4th Sunday of Easter
Text: John 10:22-30
Rev. Kenneth W. Wieting
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne (that is the Holy Spirit) and from Jesus Christ, the first born from the dead.
Martin Luther once wrote that even a seven year old child knows what the church is – “sheep who hear the voice of their Shepherd”. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
Dear hearers of the word, we go down this sheep trail every year at this time in the Church seasons. The gracious provision of Jesus as the Good Shepherd flows directly from the glaring problems of His sheep. As we have considered in years past, there is good reason that no athletic team in this community names itself the Shorewood Sheep.
You have heard from this pulpit that sheep are stubborn, high-maintenance animals. They are prone to straying, inclined to snack on poisonous weeds and drink from polluted water. They are quick to butt heads with fellow members of the flock. They are defenseless against predators. They are in constant danger of going along with the culture, that is, with the momentary instincts of the flock.
Not long ago (July 23, 2005) World Magazine carried the account of a stampede in Gevas, Turkey. Shepherds did not know what to do when the flock began to follow one sheep that turned away from grazing and leapt off a cliff to its death. Ignoring the voices of their shepherds and their efforts to stop them other sheep took the plunge. 10 then 20 then 100 sheep went over the edge then 200 then 500 then 1000 and still they kept coming. In all over 1500 sheep followed one another over the edge. As they fell they created a wooly mound in the narrow ravine below. As the pile grew larger the mass of animals provided enough padding to absorb the shock of late leapers. Nonetheless, the death of nearly one third of the flock in a matter of minutes was a painful economic loss in that poor town of Eastern Turkey.
Dear Christians, sheep are sheep! Dear Christians, we are sheep! Of all the animals in the world, sheep is the predominant figure that God uses in Scripture to picture us. The prophet Isaiah said it this way, We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way (Is 53:6). To say, “The Lord is my Shepherd” and to confess that Jesus is the Good Shepherd means that we are sheep. We are “the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand” – stubborn, straying, high-maintenance, easily misled, ornery sheep.
That is why St. Paul expressed the work of pastoral office in this way to the pastors at Ephesus, Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock…I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them (Acts 20:17-35). How easily we sheep follow after other voices than the voice of Christ. We’re tempted to snack on any tasty weed, no matter how poisonous it might be.
Look at all the religions and philosophies popping up around us today. Some are just reruns of ancient pagan beliefs dressed up in new-age garb. Others are more recent inventions. But all of them have one thing in common. The god you seek is ultimately in you and you are not a sheep in need of a Savior and Shepherd. If you want to find the divine, look within by meditation or by communing with nature or by dreaming on the stars. Never mind the cross and open tomb of Jesus Christ. The truth is viewed as yours to find in your own experience.
But remember what Jesus said, “Out of the heart comes murder, adultery, theft, lies, slander.” Remember what St. Paul wrote, “I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing.” If we don’t understand ourselves as on-the-edge-of-disaster sheep, then we won’t trust Jesus as our nothing-can-separate-you-from-Me Shepherd.
That alone which sets the Christian faith apart from the philosophies of this world and the spiritual imagination of man is Jesus – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. That’s what saves us dying sheep in this world of sin and death – not our doing nice things, not our feeling religious, not our bodily exercise, not our getting close to any created thing in reflection and rumination.
The Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ tell us plainly.” They knew His claims to be equal with God, to be the eternal “I AM” (John 5:18; 8:58). They knew His miracles of healing and feeding. Yet they continued to accuse Him of being unclear. They continued to ask questions He had already answered. Jesus answered them again, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.
We also like to accuse Christ of being unclear in what He has revealed – perhaps not in direct protest but in lingering questions and recurring doubts. Our ears are easily tickled by other voices than that of the Good Shepherd. A charismatic college professor jumps off the cliff of eastern mysticism or secular humanism and students follow his voice like sheep. The voices of celebrities or fun-loving, have-it-together peers promise freedom and fulfillment apart from the full counsel of God. Many follow them over the cliff. Only years later, does the imprisoning emptiness of their choices become evident. Voices, voices, voices – sweet voices, seductive voices, serious voices, sincere voices, spiritual voices, self-generated voices. We are often influenced by voices without even knowing how much we are listening.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” What pure and pointed Gospel! Twice were are told we cannot be plucked out of God’s hand because of the tender care of the Good Shepherd for us, His sheep.
