Are You Limping?

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

When a lion, wolf, or bear comes along to kill and devour the sheep, the shepherd has to do what shepherds do: put his life on the line. He cannot wait to decide at the moment of attack. That would be too late. Then his own life, as well as the lives of the sheep would be forfeit.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), When a lion, wolf, or bear comes along to kill and devour the sheep, the shepherd has to do what shepherds do: put his life on the line. He cannot wait to decide at the moment of attack. That would be too late. Then his own life, as well as the lives of the sheep would be forfeit.

When thieves arrive to steal the flock, the shepherd has to be ready to risk limb and life for the sake of those lambs. All good shepherds risk their own lives for the sake of the flock. They will not risk their lives for money; no one risks life just because it is in the job description. Shepherds risk their lives for the sheep because that is simply what shepherds—real shepherds—do.

Real shepherds are born into the life of a shepherd; they are not hired. They grow up taking care of the sheep. They do not know another way of life. They will not only risk their lives but also, give their lives for the sheep.

Let us pray. Shepherding God, you have brought us into your holy flock out of your great love and tender mercy. Grant that we, having been so richly and undeservedly forgiven and accepted, may always find our way home to you; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, forever one God. Amen.

Jesus was no hired hand. He came to earth for the focused purpose of caring for the sheep—even though it would mean more than risk of life. He knew it would mean the giving of his life. He was ready to give his life because he knew that only the life of the Good Shepherd would atone for the sins of the lost sheep of the whole world.

In all four gospels, Jesus says more than a dozen times similar statements to this one found in Matthew. “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” ().

It is clear that Jesus, the Good Shepherd came prepared to lay down his life for the sheep.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), . ().

The Good Shepherd Jesus had to die so that we could also die; more precisely, so that we could be crucified with him. Now, each of us knows that one day we will die. This life comes to an end for everyone. Perhaps not by lion, wolf, or bear, or even a robber or other villain, yet all lives eventually come to an end.

But there is death and there is death. There is a death that forever separates people from God and there is a death that joins them to the very life of God. To pass from this life without faith in the Good Shepherd is an everlasting death, the “second death,” as the book of Revelation calls it. It is described as a lake of sulfuric fire. It is permanent separation from God and heaven.

But there is another death, a crucifixion that joins us to God forever. Through this death by crucifixion is eternal life. You must be crucified in order to live forever with God. More to the point, you must be crucified in a specific manner. By a specific manner, I do not mean something like being crucified upside-down as Peter was, which put an end to his earthly existence. I mean that you must be crucified with Christ like Peter was before he died, which was the beginning of his eternal life.

Now, there is no waffling here, like a King Ahab. Ahab wanted to cover all the bases, worshiping the Baals, the false gods of the old Canaanite culture but then, worshiping the One God Yahweh too. The prophet Elijah confronted this equivocation in the king. But there was no vacillation in the prophet. The other prophets feared King Ahab, including Obadiah, one of the 12 so-called “minor prophets” in the Old Testament. Obadiah had hidden 100 other prophets in two caves, fearing the king would kill them. But Elijah openly met the king. Indeed, he sent Obadiah ahead to announce he was coming. The king could have planned any disaster for Elijah. But he simply resorted to name-calling. I think for good reason, or so it may have seemed to Ahab.

Elijah is a form of another name: Eliyyahu. Each name is made by joining two Hebrew words, “El,” the word for God, and “Yahweh,” the name of God. Joined to form names in this unique way, Elijah and Eliyyahu mean “my God is Yahweh.” So, each time Ahab had to greet Elijah, he would be admitting that his God is not Baal but Yahweh. When Elijah came into his presence, the king would say his name: “Elijah,” which would sound to the ear of Israelites as though their king had finally made a decision between the Baals and Yahweh. They would have heard him exclaim, “my God is Yahweh.”

The equivocating king must have hated greeting Elijah, so when Obadiah announced the prophet’s imminent arrival, I wonder if Ahab took the opportunity to come up with a nickname for the prophet called “my God is Yahweh.” As Elijah entered, instead of greeting him by name, the king instead met him with these words: “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?”

The poor king probably thought he had bested Elijah. But right away, Elijah let him know that he, the king, was the one who had brought trouble to Israel. Ahab, as king, held considerable sway over the thoughts, opinions, and actions of the people. As Ahab limped back and forth between Baal and Yahweh, the people also faltered to and fro. Therefore, Elijah challenged the king and then turned to the people, asking how long they would go about limping between a false god and the one, true God. “If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.”

There is only one Lord, one rock, one redeemer. The heavens declare his glory. His perfect law turns us away from ourselves and toward God’s grace; as such, it revives the soul. His Word makes the simple wise.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), .

He is the one we follow, for he alone is God. We do not worship him this morning, only to limp back to Baal or some other false god later today. When we leave this service of worship, we remain followers of Christ. We do not trouble his kingdom by limping back and forth between one way and another. For we know that only Jesus is the way...the truth…and our very life.

We know this because he has laid down his own life so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Having been crucified with him in baptism, we are raised to a newness of life, a resurrected life, just as our Lord is resurrected.

As such, we are no longer in bondage to sin. How can we be enslaved to sin? We are dead! Dead bodies cannot sin. So, we are set free from this body of sin. Therefore, we must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus whether it feels that way or not.

We must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus whether it feels that way or not.

So, are you limping? Are you limping between believing that you are enslaved...or that you are set free? Are you limping between faith in God...or feelings?

There is no need to limp. The Good Shepherd has lifted you into his arms, and carries through the lion, wolves, and bears of this life, until you may follow him again. He has even died for you so that you will be spared a second death.

So, remember your baptism! You have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer you who lives, but Christ who lives in you. And the life you now live in this flesh, you live by faith in the Son of God, who loved you and gave himself for you.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits. Amen.