I Am the Good Shepherd

Fifth Wednesday in Lent

March 5, 2008

John 10:11

[Jesus said,] "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

This little statement, "I am the good shepherd," is jam-packed with meaning.

• Once again, Jesus tells us that He is God: "I Am." When He calls himself I Am, He reminds us that He is the God of Moses, and that He even existed eternally before Abraham.
• He uses the definite article, the. He is not a—He is not one of many. He is the—He is the only one. Only He is the Light. Only He is the Way and the Truth and the Life. Only He is I Am.
• Now, He tells us that He is good. This reminds us of how God made the world. God said, "Let there be," and for six days He made all that is visible and invisible, and He saw that it was good. God made everything good because He is good. Since Jesus is God, He has to be good.
• And, Jesus is a shepherd. But, He’s not a shepherd; He is The Good Shepherd—capital T, capital G, capital S.

There is so much to learn from today’s truth that it is like being faced with a stuffed-crust pizza: a guy just doesn’t know where to begin. So, let’s go to John chapter ten, where we find this I Am statement.

Now, John chapter ten follows John chapter nine, and I don’t say that to be funny. It is important to see this, because we need to see the context—what’s going on—when Jesus informs us that He is the Good Shepherd.

In John chapter nine, Jesus gave sight to a blind man. The Jews were beside themselves because Jesus had done this on the Sabbath and, for them, keeping the Sabbath holy meant a person didn’t do a good deed, even if a good deed were an obvious slap upside the head.

The blind man believed in Jesus and worshiped Him. The Pharisees kept on pestering Him. Then, Jesus makes another one of those statements that is sure to get Him killed: "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains." As the young people like to say: Ooh, snap! Right in their face.

And, Jesus just keeps on talking: "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber."—the Pharisees

might not get it, but He’s talking about them—"The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep."

Now, lest I should rob from my upcoming Good Friday sermon, but Jesus is the gate, and His death on the cross is the gateway for His sheep—those who follow Him—to have eternal life. Let’s just keep that between us for the next two weeks.

Jesus continues to harangue the Pharisees: "All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. . . . The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy . . ."

The Pharisees were, indeed, thieves and destroyers. They took God’s true religion and turned it upside down. They were led by God, for hundreds of years, and shown by God that He does the hard work. He protects and defends against enemies. He answers prayers. He feeds, even when there is no source of food. He clears out the Promised Land so that His people can rest in it.

The Pharisees flipped it over. They taught that people have to try harder, and pray better, and worship holier, and do everything to make God happy so that they could deserve God’s blessings. That’s why Jesus called them blind; they couldn’t see their own history or God’s goodness.

Indeed, the whole world shows us that it is blind. Every single religion, which humans create, is the same as that of the Pharisees. Every single religion tells you to do this, do that, and hope like crazy that you did enough.

To the Pharisees, and to every person who practices a religion in which the sheep are told to be their own shepherd, Jesus declares, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

Why the image of a shepherd? Why not a king, who rules a kingdom? Why not a farmer, who grows good things? Why not a carpenter, who builds a house?

Why a shepherd? Because, a shepherd leads, and a shepherd feeds. A shepherd guides, and a shepherd guards. A shepherd watches over all one hundred sheep. And, if ninety-nine are safe, a shepherd will risk his life for the sake of the one that has strayed from the fold.

Shepherds go about their work, out in the wild, with no one paying attention to them. Their friends are their sheep; the shepherd is the sheep’s best friend. Shepherds get in no one’s

way. Shepherds don’t do anything to grab the spotlight. Shepherds aren’t even particularly admired. Can you hear your Lord Jesus in all of this?

Why does Jesus choose sheep and not cows, or some other animal? Cows have to be driven. A cow will not be led; you have to poke and prod it. But, sheep? Sheep follow. A sheep can be led. Sheep learn their shepherd’s voice. Sheep listen to it, and go where it calls.

Sheep need an awful lot of attention. The same cliff, back from which the shepherd drove them, yesterday? Today, they will head right back there. The same poison weed, which the shepherd kept them from eating, this morning? Tomorrow, they will sniff at it and start to chomp away. Can you hear your sinful self in all of this?

Jesus tells us that He is a shepherd because He will not drive us to faith. He leads us to faith. If we stray, He goes looking for us. If we do something harmful to ourselves, He forgives us. If we get attacked by an evil foe, He protects and defends us.

When the sheep cannot defend themselves from the big bad wolf—the three-headed monster: death, devil, and damnation—The Good Shepherd takes the whole flock into His hands by laying down His life for them.

He lays down His life. He dies on the cross. And, because He defeated the big bad wolf—death, devil, and damnation—He is able to take His life back up, again.

Now He is the resurrected and living Good Shepherd—the only one of His kind. Now, He calls to the people of the world and gathers to Himself a sheepfold: "I know my sheep and my sheep know me . . . they will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."

I Am is your Good Shepherd. He called you by name in the blessed water of Baptism. He calls your name with His holy absolution. He calls you to His altar to feed you upon the body and blood that He lay down for you.

I hate to spoil a nice ending, but listen to how many of the Jews reacted to this sermon of Jesus: "Many of them said, ‘He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?’"

By God’s grace, through His gift of faith, you don’t accuse Jesus of being demon-possessed, or question if He is raving mad. By God’s grace, through the gift of faith, you hear the voice of His One and Only Son: "I Am . . . The Good Shepherd."

And, for eternal life, you listen. Amen.