The Shepherd Regathers His Sheep

Welcome back to our series “The Aftermath”, which has been taking us through the post resurrection appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what we’ve learned so far is the eleven disciples, twelve minus Judas, were in a bad state. They were in a bad way. They faith had been rocked to the core. They were afraid, spiritually disoriented, scattered sheep who were lost without there Shepherd. And Jesus predicted this was going to happen. If you remember, in the garden, shortly before He was arrested, Jesus tells His disciples that they were going to abandon Him. Let’s quickly review a couple of these verses.

Mark 14:27 NKJV

27 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.’

The Lord tells His disciples that they were going “to stumble because of Me”. And of course we know what He meant. He meant they were all going to get scared and abandon Him when He was arrested and crucified. But not only does He tell them that, He quotes OT prophecy to them. And we know He is quoting OT scripture because He says, “for it is written”. When Jesus says, for it is written that means He’s going back to the OT. And then Jesus quotes Zechariah 13:7 when He says, “I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered”. Now remember this verse, remember this OT quote because it is going to try into the theme of todays lesson.

But before we talk more about the Shepherd and the sheep, I want to look at one more verse. Look at what Jesus says to them right after this.

Mark 14:28 NKJV

28 “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Now I want you to take note of this. Jesus tells them again about His resurrection. He says, “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee”. This marks the 4th time in Mark’s gospel that Jesus tells His disciples that He was going to be resurrected. And Jesus also says, I will go before you into Galilee. So, the disciples completely miss all of Jesus’ teaching about the resurrection, and they also miss the Lord’s instruction to meet Him in Galilee.

Here is the point. The disciples were supposed to understand that Jesus was going to die. And when He died they should have believed He was going to be resurrected. And they should have known that game plan was f to meet Jesus back in their old stomping ground, Galilee. And this wasn’t the only time the disciples were instructed to meet Jesus in Galilee. Listen, to the angel speaking to the women at the tomb in Matthew 28:7.

Matthew 28:7 NKJV

7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

So, the women at the tomb are instructed to go tell the disciples that Jesus is risen, and they are also told to tell them that Jesus would meet them in Galilee.

But it wasn’t only the angel that the women this message. Jesus Himself gives the women this message.

Matthew 28:9–10 NKJV

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

So here is my point. In the aftermath of recent events, the disciples are scattered. Just like Jesus told them, “I will strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered”. Jesus’ sheep are completely scattered at this point. These men were scared, defeated, distraught, mourning, unbelieving, hopeless, and disobedient. They have ignored the repeated commands of the Lord to meet Him in Galilee. Jesus says, “guys meet me in Galilee, but want to they do instead? They hide behind locked doors in Jerusalem. That is what we learned last week. They are hiding behind locked doors for fear of the Jews. But guess what? Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep comes to regather His flock. The sheep don’t make it to Him, so the Shepherd comes looking for them.

Which brings us to the Title of today’s lesson.

The Shepherd Regathers His Sheep

This is what we are seeing in this series, in the Aftermath of the Cross. The faithful Shepherd comes to regather His scattered sheep. And praise the Lord in heaven we have a faithful Shepherd who comes looking for us when we wander off.

You see, so often our lives look just like the disciples. Do you remember their attitude when Jesus told them they are going to abandon Him? Jesus literally quotes OT prophecy to them. He says guys, “The word of God says you are going to abandon me when they strike me down. And what was the disciples response?

Well, Peter in true Peter fashion says, “Never Lord. Never even if everybody else abandons you I never will. And the Lord says to Peter, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And let’s read how Peter responds to this news.

Mark 14:31 NKJV

31 But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all said likewise.

Boy. What a difference a couple of days makes. Here the disciples being led by Peter vow never to deny the Lord, even if it meant they had to die with the Lord. That is what Peter says, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” So Peter is saying this, but look what Mark records at the end of the verse. “And they all said likewise”. So the attitude the night before the cross was “Lord we will never abandon you, even if we have to die with you”. But then look what happens by Sunday night.

John 20:19 NKJV

19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

The disciples attitude has drastically changed… John records, “that same day at evening, being the first day of the week”. We would say on Sunday night, the day of the resurrection, “when the doors were shut… for fear of the Jews”. Now that word translated shut in original language means, “to prevent passage at an opening, shut, lock, or bar. These men have barred the door and are in hiding because they are scared of what the Jews might do to them. What a different attitude from the garden. These don’t seem like the same men for pledged to follow Jesus into certain death.

