We Belong To The Shepherd
Text: John 10:1-10 and 1 Peter 2:19-25
In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This
idea of a shepherd and sheep is such a great image for us to think about. Sheep tend to be fairly helpless
animals. They don’t have fangs or claws
or a mean spirit where they will lash out and attack. They are powerless to defend themselves from
hungry predators. Thus, there is a great
deal of comfort when we see a shepherd next to the sheep. In a sense the shepherd is heroic. They tend to the sheep. They protect the sheep. They lead the sheep to shelter, good food and
fresh water. They typically have
ownership and investment of the sheep.
The sheep know the voice of the shepherd and there is trust.
There
is a reason why the scriptures constantly use this metaphor and there is a
reason why Jesus chooses this illustration in John chapter 10. Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, “I… I am the good shepherd.” If Jesus is the shepherd, we obviously are
what? We are His sheep. Jesus chooses this illustration, not only
because it is used in the Old Testament, but because it is a fitting image of
our relationship with Him. It is a picture of being under His protection and
authority.
Now,
let me ask you all a question now. How
many of you enjoy and appreciate being a sheep?
How is it going having a shepherd?
It seems to me that if we are going to answer this truthfully that it
may go well some days and terrible other days.
The reason being, we enjoy the benefits of having a shepherd but deep
down we really don’t want to be sheep but want to be the shepherd. In other words, how many of you think that
you have control over your lives?
The
issue of control is really man’s struggle with God over all the ages. God says, “I’m
the creator, I am in control. I am the
Creator. I am the beginning and the
end. I am the one that gives life, creates
faith and holds the universe together.”
God says that He is in control and we then say, “Now wait a minute God.
Seriously, I understand you are a big shot but I am free, I am in
control. I am the master and commander
of my own destiny.”
My
friends, when we confess Jesus as our Shepherd we are confessing Him as
Lord. When we confess Jesus as our
Savior we are confessing Him as our Master.
By confessing Jesus as our Shepherd we are essentially confessing our
lack of control over our lives. It isn’t
easy for us to confess this is it? To
say that I am out of control, that I am not in charge grates against the
American dream that we “can do anything
we set our minds to.” To confess that we are not in control also offends
our sinful nature. It offends our worth, our pride and this notion that our
will is free. Now, hold with me here as
I define a highly sophisticated and profound theological word in describing
ourselves. When we confess that we are
sheep and not the shepherd it causes us to what? It causes us to quote-unquote, “FREAK OUT.” We are control freaks are we not? Deep down we struggle praying and saying, “Thy will be done.”
Our
general tendency is that we want to put God in our debt. We want to be the shepherd and we want God to
be our sheep. We want to have full reign
of everything. This is the essence of
the Fall of Adam and Eve where they rebelled and wanted to be like God. Rationally we think to ourselves, “I can handle this. I have a pretty good grasp on things. I have been around the block a few times.” Things can tend to go o.k. for us at times
when we are running the show as the shepherd; however, we are simply not built
this way. We are not God.
My
friends, if we are the shepherd, and if we are in charge of our own lives, that
means that everything is dependent upon us.
If God is the sheep and we are the shepherd, that means that the
pressure of life and all that goes with it is on us. When the wolves come, it is up to us to fight
for ourselves. When the food runs dry,
it is up to us to find more food. When
we need to find safe land to graze, it is up to us to find it. When it comes time for rest, we can’t totally
rest because we will always have to sleep with one eye open to make sure that
we won’t be attacked.
The
harsh reality is that in our rebellion of wanting to be in control, we are
simply not built this way. We don’t have
what it takes to be God. We can’t defend
ourselves from the Evil One. We don’t
have the wisdom to find the green pasture land and we certainly are unable to
die for our own sins. God forgive us for
trying to be in control and for trying to be shepherds when we are simply
sheep.
You,
who have ears, hear this. The good news
of the Gospel is that we can take comfort and rest in the fact that we are
sheep and that Jesus is our shepherd.
There is rest here my friends. We
get to be sheep!
We
can rest and take comfort because we belong to Jesus. We falter and run in the midst of attacks
when we try to be the shepherd, other false shepherds run when the going gets
tough but Jesus shares with us that when the wolves come that He will not run
and He will not forsake you. In Matthew
28 Jesus says that He will never leave you nor forsake you, that He will be
with us to the end of the age. We belong
to Jesus and that is the reason why He lays His life down for you.
Jesus
is the True Shepherd for us. He did not
come to be served by us sheep but to serve us and give His life for a ransom
for many. Think about this for a moment. What is the purpose of a shepherd in the
first place? A shepherd is there for the
sheep. A hired hand is there for the
paycheck, but the main shepherd is there because the sheep belong to Him. He is invested in them. He knows them. He cares for them. The sheep know the shepherds voice.
God’s
love for you is shown to us clearly in the giving of Jesus. The very fact that Jesus was given to serve,
ransom, claim, redeem and rescue you and I from our sin and our own attempts at
trying to be the shepherd brings about our confession of, “I’m not the shepherd. I confess
that I want to be in control, but I now realize that I can’t and I deceive
myself into believing that I can. God
thank you that you know what you are doing.
Thank you for the good Shepherd that comes to me and rescues me from my
own attempts of control. Thank you Jesus
that you are good. Thank you that you
are in control and that you are leading me beside still waters. Thank you that you restore my soul. Thank you that you lead me in paths of righteousness
for your name sake. Thank you that you
are with me and that your rod and your staff comfort me. Thank you that you protect me from the Evil
One. Thank you that you give your life
for me.”
The
reality of it is that we belong to Jesus that we are His sheep and that He is
our Shepherd. He leads us through the
Word. We are sanctified by the Holy
Spirit through the Word. He washes us in
our baptism. He feeds us in His Holy
Supper. He rebukes us through the
Law. He mends our wounds through the
Gospel.
As
we journey in this Christian life we will continually attempt to say to God, “Let me be the shepherd. Shouldn’t I take the lead for a while? Maybe I should be in control here!” All along we can be thankful that He bears
with us. When we wander He follows us.
He keeps calling us by name, showing us with gentleness how foolish we are in
trying to lead.
We
cannot forget though that the most important and the most essential thing for
us to ponder as a sheep of Jesus is that our shepherd lays down His life. He lays down His life for the safety and
welfare of His flock. Jesus holds us
tenderly in His arms, protecting us from everything that would destroy us. When sin, death and devil come charging at us
like a pack of hungry wolves to devour and steal us away, to confine us to the
hell we deserve, our Shepherd says, “Take
me. Take me instead. For I am the Good Shepherd. You will not touch them nor have any
authority over my sheep. They belong to me. I have promised to keep them safe. Take me instead, for I will gladly give
myself to you for the sake of my sheep.”
My
friends, it is a privilege to be a sheep.
We are Jesus’ sheep, we belong to Him.
He knows you. May we rest in the
Shepherd’s care.
The
peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus. Amen.
This sermon is indebted to the following sources:
-Letting Go Of Control (Alan Taylor)
-Why We Need A God (A Plea To Nihilistic Americans)
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