Yet, what of the one perfect sheep? He who from eternity was God our shepherd, became the Lamb of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He has two natures. He is both Shepherd and sheep. As the Lamb of God, He laid down His life in sacrificial payment for our sins. . “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” Isaiah wrote, but He didn’t stop there, “and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:9). He was crushed for our iniquities.
While nothing can pluck God’s sheep out of His hand, the white hot center of the Gospel lies in the one exception to the rule. At His crucifixion, the perfect sheep, the Lamb of God was severed from, cut off from, forsaken by the Father (Mt. 27:46). That divide is more commonly called “hell”.
“I and the Father are one” Jesus said. That means their hand is one as well, a hand you cannot be snatched out of. Yet there was a gracious tearing apart, a profound mystery of mercy when Jesus was plucked out of the Father’s hand, when Jesus and the Father were not one on the cross. The Father did not die for you there. The Father was not damned for you there. But the Son was! Therefore you are now one with God and no one is able to pluck you out of the Father’s hand.
The voice of the Good Shepherd is the comforting voice that makes you lie down in the still waters of your baptism. The voice of the Good Shepherd is the inviting voice of the one who prepares a table before you today in the presence of your enemies. My sheep hear my voice…I give them eternal life.. He does not say “I gave them eternal life” as if He’s finished with the giving. Rather, He says, I give them”, that is, I am continually giving them eternal life and they are continually receiving it. That’s why He comes into our midst again today. That’s what hearing the voice and receiving the food of the Good Shepherd is all about.
The time is coming when there will be no voices seeking to pull you away from the loving care of the Good Shepherd, but that time is not yet. The time is coming when you will be out of the tribulation of this life. But that time is not yet. The time is coming when He will wipe away every tear from your eyes. But that time is not yet.
The time has already come, however when the Good Shepherd has washed your robes and made them white in His blood, the blood of the Lamb of God. You are part of His flock and to you He says, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Rev. Kenneth W. Wieting
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne (that is the Holy Spirit) and from Jesus Christ, the first born from the dead.
Martin Luther once wrote that even a seven year old child knows what the church is – “sheep who hear the voice of their Shepherd”. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
Dear hearers of the word, we go down this sheep trail every year at this time in the Church seasons. The gracious provision of Jesus as the Good Shepherd flows directly from the glaring problems of His sheep. As we have considered in years past, there is good reason that no athletic team in this community names itself the Shorewood Sheep.
You have heard from this pulpit that sheep are stubborn, high-maintenance animals. They are prone to straying, inclined to snack on poisonous weeds and drink from polluted water. They are quick to butt heads with fellow members of the flock. They are defenseless against predators. They are in constant danger of going along with the culture, that is, with the momentary instincts of the flock.
Not long ago (July 23, 2005) World Magazine carried the account of a stampede in Gevas, Turkey. Shepherds did not know what to do when the flock began to follow one sheep that turned away from grazing and leapt off a cliff to its death. Ignoring the voices of their shepherds and their efforts to stop them other sheep took the plunge. 10 then 20 then 100 sheep went over the edge then 200 then 500 then 1000 and still they kept coming. In all over 1500 sheep followed one another over the edge. As they fell they created a wooly mound in the narrow ravine below. As the pile grew larger the mass of animals provided enough padding to absorb the shock of late leapers. Nonetheless, the death of nearly one third of the flock in a matter of minutes was a painful economic loss in that poor town of Eastern Turkey.
Dear Christians, sheep are sheep! Dear Christians, we are sheep! Of all the animals in the world, sheep is the predominant figure that God uses in Scripture to picture us. The prophet Isaiah said it this way, We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way (Is 53:6). To say, “The Lord is my Shepherd” and to confess that Jesus is the Good Shepherd means that we are sheep. We are “the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand” – stubborn, straying, high-maintenance, easily misled, ornery sheep.
