Misericordias Domini - The Second Sunday after Easter, 2014. John 10:11-16. I Am the Good Shepherd

Thomas Cole, Detail from the Good Shepherd,
his last painting. Note the cross on the sheep,
which is being led by the Shepherd to the distant flock.

Misericordias Domini – The Second Sunday after Easter, 2014

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10AM Central Time

The Hymn #628            Shepherd of Tender Youth               3:74

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn # 426               The Lord My Shepherd Is            3:81

The Good Shepherd

The Communion Hymn # 307            Draw Nigh                3:72

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #50                 Lord Dismiss Us                3:86

Second Sunday After Easter

Lord God, heavenly Father, who of Thy fatherly goodness hast been mindful of us poor, miserable sinners, and hast given Thy beloved Son to be our shepherd, not only to nourish us by His word, but also to defend us from sin, death, and the devil: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that, even as this Shepherd doth know us and succor us in every affliction, we also may know Him, and, trusting in Him, seek help and comfort in Him, from our hearts obey His voice, and obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV 1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himselfto him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

KJV John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Three of Luther’s sermons on this text:

Misericordias Domini. Second Sunday After Easter. John 10:11-16. Christ’s Office and Kingdom; or How Christ is the True Shepherd
Second Sermon: Preachers, Civil Authorities, and the Knowledge of Christ
Third Sermon: The Good Shepherd and his Sheep; or Christ’s Person, Office and Rulership

Thomas Cole, The Destruction of Empire

The Good Shepherd

Introduction

This was the text when I went to a Lutheran worship service for the first time. I had been at my family's church across the street - Disciples of Christ. Although the Disciples church was supposedly non-liturgical, they used the same order of worship each Sunday, each part called The Ritual of...

They did not use any creeds and they passed Communion through the pews - elements which they called purely symbolic.

They practiced adult baptism only.

The minister was proto-Church-Growth. He was the chaplain of the fire department and once came to church on a fire truck, wearing his white chaplain's firefighter's helmet. He was known for marrying and burying "everyone in town." The personality cult around him disguised the emptiness of his sermons, which were really little entertainment pieces.

In contrast, the former Augustana and soon-to-be ELCA congregation was liturgical, with the liturgy often chanted by seminarians from nearby Augustana Seminary. The seminary merged into the Chicago seminary (LSTC). That seminary is now failing, like several others in ELCA.

The Lutheran sermons at Salem were Biblical and the hymns were usually Lutheran, long on the Scandinavian side and rather short on the German heritage. The Disciples hymns that I considered sung to death were absent at Salem (In the Garden - a good hymn, but every Sunday at the Disciples church?).

Salem Lutheran had a large youth group that met often, using the hymnal for liturgical services. My English teacher was in charge of catechism. Children had to memorize the Small Catechism and repeat it to her, in stages, before they entered confirmation class. A typical confirmation class had 50 or 60 students in those years.

And now - skipping over ELCA - the "conservative" Lutheran synods promote the Disciples approach to Sunday worship:

1. Anti-liturgy.
2. Anti-Creed.
3. Anti-Sacrament.
4. Entertainment.
5. Personality cult.
6. Sermons plagiarized from the worst of the Pente-Evangelicals.
7. Holier than ELCA but working with pro-abortion pro-gay ELCA, two agendas that were never even considered at Salem in Moline.

KJV John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

This verse - by itself - says so much.

I AM - this is not simply identification, but Jesus revealing Himself as the I AM of the Burning Bush in Exodus 3. He is God, the Word Incarnate. The I AM sermons in John (unique to the Fourth Gospel) are special messages to us about Jesus and His relationship to the Father. Likewise, when Jesus said "I AM" to the frightened disciples when He walked on the water, He was not saying, "It's me," but "I AM God."

The Good Shepherd is also a special construction. Literally, it is "I AM the Shepherd the Good." Sometimes we use constructions like that in English - Frederick the Wise, Pippin the Bald.

The word for good here is stronger in Greek - noble. In this combination it means:

• The Ultimate Shepherd, or
• The Unique Shepherd, or
• The Shepherd above all shepherds.

We have used the Good Shepherd so much in English that everyone knows what that means, and no hip translation can replace what is familiar to us through readings, paintings, and stained glass.

We see in religious art the Shepherd guiding His flock with His staff (Psalm 23) or holding a lamb in His Arms (Isaiah 40).

Norma Boecker - The Good Shepherd

The second part of the verse defines what it means for Jesus to be the Good Shepherd - He gives His life for the sheep.

