Misericordias Domini –
The Second Sunday after Easter, 2020
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
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 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
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #426 The Lord My Shepherd Is
Giving His Life
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
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
Prayers and Announcements
- Treatment and recovery - Rush Limbaugh, Kermit Way, Christina Jackson. Recovery - John Hicks.
- Stable - Tom Fulcher, Diane Popp's brother-in-law.
- Treatment and recovery - Randy Anderson, Andrea's father.
- Pray for our country as the major trials continue. And help all those suffering from economic difficulties.
- Greek Class - Wednesday, 7 PM.
- The Bethany Lutheran Hymnal texts are finished soon. All the hymns will have their own pages. Norma A. Boeckler is providing art for them. Typo alerts are welcome.
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 himself to 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
Background for the Sermon on John 10 - The Good Shepherd
This I AM sermon is based upon the common experiences of people in New Testament times. Very few people today have first-hand experiences with sheep. Overall, they are quite meek, though they protect their young. Sheep follow sheep, so one animal facing the corner of a pen will make the rest of them face the same way and not move. They cannot be moved around but stubbornly stay in the same position. I know from being involved in a sheep logjam on our friend's sheep farm.
Sheep usually follow the shepherd, but they also wander. A German professor, H. Thielicke, said the Law is like the sheepdog, nipping at our heels when we go astray and do not follow the Shepherd. Anyone with a Sheltie or Border Collie or Cattle Dog knows what it is like to be shepherded with nibbles, barks, and rapid canine direction.
The topic of shepherd, sheep, and shepherding comes up 500 times in the Bible. The beauty of this parable is that the Good Shepherd is far more than a shepherd. The ordinary shepherd does not give up his life for the sheep. That is only true of Jesus.
KJV John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
This chapter of John contains so much for us to know, remember, and keep us calm. In other words, the Good News is the opposite of The News, which is designed to fool, manipulate, and unsettle us.
This is one of many I AM sermons, giving us the meaning of God's Name - I AM - but using apposition. I AM is a statement by itself - from Exodus 3, the Angel of the Lord (the Son) speaking His Name to Moses. "Tell them I AM sent you."
The Name of God invokes the power of God, which is why we should use the divine names only in prayer or praise. Why did the Pharaoh give in to Moses so many times? The Name of God had the power to move him, though he relented and found out the price of rebelling against God's commands.
Secondly, the description following is a special construction, and we do not have the equivalent in English. The words literally mean "the Shepherd the Noble," which in English means -
- The Ultimate Shepherd, or
- The Shepherd above all shepherds.
But we know from its unique place in the Bible that "I AM the Good Shepherd" expresses it well. Better -
I AM - The Good Shepherd.
The ecclesiastical equivalent is the name followed by the man's work done in the church - Rodney - The Bishop of York. The New Testament title "bishop" means "supervisor" in Greek, and "pastor" is Latin for "shepherd."
the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
This is what makes Jesus the Shepherd above all shepherds, He gave His life for the sheep. The mention of Jesus as the Shepherd should remind us of so many references in the Old Testament.
- He shall feed His flock, like a shepherd. Isaiah 40
- The suffering of the servant, like a sheep being killed. Isaiah 53.
- The sheep's perspective in Psalm 23.
- The substitute for Isaac in Genesis 22.
All these references are part of one, unified, harmonious Truth in describing Jesus as the Savior.
In the first verses of John 10, Jesus warned about hired hands, thieves, the typical shepherd, and the door.
The door was an opening into the sheepfold, where several flocks were kept together at night for safety. The guard filled in the opening so nothing could get by without him noticing. When a shepherd came to lead his sheep to pasture in the morning, he entered by the door and called his sheep by name. They knew his voice and followed him.
Thieves and robbers would not enter by the door but climb over the wall to steal the flock. The famous "Waltzing Matilda" song in Australia involves a stolen sheep and the constables -
(Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong,
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda, with me.")
John 10:1ff. and
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 first part of the parable teaches us that Jesus is the only way, the door of the sheep pen. So it begins with the normal work of the shepherd, distinguishing them from the frauds who only steal and kill, and the hired hands who do nothing to protect the sheep from the wolves.
