do not believe the Bible. When you start digging into their teachings you will find out the truth. Do they believe that Jesus didn’t do everything need for your salvation and that Christ has given it to you freely? Do they believe that Jesus didn’t mean it when He said, This is my body? Do they believe that what the Bible calls sin, is sin, or do they promise you can enjoy all your sins and it won’t affect your salvation? What are those gnawed bones littering the ground, those aren’t sheep bones?

So you must learn Jesus’ Words.

For how will you know the voice of your shepherd if you never hear Him speak? How do you know what is God’s Word, if you aren’t reading it, hearing it, studying it, and committing it to memory? Quite often we treat it like we do a New Year’s Resolution, and that we resolve to fix this problem all at once, and that we will solve years of bad habits with our raw determination. You are here, and that is good, but make sure it is a priority in your life. Then add to it, be it portals of prayer, or the Jammin’ Salmon. Quite often we attack a problem and rely upon an emotional resolve to get it accomplished, but once that emotion runs out we feel drained and fall back into old ways.