The unifying aspect of the Shepherd and Isaiah 53 can be seen in the conversion of the Ethiopian. The passage in Acts emphasizes both the study of the Word and also the need for oral proclamation of the Word.

Acts 8:26-40

King James Version (KJV)

26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

The preaching of the Gospel is the proclamation of the Atonement, which was predicted as early as Genesis 3:15 and clearly taught in Isaiah 53. However, the Word of God requires teachers who know its exact meaning, without watering it down or changing it.

The message of the Atonement is simply this. Jesus died for the sins of the world. This sermon - who can believe our report? (Isaiah 53, Romans 10) - plants and sustains faith in the hearts of those who listen attentively to it. Some scoff and do not listen. Others listen and believe for a short time. Others listen and remain in faith until they build idols in their hearts to worship - in place of God. The last group can disguise themselves within the visible church as believers, but their actions and decisions betray their lack of faith.

12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

The hired hand has no ownership, so he runs away from his responsibility and lets the wolves scatter and devour the sheep. Look at what has happened among the Lutherans, whether they are labeled liberal or conservative. They all have the same message of Universalism (everyone forgiven and saved), the same attitude of Anything Goes! - unless someone questions Holy Mother Synod.

Remember Salem, was Augustana (Augsburg Confession) and now ELCA - where I first experienced liturgical worship? They remain in ELCA and do not even mention the travail caused by the radicals. Another congregation in Moline (Faith) left ELCA with their property. But not Salem.

Shepherd of Peace in Columbus, Ohio, WELS - We used The Lutheran Hymnal when I was there. One member handed a packet of my articles to the next pastor - all of them against Church Growth, saying, "This is why we joined here." Now the congregation is sponsoring Jeske's untalented music group, Koine, which charges $3,000 to show up - to wreck old hymns and sing their own wretched compositions. The son-in-law of a founder of Church and Change is the pastor now, and a rock band is being mentioned for future "worship."

The hired hand works for money and fears the loss of his income and security. The hired hand can be bought and owned for a pittance.

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 

This is a passage about the Invisible Church, the true Church. In all denominations and even outside of denominations, there are people who listen to the voice of the Shepherd. They believe in Jesus. They heard His voice, and they love to hear messages about Him. Jesus knows which sheep belong to Him, even if we do not. And His sheep know His voice and will listen to no other.

Knowing Jesus is the same as knowing the Father, because the Son knows the Father and the Father knows the Son. Faith in Jesus makes us bold, because we trust in the One who created the universe as the Creating Word - in harmony with the Father and the Spirit (Genesis 1, John 1). 

The Holy Trinity is more powerful than any synod, more than all the denominations put together - and yet people fear man-made synods and disregard the revelation of God in this passage.

Jesus laid down His life for the sheep. That means He redeemed us with His blood, so He created us and bought us both. That powerful relationship cannot be disowned unless we are willing to face terrible consequences.

In English class we just watched Voyage of the Dawn Treader - by C. S. Lewis. In the book and film, Eustace is obnoxious and self-centered. He finds a deserted area filled with gold and becomes enchanted by it. He wakes up to find himself a golden dragon that everyone fears and chases away. When danger looms, he flies away until called upon to do his duty. Repentance comes and he shows himself contrite by finally serving others rather than his own desires.

Too many have stretched themselves out on a bed of Thrivent gold or Schwan silver, only to wake up as dragons.

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Christ Jesus brings sheep into the fold - we do not. If we teach the Gospel as it is, without watering it down or sugar-coating it, the elect sheep hear His voice and come to hear more. 

But it is indeed ironic that the pastors (Latin for shepherd) know this and choose to use a secular voice, the voice of entertainment and fads, to invite people to share their utter lack of faith. And this works in some cases. An organization can grow without faith, but it soon becomes anti-Gospel, abusive, and self-centered. Robert Schuller was thoughtful enough to illustrate this in his "ministry" - and he rightly calls himself the father of Church Growth.

And even more ironic - that those who use the name Luther teach against Luther, against justification faith - and more importantly - against the Scriptures. They do so knowingly, because no power can displace them. They replace one criminal with another. They drive out true shepherds. They gather gold and silver from business and foundations and share it among themselves alone. 

Jesus never said the true Church would be enormous in size. Luther often mentioned, "The Gospel is thinly sown."

There is a hymn - Fear Not Little Flock - but there is no hymn called "Fear Not, Mega-Flock."