april 30 2023
April 30th 2023, Easter 4
First Reading: Acts 2:42-47
Psalm: Psalm 23
Epistle: 1st Peter 2:19-25
Gospel: John 10:1-10 (11-16)
Sermon Text: John 10
Sermon Title: “The Good Shepherd”
Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
“A stranger, they will not follow … for they do not know the voice of strangers”. (John 10:5b) “I am the door, if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved”. (John 10:9a) “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy, I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep”. (John 10:10-11) “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree”. (1st Peter 2:24a) “The Lord is My shepherd”. (Psalm 23:1)
Last Sunday we heard many Old Testament prophesies of the coming Christ/Messiah; prophesies of His birth, life, death, miracles and bodily resurrection. One that we did not hear was the 23rd Psalm, which speaks of the Lord as a shepherd who leads, feeds, guides and instructs His people throughout their lives; even “in the presence of our enemies … (even) through the valley of the shadow of death … that we may dwell in the house of the Lord forever”. (Psalm 23:4a, 6b)
In the Gospel text this morning, Jesus calls Himself “the shepherd of the sheep … the sheep hear His voice and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out … the sheep follow Him because they know His voice … they do not know the voice of strangers”. (John 10:2b-5) Interestingly, this is how Luther defined the church, “as little sheep who hear the voice of their shepherd”. (Smalcald Articles, 12) (So, we will sing the hymn “I am Jesus’ Little Lamb” to close the service today.)
If one is going to listen to the voice of the shepherd, one must know where to go to hear it. The voice of Jesus is found in the Bible; the Holy Scriptures; in the preaching of the Gospel. Therefore, when we read the Word of God and listen to sound teaching/preaching, we are hearing the voice of the Lord, our Shepherd; who is the only door by which we can be saved. He came “that we may have life and have it abundantly”. (John 10:10c)
On the other hand, if what we are hearing contradicts the Bible, we know for certain it is not the voice of our Good Shepherd, but rather the voice of the one who came “to steal, kill, and destroy”. (John 10:10b) It is the voice of the “foe” we just sang about in the sermon hymn; “who madly seeks our overthrow”.
Therefore, part of the job of earthly shepherds/pastors, according to our Lutheran Confessions, is to “ward off the wolves … to censure those who contradict it (the Good Shepherd’s voice) and teach other doctrines”. (Solid Declaration, Intro. Par. 14) As the Lord said through the prophet Ezekiel, “Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, you shall give them warning from Me … If you give them no warning … in order to save his life … his blood I will require at your hand”. (Ezekiel 3:17b-18)
Now, in addition to being called the Good Shepherd, Jesus is given many other names and titles throughout the Bible that describe His person and work. He is called, Savior and Redeemer, Son of God and Son of Man; Immanuel, and many others. His name Jesus means “the Lord saves” and the title Christ means “anointed One” or “Messiah”.
Beginning today and continuing next Sunday, we will study the doctrine of the second person of the Trinity, and His saving work, according to Scriptures and the Small Catechism, where Luther further instructs us in what we need to know about our Lord Jesus Christ using the Second Article of the Apostle’s Creed.
There, we confess “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from all eternity and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary is my Lord; who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood, and innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own, live under Him in His Kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness”. (What Does This Mean? Second Article, Small Catechism)
There is so much to learn (to love) about Jesus, that it would literally take weeks of sermons or several hours of Bible study just to get a basic knowledge of this Second Article. (We will be studying it in greater detail in the adult Bible class beginning next week.) Luther wrote, “I must still read and study the Catechism daily, and yet I cannot master it as I wish; but I must remain a child pupil … and I do so gladly”. (Preface to the Large Catechism, par. 8) “The entire Gospel which we preach depends on the proper understanding of this article. Upon it, our salvation and blessedness is based and it is so rich and broad, that we can never learn it fully”. (Large Catechism, Second Article, par. 33)
Of course, the Small Catechism leads us directly into the Scriptures and is itself rich in Scriptural examples. So, we begin today by speaking of the two natures of Christ, that He is both true God as well as true man for all eternity. We will show this clearly from the Holy Word of God.
