John 10 1-10 2008
Easter 4 (Good Shepherd Sunday)
John 10:1-10
April 13, 2008
“Comfort Food”
Introduction: When you are feeling sick, or down or feeling low, what is it that you seek? What is it that you want? Perhaps it’s a place on the couch, a soft pillow and a warm comforter. Perhaps it’s a taste of your favorite soup or a favorite meal that just makes life just a little more bearable. What do we call it…comfort foods…something that soothes the body and comforts the soul. When we are feeling sick, down or low, these are the things that we want.
Today, on this Good Shepherd Sunday, Jesus our Lord gives us comfort food. It is the food of His Words that soothes our souls. 10:1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7 So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. And then HE says… 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.
Many times I have talked about the thieves and robbers that exist in our world. I have told you about those that would want to rob you of your faith and abandon your souls in hell. Jesus warns us about these. I don’t want to talk about these today, and so take the attention of Jesus. If we look close to the words of our Lord, we do not have so much a warning but rather a comfort. For even though these thieves and robbers exist, our Good shepherd lives to gather, guide and protect those whom He has called to Himself.
And so, many comforting words have been preached about this text over the years, and rightly so. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Truly we are comforted by the personification of our precious Lord as our shepherd and guide. Leading us to new and inviting pastures, our Lord, fills our thirst with springs of living water. This shepherd, our shepherd, is the one that tends to our every need. He carries our young and weak on his shoulders. Our wounds are healed by his tender touch. When we are lost he searches us out, leaving the flock behind to find us. He knows each and every one of us by name and more so He knows our personalities, tendencies, temperaments, habits and most of all our hearts. He loves us just the way we are. His love is unconditional. His love is forever. The rescue and protection of us, his flock, is his priority and to save us he is willing to die.
“I am the good shepherd.” In one sentence he thrice tells us who He is and what He does. I, I am (egw eimi) Jesus proclaims I am he, the great “I am." I am the one who was and is and will always be. I and my Father are one. Jesus continues “I am the “good” shepherd. Who is truly good? We recall Christ’s words to the rich man who called him “good teacher." Jesus says, “why do you call me good? For only God is truly good." We hear this thought echoed by the apostle Paul’s words, “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Jesus’ choice in choosing the word good (kaloj) transcends the description of his mere perfection. It conveys to us the image of his beauty and worthiness. He is the lovely and handsome shepherd. But his beauty is not contained in his physical appearance. It is his confession that makes up his very essence…the message of the Gospel, his Gospel. It is his confession that through his life, death, and resurrection, the world is reconciled to God. “How beautiful are the feet of those that preach the Gospel of peace, who brings glad tidings of good things.
“I am the shepherd." In these words we hear the celebration of Old Testament prophecy as it is being fulfilled. With these words Jesus would have us remember the words of the prophets…Jeremiah, Isaiah, and David. “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want”…“He will feed his flock a shepherd… “I will establish one shepherd over them.” This is the great day of the Lord! The shepherd has taken the form of man. See him, touch him, and most importantly listen to what he says. Hear the comfort food of the Gospel.
Jesus said, “The good shepherd lays his life down for his sheep.” He comes on a mission and He comes for us. This is a mission of rescue, not of glory. Jesus, storms the gates of hell and sin and death -- the very domain of the devil. His weapons are his words and his body given and crucified on the cross and His blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins.
The shepherd’s mission is to lay his life down for the sheep. In his death he makes the supreme sacrifice, and at that moment in time man is reconciled to God. We are reconciled to God. Nothing, absolutely nothing can separates us from His love again. This indeed is the greatest of all sacrifices. The shepherd lays down His life for His sheep by becoming a sheep Himself -- the very Lamb of God -- and becomes the blood sacrifice. Jesus laid his life of glory aside that he might share his glory with us.
Does not our Lord continue to give his life for us, mediating our needs before his Father, who is now our Father? Does he not give us himself in the very words he gave to his apostles? Does he not continue to give us his life in his body and blood that has been given to us for the forgiveness of sins and our spiritual nourishment? Yes! Yes! Yes! Amen!