Misericordias Domini –
The Second Sunday after Easter, 2023
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Bethany Lutheran Church,
10AM Central Daylight Time
The Hymn #436 The Lord's My Shepherd
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
Introit
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord: by the word of the Lord were the heavens made. Psalm. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Collect
God, who by the humiliation of Thy Son didst raise up the fallen world, grant unto Thy faithful ones perpetual gladness, and those whom Thou hast delivered from the danger of everlasting death do Thou make partakers of eternal joys; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Then was the Lord Jesus known of the disciples: in the breaking of bread. Hallelujah!
V. I am the Good Shepherd: and know My sheep and am known of Mine. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #196 I Am Content
I AM the Good Shepherd
The Communion Hymn # 328 O Jesus Lamb of God Thou Art - CPE Bach
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
Prayers and Announcements
- Medical Care - Pastor James Shrader and his wife Chris, Kermit Way and his wife Maria Ellenberger Way, Callie and her mother Peggy, C., Pam in Phoenix is scheduled for very difficult surgery.
- Randy Anderson's CT scan was completely clear - great news!
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:
I AM the Good Shepherd
KJV John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Greek, the universal language at the time, phrases this unlike anything we have in English. It is literally "The Shepherd the Good" which means The Noble Shepherd - or - The Shepherd above All Shepherds.
I got into a discussion about German Shepherd dogs on Facebook. The owners (or rather - the staff) were agreed that their dogs terrified strangers but were very intelligent, gentle and very protective with children.
Jesus strikes many as terrifying because they do not know Him or believe in Him. Some people respond to Jesus by mocking His Two Natures, human and divine. They have all kinds of clever things to say, and they want to reduce the Savior to someone not as bright as they are.
A new/old book arrived that showed me how cleverly the Bible has been defamed in the last 150 years. I have 20+ books on this topic. The author of this book pointed out how easily the new Bibles were accepted, and how many denominations had a variety of translations they used without much fuss at all. The reason is - the battle was over. The corrupt Greek texts (fraudulent Sinaiticus and corrupt Vaticanus) - mixed in with Apostolic (Traditional, Received, Byzantine) Text - were easily passed off as "scholarly, the oldest, the best, the most accurate, the earliest" Greek New Testaments.
Jesus is the Unique Shepherd, the Shepherd above all human shepherds, unlike any human shepherd. This Sunday is called Shepherd Sunday because Jesus teaches us the true nature of being the Son of God. The Bible has around 500 references to shepherds and shepherding, and they point to this very special description - The Good Shepherd.
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.
The Good Shepherd gave up His life for His flock, those who believe in Him. Every Christian believer has a name. I was asked about this last week. I said, "The baptismal name is the one which stays with that person's soul into eternity." Question - "What about non-believers?" I said, as I often do, "I am sales, not management."
The hireling is there for the money, which we can often see, because they define their work with glory and glitter, the size of their parking lots and their endowment funds. One famous grandson wrecked his well known congregation and blamed it on his wife. No worry - he showed up later in another format, because he was and is a hireling.
The wolf, who represents all false teachers, slaughters and scatters the sheep, the first group gathering his funds for a great income, tenure, and the adoration of the foolish. The second group of wolves charge at the believers for the fun of it - destroying faith in Jesus Christ through mocking the Scriptures and boasting of their great knowledge.
One seminary professor had his adult son read from a ridiculous book called "The Shining Stranger" - supposedly from Harvard and written about Jesus. (secret author at the time) When I pointed out how ridiculous it was, in front of the graduate class, the professor was outraged - but never mentioned the book again. This author was the "first one ever to discover this special knowledge about Jesus." I asked, "Really? Nobody had a clue about Jesus, century after century, until NOW?" Book readings stopped and nothing more was said.
13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
The hirelings do not stay to protect the flock but run away, because they have no love for the flock. That is why so many giant churches evaporate, almost overnight. In contrast, the Apostle Paul met with all kinds of threats and tumult, and was always in anguish over the constant threats of false teachers and their false doctrine.
14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
The Son of God knows each and every one of His flock, and His own know Him. In the past, when I was asked to give the sermon at a liberal (apostate) church, the believers would nod their heads in agreement and the council members would frown and fold their arms. My divisive message was about the truth of the inerrant, infallible Scriptures.
This should always be in our minds - Jesus knows us and works through the Word to keep us in the flock. The Holy Spirit, through the Word, condemns unbelief in Jesus (John 16). The Spirit through the Word (Isaiah 55)
- Always accomplishes God's Word
- Never returns void, empty.
- Always prospers His purpose.
Those two passages are the bedrock of Christian life.
- John 16 teaches that unbelief in Jesus is the foundational sin.
- Isaiah 55 teaches that God's Word always accomplishes and prospers God's Word. The verification is - "never returns empty," a double negative that forms a 100% positive.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
The Father-Son relationship is 100%. There is no gap in the Father's love and grace toward us, no gap in the power of Jesus the Son of God in helping us.
When our skepticism and doubts try to take over and win the battle, we have to return to these passages - which teach faith in Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd, the Son of God. We know and trust that we could never get to the steps of the pearly gates, but the Lamb of God has exchanged His righteousness for our sins.
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.
We should always remember that this little group of followers were isolated in a corner of the failing Roman Empire. The more they were hated, scattered, and killed, the more they grew. No other ancient work has a fraction of the copies of their works as we have of the New Testament. Translations were made and various publications were preserved so we have from 5 to 8 thousand copies, all proving how important the Bible was for people of all races and languages. And these Apostolic Texts agree with only a handful of exceptions (which include Sinaiticus and Vaticanus).
The missionaries were often translators, like William Tyndale, who insisted that everyone should hear the Voice of Jesus in their own language. The powerful clergy and king tried to silence him by arresting and killing him, but they found the Word of God was more powerful than the British Empire, the King, and her clergy.
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| The KJV is roughly 75% Tyndale's work. |
