4 Easter, Year B

"LOOKING AT THE GOOD SHEPHERD"
A sermon written by The Rev. Gene Tucker, and read by Lay Worship Leader, Barney Bruce, at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, May 3, 2009
Acts 4: 23 – 37; Psalm 23; I John 3: 1 – 8; John 10: 1 – 16

“I am the good shepherd.”

In case you’ve noticed, but are wondering, let me confirm that this Sunday is informally known as “Good Shepherd Sunday”.

The hymns chosen for this Sunday, as well as Psalm 23, make the conclusion a certainty.

In addition to the hymns and the Psalm, we hear this very familiar passage of John’s gospel account, which bring us Jesus’ statement, “I am the good shepherd” (heard not once, but twice, in verse 11 and then again in verse 14)….Jesus really wants us to get the point that He is the good shepherd!

You may have noticed that I’ve lengthened the gospel reading for the day, beginning at verse one of John, chapter 10. The reason is that it makes good sense to begin by hearing Jesus’ entire teaching about shepherds, flocks, sheep folds, and false leaders (called hired hands in this passage).

Jesus’ discourse is given in response to the actions of His adversaries, the Pharisees. For the Pharisees (in chapter nine) have just questioned Jesus’ actions in healing a blind man.

For their failure to see God at work in the healing of the man born blind, Jesus lumps the Pharisees in with the hired hand who seek only their own interest, and not the interest of God’s people, the flock.

So, now that we have set the stage for today’s teaching, let’s look at the ways Jesus examines His role as the good shepherd for the people of God, God’s flock. We will do so in the order in which our Lord examines the idea in the text itself. And, as we go, we will note some of the connections to other passages in John’s gospel account, for there are many connections to other parts of this gospel:

The authority of the shepherd: Jesus takes on His accusers, the Pharisees, right from the beginning of the teaching…..Saying that the one who does not enter by the gate of the sheep fold is a “thief and a robber”, we see that Jesus brands as false the leaders of his day, who use stealth to gain control of the flock. Thus, they do not hold their authority by proper means nor by proper actions.

But continuing on a little further, we notice that real shepherd of the sheep enters by the proper means, by the gate. And, this shepherd is allowed to hold his position because the watchman allows him to assume it. Presumably, here, Jesus is the shepherd because God the Father has sent Him to fulfill this role. God the Father probably equates to the watchman.

Echoing God the Father’s trust in Jesus, we read these words elsewhere in John, “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.” (John 3: 35)

A shepherd who leads the flock: In our own culture, we are used to seeing images of shepherds who drive their flocks. In ancient times in Palestine, just the opposite was true: shepherds led their flocks.

Thus, the shepherd precedes the flock, a theme which will be taken up again in chapter 14, where Jesus says, “I am going to prepare a place for you, that where I am, you may be also.” (John 14: 2b – 3)

Shepherd and flock know each other: The next thing we notice is that shepherd and flock know each other. Jesus says, “He (the shepherd) calls his own sheep by name and leads them out….and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” (John 10: 3b, 4b)

Jesus underscores this “mutual knowing” again in chapter 17, where we read, “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they (all believers – the flock) know that you have sent me.” (John 17: 25)

Jesus is the gate: Jesus now turns the image slightly, saying, “I am the gate for the sheep.” (verse 7)

Earlier, He said that He was the shepherd because He had entered by the gate. Now, He builds on His earlier statement, saying that He Himself is the gate to the sheep fold.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life,” we read in John 14: 6. This statement is quite similar in its understanding to the idea here, “I am the gate”.

Jesus makes clear that He is the way by which the flock leaves the fold, seeking pasture.

The shepherd lays down his life for the sheep: Jesus now contrasts the good shepherd’s actions with those of the hired hands….The good shepherd puts the flock’s welfare ahead of his own.

The hired hand does just the opposite: he runs away at the presence of danger.

The selflessness of the good shepherd contrasts sharply with the self-centered, selfish actions of the false shepherd, who is “in it” only for his own betterment (money).

Jesus mourned the spiritual condition of the Jewish people. In Matthew 9: 36, we read that “When He saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Other sheep, not of this fold: Jesus now says that He has “other sheep, not of this fold”.

Jesus seems to be looking ahead here…..Quite likely, those “other sheep” are the non-Jewish people to whom the gospel will be taken in years to come.

Most likely it’s the gospel’s spread to the Gentile world that is in view here, especially when we remember that Jesus also talked about “leading the sheep out of the fold”.

Two final comments are worth making here, before we leave this text:

Sheep and shepherd exist for each other: The images of sheep and shepherd are ones that go together.

Without the shepherd, there would be no flock. Without sheep, there is no need for a shepherd.

The flock will be gathered by the shepherd, and so there will be “one flock, one shepherd” (verse 16)

Jesus will pick the theme of “one flock” up again in chapter 17, where we hear Him pray, “My prayer is not for them (the original disciples) alone. I pray also for those who will believe through their message, that all of them may be one.” (John 17: 21)

The shepherd is a servant – leader: The image of God as shepherd to His people is an ancient one. In Psalm 80, verse one, we read, “Hear, O shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock,”, and in our Psalm for today, we begin with “The Lord is my shepherd.”

And yet, in biblical times, a shepherd was a lower – class person, a person who engaged in an occupation that wasn’t highly thought of.

We forget that aspect of shepherding, don’t we? The shepherd is part of the “servant class” of society.

The image of Jesus as the shepherd who gathers the flock and leads them, is combined with the image of the shepherd who serves the flock, even to the point of sacrificing Himself for the flock.

Jesus is the leader of the flock, and yet is its servant.

Jesus is the shepherd who leads by the authority of God the Father, who enters by the gate that the watchman opens.

Jesus is the gate by which the flock leaves the sheep fold. Jesus is the “way, the truth, and the life”.

Jesus is the point-of-unity for the flock. Jesus’ leadership makes the flock’s existence possible.

Thanks be to God, the sender of the good shepherd, Jesus Christ.

AMEN.