And haven’t we all done this. Haven’t we all bowed our chest out and said Lord, I’m going to serve you with my whole heart. Even If I have to give up the things I love, even if I have to suffer, even when the going gets tough. I’m going to read my Bible every day, pray like I should, be in church every Sunday, love people better, fight temptation harder. And it is just a bunch of I… I… I…

So a word of caution here, if your Christian life is always starting with I’m going to do this, and I’m going to do that… you’re doing it wrong and a fall is coming. This has been the attitude of untold multitudes of Christians right before their train comes of the track. This a prideful self-reliant attitude that results in failure, just like it did for the disciples.

You see instead, we should be on our knees saying God empower me to serve you today. Lord, give me the grace to help me endure this trial. Father I can’t, but you can. Lord, I need you every second of every day. Help me to stay in lock step with your Spirit and renew my mind as I study your Scriptures. I am dependent upon you Lord and I need the power of your Holy Spirit everyday to live for you. Do you see the difference here?

We must not be independent, but God-dependent.

And listen, don’t think we lack sincerity when we tell the Lord all the great things we are going to do for Him. I don’t think the disciples lacked sincerity that night. You see, the problem wasn’t sincerity. Their problem was pride. They trusted their own strength, their own resolve, their own devotion. And that’s why they fell so hard and so fast. And that is why we fall so hard, and so fast when we have this same type of attitude.

As I was thinking through this subject it brought to mind an awesome quote from Mike Tyson. He was being questioned by a group of reporters and they were asking him about His opponents plan to beat Him, and Tyson just shrugged and said

“Everybody has a plan until they get hit.” -Mike Tyson

That’s Peter. That’s the disciples. They had a plan. They had confidence. They had resolve. But then that punch landed. When they struck down their shepherd… their fear surged. And everything they thought they would do… they didn’t do. They had a plan until they got hit.

And if we’re honest—that’s us. We have a plan… until life hits. We have resolve… until the trial hits. We have confidence… until the suffering starts.

And what this all boils down to is pride. When we adopt that kind of attitude about the Christian life, we have fallen into the pride trap. And the Bible has always been warning us against pride. We all know the verse from Proverbs, right?

Proverbs 16:18 NKJV

18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

And here is one more.

Proverbs 29:23 NKJV

23 A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.

But here’s the good news of the Aftermath of the Cross: Jesus doesn’t discard disciples when they get hit. He restores them. He regathers them. He comes after them.

The Shepherd knew the blow was coming. He knew they would scatter. And He had already planned to bring them back.

And this is what we’ve seen throughout this study. Jesus walks with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus teaching them the Scriptures and restoring their faith. We also, learned that Jesus has appeared separately to Peter. And then last week we saw Him appear to the disciples as they were gathered behind locks doors hiding in fear. And as we talked about these disciples weren’t where they were supposed to be. They should have been on their way to Galilee, but the sheep had lost their way. So, the Chief Shepherd comes regathering His scattered sheep, and it is a beautiful, beautiful thing. Praise God for His mercy and grace, because we so desperately need it.

But what we are going to learn today, is that Jesus still has one more sheep to find. You see, Thomas wasn’t present when Jesus appeared to the others, and Thomas still doesn’t believe in the resurrection. And with this we are ready to jump into our text for today, so let’s go to the Lord and ask Him to open our understanding so that we can understand His word.

Let’s pray.

So, for the past few weeks we were anchored mainly in Luke’s Gospel, but now we are going to shift and focus on John’s gospel, and what we learn from John’s Gospel is that when Jesus appeared to the other disciples on that Sunday night, Thomas wasn’t there.

Let’s pick up here in John chapter 20 starting at verse 24

John 20:24–25 NKJV

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

We learn in verse 24 that Thomas wasn’t with the other disciples when Jesus appeared to them, and we aren’t told the reason why. But I do think that there is a lesson to learned here. It is good to be in fellowship with other believers even when we don’t feel like it. I don’t know about you, but I’m a suffer in silence type of person. When I’m grieving or experiencing extremely difficult circumstances I tend to withdraw and deal with it in solicitude, and maybe that is what is going on with Thomas, we aren’t told. But I do know this, it would have greatly benefited Thomas to see the risen Lord when He appeared to the rest of the group. So, at a minimum we can say this.

Fellowship with other believers is important

John 20:25 NKJV

25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

And so, the other disciples are witnessing to Thomas and verse 25 says, “The other disciples therefore said to him”. Now the tense of the Greek verb for said indicates that there was continuing action in the past. In other words, it could be translated, “the other disciples were saying to Him. The point is, this wasn’t a one time conversation that the disciples had with Thomas and that was that. No, the disciples were saying to Thomas. They were trying to convince Thomas that they had seen the Lord.

