Easter 4B

Fourth Sunday of Easter

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed - alleluia!

When we hear the description of Jesus as the “Good Shepherd”, it’s the lesson from this morning’s Gospel reading that gives us that title for our Lord. Chapter 10 of John’s Gospel account begins with the sheep metaphor, and Jesus uses it in different ways to explain his own role as protector of his sheep, those who would do harm to the sheep, and who the sheep are. Also in this metaphor are two other characters - a hired hand, and the wolf. This morning we’re going to look at each of these explanations more deeply.

The very first words we hear Jesus say today are “I am the good shepherd.” And that phrase begins with “I am”. Every time we hear Jesus speak this phrase, the first thought we should have is that he is using the name of God. Remember what God told Moses in the burning bush? God said to Moses, “I AM who I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Honestly, this is part of what got Jesus in trouble with the Pharisees and the leaders at the Temple - when he spoke of himself, he made himself out to be God…and this is one way to do that, but saying “I AM” the same way Yahweh did in the Law and the Prophets.

So Jesus explains that, as shepherds go, he is *the* good shepherd. Not merely *a* good shepherd, but THE good shepherd. And because it is introduced with the very name of God (I AM), it’s clear that Jesus is a shepherd unlike any other. “Good” is probably a very inadequate or at least understated description of the kind of shepherd he actually is. “Supreme” might be a better word to use there. Listen to how this scholar describes him: “Jesus does not here compare himself with other shepherds; he asserts far more than that he is relatively better than other shepherds, namely that he is a shepherd in a sense in which no other man can ever be a shepherd… Jesus is the shepherd, absolutely in a class by himself as the shepherd; and he is excellent with an excellence unique and all his own.”

[R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 723.]

What is it that makes Jesus such a “Supreme Shepherd”? First is the obvious answer - that he is willing to lay down his life for the sheep. That’s no surprise. But it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that there are other “good” or caring shepherds who would risk their lives for their flocks. Of course there are, and some would undoubtedly put themselves in harm’s way to protect their flocks. But to die for your flock in the face of a wolf…that doesn’t really protect the flock, does it? Jesus talks about laying down his life - letting himself be killed - for the flock. For any shepherd other than Jesus, once that shepherd is dead, the sheep are completely at the mercy of the wolf, with no one to defend them.

What really sets Jesus apart is that “Jesus is the one and only shepherd, who saves the sheep by laying down and then taking up his life again.” (Lenski, 724)

Jesus has complete authority over both his life and his death. He can lay down his life of his own accord, and he can take it up again. And he does both of these things.

In the second verse this morning, Jesus talks of another type of person overseeing the flock - a “hired hand” he calls them. I learned something new in researching this passage. The hired hand as Jesus describes him is not someone hired by the owner of the flock. In fact, as that scholar points out, this hired hand has no connection with the owner of the flock in any way. “This becomes clearer when we note that even Jesus is not the real owner of the sheep. They belong to God. Only because he is sent by God on the great mission of redemption is Jesus placed over the sheep. Only thus does Jesus ‘have’ the sheep (v. 16) and does he call them ‘my own’ (v. 14). Then as the Father sent Jesus to be the Supreme Shepherd, so Jesus in turn sends all true teachers also as shepherds under himself. This helps to show who the hireling really is.” (Lenski, 728) Jesus never hired or sent this “hand” in any way…so the hired hand is not like Jesus, nor is he like any other shepherds that Jesus might have sent.

If we could read this in the original Greek, we’d actually see that the hired hand is the direct opposite of a shepherd. “How the hireling managed to get hold of the sheep is left unsaid yet with the plain implication that it was done in an illegal way. He usurped the place of the shepherd; he stole the sheep in some way.” (Lenski, 729.) Now here’s why that is important: several verses before today’s lesson, Jesus describes the shepherd as the “door” to the flock, and that those who had come before him were thieves and robbers. This hired hand he now describes is similar to the thieves and robbers. The similarity is this: neither the thief nor the hired hand cares for the life or the welfare of the sheep. All they want “is sooner or later to kill the sheep, in order to enrich [themselves] with the flesh, hide, and wool of the sheep. In this process the poor sheep perish; they lose everything in order that the [thief] may gain something.” (ibid.) The way Jesus builds this description in such an extreme way, he intends it to portray all false religious teachers that may be found in the church…even the worst of them.

And then we have the wolf. Now who do you think the wolf is? Let’s first establish that the wolf can do actual damage to God’s children, so the wolf is not just some imaginary or metaphorical idea. After all, the sheep are God’s actual children, right? The wolf then is as real as we - God’s children - are.