That is why St. Paul expressed the work of pastoral office in this way to the pastors at Ephesus, Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock…I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them (Acts 20:17-35). How easily we sheep follow after other voices than the voice of Christ. We’re tempted to snack on any tasty weed, no matter how poisonous it might be.
Look at all the religions and philosophies popping up around us today. Some are just reruns of ancient pagan beliefs dressed up in new-age garb. Others are more recent inventions. But all of them have one thing in common. The god you seek is ultimately in you and you are not a sheep in need of a Savior and Shepherd. If you want to find the divine, look within by meditation or by communing with nature or by dreaming on the stars. Never mind the cross and open tomb of Jesus Christ. The truth is viewed as yours to find in your own experience.
But remember what Jesus said, “Out of the heart comes murder, adultery, theft, lies, slander.” Remember what St. Paul wrote, “I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing.” If we don’t understand ourselves as on-the-edge-of-disaster sheep, then we won’t trust Jesus as our nothing-can-separate-you-from-Me Shepherd.
That alone which sets the Christian faith apart from the philosophies of this world and the spiritual imagination of man is Jesus – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. That’s what saves us dying sheep in this world of sin and death – not our doing nice things, not our feeling religious, not our bodily exercise, not our getting close to any created thing in reflection and rumination.
The Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ tell us plainly.” They knew His claims to be equal with God, to be the eternal “I AM” (John 5:18; 8:58). They knew His miracles of healing and feeding. Yet they continued to accuse Him of being unclear. They continued to ask questions He had already answered. Jesus answered them again, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.
We also like to accuse Christ of being unclear in what He has revealed – perhaps not in direct protest but in lingering questions and recurring doubts. Our ears are easily tickled by other voices than that of the Good Shepherd. A charismatic college professor jumps off the cliff of eastern mysticism or secular humanism and students follow his voice like sheep. The voices of celebrities or fun-loving, have-it-together peers promise freedom and fulfillment apart from the full counsel of God. Many follow them over the cliff. Only years later, does the imprisoning emptiness of their choices become evident. Voices, voices, voices – sweet voices, seductive voices, serious voices, sincere voices, spiritual voices, self-generated voices. We are often influenced by voices without even knowing how much we are listening.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” What pure and pointed Gospel! Twice were are told we cannot be plucked out of God’s hand because of the tender care of the Good Shepherd for us, His sheep.
Yet, what of the one perfect sheep? He who from eternity was God our shepherd, became the Lamb of God in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He has two natures. He is both Shepherd and sheep. As the Lamb of God, He laid down His life in sacrificial payment for our sins. . “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” Isaiah wrote, but He didn’t stop there, “and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:9). He was crushed for our iniquities.
While nothing can pluck God’s sheep out of His hand, the white hot center of the Gospel lies in the one exception to the rule. At His crucifixion, the perfect sheep, the Lamb of God was severed from, cut off from, forsaken by the Father (Mt. 27:46). That divide is more commonly called “hell”.
“I and the Father are one” Jesus said. That means their hand is one as well, a hand you cannot be snatched out of. Yet there was a gracious tearing apart, a profound mystery of mercy when Jesus was plucked out of the Father’s hand, when Jesus and the Father were not one on the cross. The Father did not die for you there. The Father was not damned for you there. But the Son was! Therefore you are now one with God and no one is able to pluck you out of the Father’s hand.
The voice of the Good Shepherd is the comforting voice that makes you lie down in the still waters of your baptism. The voice of the Good Shepherd is the inviting voice of the one who prepares a table before you today in the presence of your enemies. My sheep hear my voice…I give them eternal life.. He does not say “I gave them eternal life” as if He’s finished with the giving. Rather, He says, I give them”, that is, I am continually giving them eternal life and they are continually receiving it. That’s why He comes into our midst again today. That’s what hearing the voice and receiving the food of the Good Shepherd is all about.
The time is coming when there will be no voices seeking to pull you away from the loving care of the Good Shepherd, but that time is not yet. The time is coming when you will be out of the tribulation of this life. But that time is not yet. The time is coming when He will wipe away every tear from your eyes. But that time is not yet.
The time has already come, however when the Good Shepherd has washed your robes and made them white in His blood, the blood of the Lamb of God. You are part of His flock and to you He says, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
5/21/2007