And you can almost feel how this would have played out. The disciples were like, “Thomas, I’m telling you man He is alive.” And he would respond, sorry guys I’m not buying it. No one comes back from a death like He experienced, no one. And the disciples come back again, “Dude, He appeared to us out of thin air, and we were terrified, we thought we were seeing a ghost. But then He showed us the nail prints on His hands and feet. And we still didn’t believe, we thought it was too good to be true, and then we watched Him eat a piece of fish. But not only that, He explained to us OT scriptures that proved the Messiah had to suffer and die first before He could bring in the Kingdom.

And then Thomas getting angry at this point comes back and says, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe”. Now of course, I adlibbed here a little bit, but the main point I want to get across is that the disciples were having multiple conversations with Thomas, but He isn’t hearing it.

And because of this passage, “Thomas has forever been branded “doubting Thomas”. But Thomas wasn’t the only doubter in the group. They all doubted. They all doubted, all of the disciples refused to believe the reports that He was alive, and we know from the Emmaus road and the other ten that it didn’t click for them until Jesus opened the Scriptures to them.

But Thomas goes a step further. From his own words, we see he is in a willful state of unbelief. He says, “I will not believe.” That’s not confusion. That’s a decision. And we can do the same thing. We can decide something isn’t true and refuse to investigate the facts. We can harden our hearts and close our minds to the evidence right in front of us.

And that is what Thomas seems to be doing here. Maybe he cannot bring himself to hope again. Maybe is so devastated that He is scared if opens himself up to this idea and it turns out not to be true, that it will crush him all over again. And I’m sure we’ve all been there.

But here’s the beautiful thing: Jesus knows exactly where Thomas is. He knows the doubts. He knows the wounds. He knows the fear behind the unbelief. And just as He went after the two on the road… just as He went after Peter… just as He went after the disciples hiding behind locked doors… He is now coming after Thomas.

The Great Shepherd Has a No Man Left Behind Policy

Talk about a band of brothers. Jesus loved these men. Jesus poured His life into this men. Jesus laid down His life for these men. And now Jesus has come to regather His men. Even in their fear, even in their unbelief, even in their disobedience, the Shepherd regathers His sheep.

I’m sure most of us here are familiar with the Parable of the Lost Sheep. The Lord Himself speaks this Parable in response to the Pharisees who are complaining that He is eating and fellowshipping with sinners. And Jesus says to them,

Luke 15:4–5 NKJV

4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

Jesus, point to the religious leaders is that I’m eating with these sinners that you will have nothing to do with because they are my sheep and I’m want them to be back in fellowship with me. They have wondered off from the flock, so I have come to regather them.

And look what verse 6 says,

Luke 15:6 NKJV

6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’

Notice Jesus says, I have found “my sheep” which was lost! The point is that the wayward sheep in this parable already belongs to the Good Shepherd, just like the other 99. Jesus comes looking for His wayward sheep that have strayed, just like Thomas had strayed. Just like the disciples had. And just like Jesus comes looking for us when we stray. Praise God, the Great Shepherd has a no man left behind policy.

Here is the point the Shepherd doesn’t just gather most of His sheep. He gathers all of them. Even the slow‑to‑believe ones. Even the skeptical ones. Even the wounded ones.

And that brings us to one of the most tender moments in all the resurrection accounts. Let’s keep reading.

John 20:26–27 NKJV

26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

“So it’s the eighth day—another Sunday—and that’s fitting, because in Scripture the number eight often symbolizes a new beginning. In fact, the early church even referred to Sunday as ‘the eighth day,’ because Christ’s resurrection marked the start of the new creation. And on this eighth day, Jesus is about to give Thomas exactly that: a fresh start, a restored faith, a new beginning in the aftermath of his doubt.”

Also, note that John records the doors are still shut. As we learned earlier, these means they had barred the doors so that no one can get in. But, Jesus doesn’t need doors anymore. Just like before, he appears in the middle of them, with the same greeting, “Peace to you”.

Now here is the beautiful part. Listen to what He says to Thomas. He says, “Thomas, “reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing”. Here is what is so amazing about what Jesus says to Thomas. He gives Thomas all of the proof that Thomas said he needed to believe.

Thomas said, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And so Jesus said, “Thomas reach your finger here reach into the nail prints and look at my hands. In other words, Jesus says “Thomas you wanted to see the nail prints and touch them, well here you go.

Thomas, you wanted to put your hand into my side in order to believe… “reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing”.

And don’t miss this detail either. There is no record of Jesus being anywhere around when Thomas said this. Neither are we given any indication that someone reported Thomas’ words to Christ… However, Jesus heard every word of His disciple, and now makes Thomas aware of it. This is the takeaway for us. This is proof that Jesus sees and hears everything we do, and how this should shape the way we live. And This is grace on display. A Savior who hears our doubts. A Savior who knows our weaknesses. A Savior who comes after us when we wander. A Savior who restores what fear has shattered.