There have apparently been arguments over time about how to interpret this, which is why I bring it up. The scholar I trust on this passage insists that the wolf here is actually the devil. Again, there are those who claim that the devil doesn’t exist…that he is a made-up or imaginary figure who is used only to scare people to achieve certain ends. Scripture tells us otherwise. The devil is the “wicked foe” whose aim and purpose is to separate the sheep from the flock and from their shepherd. Interestingly, the wolf and the hired hand actually are then cooperating with each other to hurt the sheep. The hired hand does his part by running away from the sheep, and the wolf then fulfills his part by pouncing on the defenseless sheep. Once he pounces, “...he can complete what the [hired hand] has begun: snatch with his fangs and kill by destroying the faith in the hearts of God’s children; scatter helplessly those not at once spiritually crushed by making them shift for themselves in the wilderness of this world until he either snatches them too or until their spiritual life faints and dies out of itself.” (Lenski, 733)

As bad as that sounds, we are given the reassurance that we have more than just a hired hand standing between us and the wolf. We have Jesus. He begins this section by telling us who he is. He describes those who would hurt the flock, and then he comes back to it again - “I am the good shepherd.” He uses the example of the hired hand to illustrate two points: first, Jesus never made him a shepherd and never placed him over any of his sheep; secondly, in his own heart he has no love for the sheep. Two things mark the true human shepherd: Jesus places him in charge of some of his sheep; he himself is filled with concern for the sheep in his charge. (Lenski, 734)

The second time Jesus tells us that he is the Good Shepherd, he continues by describing his sheep, what he calls “my own”. All through this lesson, he’s describing the individual actors in relation to the sheep. Himself, the hired hand, and the wolf, are all described regarding how they behave with the sheep. The good shepherd then KNOWS his own sheep, and they know him. “‘My own’ sheep are all who in heart and soul, by living faith and trust belong to Jesus who dies in their stead and rises again.” (Lenski, 735)

...they ‘know’ him, their Good Shepherd, and all that he is to them. In this life their knowledge of him is still imperfect and must constantly grow; but even in the life to come their knowledge of him will be that of finite creatures, while his knowledge of them is divine.” (Lenski 736-737)

Jesus uses this word “to know” four times in this passage, and he uses it to compare the his knowledge of the Father with the knowledge his sheep have for him as their shepherd. This is an intimate, spiritual and personal knowledge. “The more we trust and love Jesus, the more we know him and realize just who he is and what he is to us.” (Lenski, 737)

Jesus even talks about bringing in other sheep so that there will be “one flock, one shepherd”. I don’t have to tell you that there has been plenty of disagreement about what to do with this verse. Does he mean the Jews here? Does he mean people who’ve never heard the Gospel? It’s not really clear here, but here’s what I know with confidence: Christ died for all, and all who accept his gift of grace and mercy are one in him. We may not see that oneness on this side of Judgment Day, but it will happen when God is ready for it to happen.

And that Gospel - that Good News - is the very description of the Good Shepherd, which is what Jesus finishes this lesson with. “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.” That right there is what Jesus came to do. No one made him do this. He did it of his own free will, which of course was in cooperation with the Father’s Holy Will. “This charge I have received from the Father.” Not a command, not an order that must be obeyed, but really a request, which the Son willingly agreed to.

And why did he agree to lay down his life? Love. It all comes down to God’s love. The Good Shepherd loves the sheep. The sheep are hurting. The sheep are becoming divided. Some are being left behind. Some are injured. Some are sick. Some are being excluded from the good pasture. Some are endangered by the wolf. Whatever their situation, many sheep in the flock are hurting in some way, and so the Good Shepherd steps in to do what must be done.

Possibly the best part about the Good Shepherd description is that it does such a wonderful job of helping us understand that death was not the end for Jesus…that the cross was not the final word. Jesus tells us that he laid down his life “in order that” he may take it up again. “This sacrifice is like none that ever occurred before, because it indeed effects what all others could not effect, what they could only foreshadow. This sacrifice actually atones, actually redeems, and, doing that, the life laid down is not forfeited but is to be taken up again as freely as it was laid down.” (Lenski, 743) What a beautiful description of Christ’s sacrifice!

When we come to the table this morning, let us all remember that sacrifice, that it did indeed atone for the sins of the whole world, and that it demonstrated to all of us the promises of God and His authority to make good on them. And God always makes good on His promises. How do we know that?

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed - hallelujah!

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.