Thus it is no surprise in the Age of Apostasy that the leaders would praise the hired hands and denounce anyone "upsetting the sheep" about false doctrine. The source of many great books in The Lutheran Library is an earlier age - General Council, Augustana Synod, Iowa and Ohio Synods. They are gathered up into the outrageous, truly anti-Christian ELCA, with LCMS-WELS happily working with them. So how this horrible destruction of The Lutheran Church take place? It was managed, directed, and guided by thieves who stole all the assets for themselves, robbers who murdered souls and scattered the membership.
No matter what is happening, there is still the one, unique, Good Shepherd. If someone is not a believer, the Shepherd's voice is harsh and discordant. But once the Atonement is taught, the Gospel message changes anger and refusal into trust and love.
As I have said many times, if I am speaking to a crowd - say at a wedding - the Gospel moves people to nod their heads in agreement. But it also makes others frown and cross their arms in a stance of refusal and anger. The Gospel is the Shepherd's voice and the truth comes from Him alone.
The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
Those who want to water down the message and add a sugar coating - they appeal to the non-believers while making the believers frown and wonder about the message. But don't worry - these wolves have a manual about boiling frogs. If the temperature is raised on the stove just a little at a time, the frog will stay in the kettle and be boiled alive. This shows the author is as dumb as the people who read the book with admiration.
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| A pastor gave this to a member to read, which is like saying, "We are going to boil you." |
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| We approve Barna's Fuller Seminary message. |
14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
This is a wonderful, loving, and comforting message from the Savior. He knows who the believers are, so He leads them in His flock, with many under-shepherds or pastors.
There are many different helpers on earth who aid, from organists who play the hymns to publishers who provide good books, from those who provide audio proclamations to those who take the Gospel into pagan areas. Hymns are enhanced by music and by art.
I remember two young laymen who asked about this. The Gospel belongs to Him alone, and yet He gives us the privilege of sharing it and seeing the Word at work, both in converting and hardening, enlightening and hardening.
Luther:
2. The Jews indeed heard this parable and sermon of Christ, but did not understand it at all, as the context declares. It sounded altogether too strange in their ears that he alone should be the true shepherd, and yet he was in the act of laying down his life for his sheep. What kind of a shepherd, think they, was this to be, who would die and give his life for the sheep? Can that be called guarding and keeping the sheep?
The context is familiar, but the concept was strange and alien. This marks the departure. Christianity had a solid base in Israel, because all the Promises were in the Old Testament Scriptures. But those who saw salvation in their own DNA (We have Abraham for our father) could not see it in faith - true children of Abraham, Justification by Faith in the Messianic Promises.
This is the same division as salvation by the Gospel - Faith, or by the Law - Works. Strangely, Lutherans who know better cite their synodical history and families, not the Gospel Promises.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
This parable also teaches us why Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Working in perfect harmony with the Father, Jesus lay down His life for us. That means, because of His two natures, that He listens with the perspective of having been tempted, suffering, and dying for us.
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.
The method is clearly explained. The Voice of Christ, which is heard in the Gospels and Gospel teaching, calls them into the one flock, the Christian Church. Pastor and Mrs. Jordan Palangyos took the Gospel to their own people, their language, Ilocano.
Parents take Jesus to their children by baptizing them with water and the Word - the Savior's Voice.
There is only one flock - those who sincerely believe in the death of Jesus for their sins and His resurrection from the dead. Those who want to equivocate, hem and haw, change and improve, deny and reject - they do not belong to the flock. They may great wealth and power or many academic and theological degrees. But if they do not trust in the Promises as children do, they do not belong to the Christian Church.
And this Voice of Jesus must be renewed in our minds and strengthened through trial and Biblical study. The power remains, but if we separate ourselves from the True Vine, the Word of forgiveness no longer reaches us and our faith fades away.
Those who find that fading away - for many different reasons - only need to read the Gospel of John to understand how simple (and yet profound) that Gospel is. What better way to learn again the meaning of Jesus from the disciple He loved, the one He entrusted His mother's care to, when He was dying on the cross.
So many sermons of Jesus are preserved in the Gospel of John. I was studying it years ago, and I thought, "It's all here. The foundational work of the Church is to condemn the sin of unbelief. in Him. John 16:8ff. The mysterious verses became the lighthouse verses in the storm of conflicting dogmas.
The lighthouse is not there to guide ships as much as it is to warn the captains about the rocky shoals that would destroy the ships, ruin the cargo, and drown the crew and passengers.
The great and wise do not want anyone warned, I suppose, so they can collect the debris along the shore.