And all of this, sets the stage for one of the greatest confessions in all of Scripture. Let’s read on.

John 20:28 NKJV

28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

Many consider this to be the high point of John’s Gospel, and I wholeheartedly agree. In fact, this is the only place in the Gospels where someone directly confesses that Jesus is “God.” And let me confess it. Jesus is God, and Thomas—beholding the resurrected Christ—confesses this truth that the Holy Spirit records forever in the eternal Word of God.

Let me show you something else, in the first verse of John’s Gospel declares:

John 1:1 NKJV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Word is another title for the Lord Jesus Christ, and John declares that the Word was God. So that was how John began his Gospel. And now at the climatic ending of HIs Gospel, John records the confession of doubting Thomas, “My Lord and my God”.

As we come to the end of this passage, we’re reminded once again of the love of Shepherd. The disciples had scattered. Their courage had collapsed. Their faith had been shaken to the core. And yet the risen Christ did not abandon them. He regathered them. The Shepherd regathers His sheep. One by one. Moment by moment. Heart by heart.

He walked with the two on the Emmaus road. He restored Peter in private. He appeared to the ten behind locked doors. And now He comes for Thomas—the last wandering sheep.

And here is the good news for us today.

The Great Shepherd comes looking for us too.

You see, so often our lives look like the disciples. We puff our chest out and say “Hey God watch this”. In our pride we say, I’m going to do this, and I’m going to do that, and I… and I… and i.… and I… But then life hits. Then the trials hits. Then the storm clouds gather and the waves start crashing over the boat, and we forget about all the promises we made. And we forget about all the things we committed to doing, and we hide behind locked doors in fear. And just like the disciples we are filled with fear, hopelessness, and doubting. And then the Shepherd has to come looking for us.

Let me share one final thought as I start to wrap up today. And what I’m about to say, it going to hurt our pride a little bit. But it’s true, and I’m going to give you a couple of verses to back up what I’m about to say.

What I want us to understand is that God isn’t pleased with our independent attitude. God isn’t pleased by the person who says, “Hey God watch this. God watch these mighty works I’m about to do. In fact, I would say God is displeased with this type of attitude. God is not impressed with our strength. In fact, God knows that our strength is going to cut it.

Listen to what Psalm 147 says in verses 10 and 11.

Psalm 147:10–11 NKJV

10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. 11 The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy.

These verses stumped me for quite some time, but I think I understand them know. The Psalmist says, “He does not delight in the strength of the horse”. A horse is the very symbol of strength and power. In fact, we measure an engine power in terms of horse power. And we as humans take great pleasure in being strong and building things up. And because we we value strength and power, we assume this is going to impress God, but it doesn’t. God doesn’t delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.

Now why does the Psalmist talk about the legs of a man? Well, the most powerful muscles we have are where? The most powerful muscles in our bodies are our legs. Now, I know some of you want to make a joke here.

Well, William legs might be the most powerful muscle for the rest of the human beings, but that can’t be true for you. And if you don’t get that joke wait until you see me in shorts this summer. You’ll get it then I promise. I get relentlessly teased for my chicken legs.

But, seriously the legs of a man are the symbol of his strength, and the Bible says, God doesn’t take pleasure in man’s strength, or any type of physical strength. No God delights in those who fear Him, and in those who hope in His mercy.

And here’s the point the Psalmist is driving home: God is not impressed with human strength. He isn’t moved by horsepower or muscle power. He isn’t delighted by what we can build, lift, accomplish, or display. What impresses us does not impress Him. What we celebrate, He often ignores.

But there is something that does delight the heart of God. Verse 11 tells us plainly:

“The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.”

God delights in the man or woman who stands in awe of Him. God delights in the believer who knows they are weak and runs to His mercy. God delights in the heart that says, “Lord, I can’t—but You can.” God delights in the soul that leans on His grace instead of its own strength.

And this ties perfectly into everything we’ve seen in Thomas, in the disciples, and in ourselves. God is not looking for strong disciples—He is looking for humbled ones, who are dependent on Him. He is not looking for people who boast in their legs, their plans, their resolve, or their willpower. He is looking for people who fear Him, believe in Him, and hope in His mercy.

Because that’s where real strength is found. Not in the legs of a man. Not in the strength of a horse. But in the God who restores doubters, regathers wanderers, and rebuilds broken faith.

So as we close, let me encourage you with this: If you feel weak today—good.

Because the Shepherd delights to restore the weak. He delights to lift up the humble. He delights to pour out mercy on those who hope in Him.

And just like Thomas, when we behold the risen Christ—when we see His wounds, His grace, His patience, His love—our hearts can only respond with the same confession:

“My Lord and my God.”

May that be the cry of our hearts as we leave this place today.

Let’s pray.