We heard this in our Gospel text this morning. Jesus claims to be the “door of the sheep” and “the Good Shepherd”; (John 10:7b, 11a) identifying Himself as the Lord and shepherd mentioned in the 23rd Psalm and elsewhere in the Old Testament. But He is also clearly true man; for Jesus said, “The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep”. (John 10:11b) Peter wrote in the Epistle, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree”. (1st Peter 2:24a)
The question is asked, “How do you know that Jesus Christ is true God”? First of all, Jesus has divine names in the Bible. The Apostle Thomas calls Him; “My Lord and my God”. (John 20:28) The Apostle Peter confessed Him as “the Christ, the Son of the living God”. (Matthew 16:16b) The Apostle John wrote “Jesus Christ; He is the true God and eternal life”. (1st John 5:20b) The Apostle Paul also wrote “in Him the fulness of God was pleased to dwell”. (Colossians 1:19)
Second, according to Holy Scripture, Jesus possesses divine attributes or qualities. He is eternal as John recorded, “In the beginning was the Word”. (John 1:1a) According to the author of Hebrews, He is unchangeable; “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, and today, and forever”. (Hebrews 13:8)
He is almighty and present everywhere, for Jesus said of Himself, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me” and Lo, I am with you always even to the close of the age”. (Matthew 28:18, 20) He is also all knowing as Peter declares; “Lord, you know everything”. (John 21:17a) He told the woman at the well, “everything she ever did”. (John 4:29b)
Third, Jesus does divine works, works that only God can do. Jesus forgives sins; saying to the paralytic, “the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins”. (Matthew 9:6a) Jesus is also creator for “all things were created through Him and for Him”. (Colossians 1:16b) He will “judge the living and the dead”. (2nd Timothy 4:1a) All of the miracles and signs that Jesus did also point to His divine nature; from turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana to rising from the dead on the third day. Jesus also accepted worship as God from both man and angels.
The next question asked is “How do you know that Jesus Christ is true man”? Again, the Word of God calls Him a man. Paul wrote, “There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”. (1st Timothy 2:5) John also said “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. (John 1:14a) After His resurrection, Jesus said to the disciples, “See My hands and My feet … for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have”. (Luke 24:39)
Jesus also experienced things that only humans experience. Scripture declares; “After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry”. (Matthew 4:2) When He came to the tomb of Lazarus, “Jesus wept”. (John 11:35) When suffering for us on the cross Jesus said, “I thirst”. (John 19:28b) When fishing with the disciples, Jesus was “in the stern (of the boat) asleep on a cushion”. (Mark 8:38a)
As the writer of Hebrews proclaims, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our (human) weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as we are; yet without sin”. (Hebrews 4:15) Jesus was also “born of a woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4a); suffered for our sins on the cross, died, and was buried. In these and many other ways, Jesus’ humanity is testified of in the Bible.
The divine and human natures are united in Jesus Christ. This is called the “personal union”; it began when Jesus became man/incarnate and continues forever into eternity. But why? Why was it necessary that Jesus to be true man? First, it was in order to keep the law of God perfectly and fulfill it for us; “for by one man’s obedience, many will be made righteous”. (Romans 5:19b) This is called Jesus’ active obedience.
Second, He became man in order that He might suffer and die for our sin and guilt in not keeping the law of God; “for whoever keeps the whole law, but fails in one point, is guilty of all of it”. (James 2:10) But Christ “has now reconciled you in His body of flesh, by His death”. (Colossians 1:22a) “The Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep”. (John 10:11b) This is called Jesus’ passive obedience.
Why was it necessary for Jesus to be true God? Christ had to be true God so that He might keep the law perfectly and be the perfect sacrifice for our sins on the cross. As Paul described it, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us”. (Galatians 3:13) Peter also declared, “We were ransomed … with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without spot or blemish”. (1st Peter 1:18-19)
Christ also had to be true God in order to overcome death and the devil for us and our salvation. Again, the Word of God says “God will swallow up death forever” (Isaiah 25:8a) and “death is swallowed up in victory”. (1st Corinthians 15:54b) Through His death, “He destroyed the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil”. (Hebrews 2:14b) “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory (over sin, death, and the devil) through our Lord Jesus Christ”. (1st Corinthians 15:57)
Thanks be to our Good Shepherd, “who laid down His life for (us) His sheep” (John 10:15b); “who was delivered up for our trespasses and was raised for our justification”. (Romans 4:25) Thanks be to God who gives us all we need to support this body and life and who promises His people, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”. (Psalm 23:6) Amen.
We will continue our study of the Second Article of the Creed; of Jesus who is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6a) next Sunday from John 14.
The peace of God …