Pastor Timothy Patoka Good Shepherd Sunday: April 22, 2018 The Good Shepherd Cares For His Sheep John 10:11-18 1) Jesus will not abandon his sheep when danger comes 2) Jesus and his sheep know each other well Growing up my brother and I had a pet dog named Gastogne who was half basset hound and half beagle. He was a lot of fun and was a hound through and through. It was always a struggle to go on a walks with him because he was always sniffing the ground and wanting to go the opposite way that we were going. Although he was pretty short, he was very long and as a result you had to be careful where you put your food around the house. Just because it was on the table or counter didn’t mean it was automatically safe. He was didn’t like learning very many things. We were able to get him to sit, if you were patient enough. He almost always remembered that he had to do his duty outside instead of inside on the carpet. Yet my brother and I always had to keep an eye on Gastogne because, left to himself, he would normally get into trouble or something else. Perhaps you know what I’m talking about with a pet of your own that you had in the past or now have. It takes constant work to take care of an animal. You can’t just go on vacation whenever you want. Not everyone can spend the night at your house. Yet my brother and I didn’t view these things as too big a price to pay to have our beloved pet. I mention caring for Gastogne because of what we have in our verses for this morning from the Gospel of John chapter 10. We see Jesus identify himself as the Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep. Now sheep may be soft and cuddly, but they aren’t all that self-reliant. They need a shepherd to care for them in order to be safe. You and I are these sheep who need someone to watch out for us. And, by God’s grace, we have such a shepherd in our Savior Jesus. For he is the Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep regardless of the oncoming danger and, as a result, we know each other very well. 1) Jesus Will Not Abandon His Sheep When Danger Comes Jesus explains that he is the Good Shepherd by comparing himself to a hired hand in charge of watching a flock of sheep. Whether it’s the shepherd or a hired hand, someone is needed to care for the sheep. To lead them to green pastures and protect them from dangerous animals. But a hired hand will only go so far. Jesus tells us in our verses, “The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs 1
Pastor Timothy Patoka Good Shepherd Sunday: April 22, 2018 away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep” (John 10:12-13). Caring for sheep includes protecting them from threats like wolves. The hired hand sees the wolf from afar and knows what is about to go down – the wolf is going to come after the sheep and he will need to intervene. But what does the hired hand do? He runs away because he cares nothing for the sheep. What would the shepherd had done if he were there instead? To stay and fight for the sheep! He would try his best to stop the wolf even if it meant getting hurt in the process! Because the shepherd he cares for his sheep he places their welfare over his own. Jesus doesn’t tell us about the escaping hired hand to educate us how the shepherding business worked in the 1st century Roman world. Rather he shows us how Jesus will not abandon us when danger comes. When we look at the 3 years when Jesus publicly showed that he is the Promised Savior, we see the dangers that Jesus went through to be our Good Shepherd. From the day Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, he never had a permanent home. He was always on the move which some of us may find difficult to do. He came to bring people back to Scripture’s intended meaning and so was abandoned by those who only wanted food handouts or miraculous entertainment. He associated with the outcasts of society and was shamed for it. He explained how God’s law not only talks about what we do, but also what we say and what we think. He got on the wrong side of the religious leaders for speaking the truth of who he was and what he came to do. It was because of those religious leaders that Jesus was flogged till his blood flowed freely, nailed to a wooden cross, and buried in a grave even though he was innocent of sin. When we see all the hardships and dangers that Jesus had to go through to be our Good Shepherd we can wonder, “Who in their right mind would willingly suffer all that?” No one chooses to go through hard times if they can help it. We are tempted to think that may be Jesus didn’t know how dangerous the wolf was, he didn’t know what the incoming danger and hardships were to be our Good Shepherd. Or maybe Jesus knew, but he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Whether he wanted to or not, it his lot in life to go through those many sufferings. So Jesus resigned himself to be our Good Shepherd. But neither of those are the case. Jesus is true God, he is the Good Shepherd as only God can be and so, he is all-knowing and all-powerful. He knew what it meant to be the Good Shepherd and he willingly decided to go through those
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Pastor Timothy Patoka Good Shepherd Sunday: April 22, 2018 hardships for us. To face the shame, rejection, and pain from the people he came to save. Because that is how he takes care of us. To receive our punishment for sin by dying on the cross so that there is no more punishment left for God to give to us as we deserve. Our Savior knew what it meant to stay by our side when danger came our way. For it would lead to our salvation and a personal relationship with him. 2) Jesus And His Sheep Know Each Other Well This relationship between us and our Good Shepherd is a close one where we know him and he knows us. There is nothing like it among mankind. The closest comparison is the relationship between God the Son and God the Father. Jesus tells us this when he says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father— and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15). God the Father and God the Son know each other very well. In the same way our Good Shepherd knows us and we know him. We already looked at how Jesus knew what he would suffer to be our Savior. We also see from these verses (John 10:18) that Jesus has the authority to both lay down his life and take it back up at his own command. When Jesus died on the cross, it wasn’t because he was in over his head! He decided when he would submit to the corrupt forces that led to his death. When his 3-day stay was finished in the tomb, he rose from the dead on Easter morning to show us he indeed has the authority to take his life back up. This is what we know about our Good Shepherd as told to us in his Word. But as well as we personally know our Good Shepherd, so he knows us even better. Whether it’s the picture on the front cover of the worship folder, the stained glass window over the balcony, or other depictions of Jesus the Good Shepherd, you will just about always notice that there are a lot of sheep with Jesus. The Bible tells us that Jesus knows us as well as a shepherd knows all his sheep and their individual quirks and characteristics. I don’t know about you, but I find that once I get over a certain number of friends, everyone else becomes acquaintances. It takes consist time to build and maintain friendships, to know what’s going on and be around for the small yet important moments. How big is your circle of friends, of people whom you know and are known by rather well? When we look at the artistic depictions of the Good Shepherd and his many sheep, it’s easy to think that we get lost in the crowd. That we are just a name among many other names. That because there are so many sheep in the Good Shepherd’s flock, self-professing
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Pastor Timothy Patoka Good Shepherd Sunday: April 22, 2018 Christians in the world, that our Good Shepherd doesn’t really know who we are and what is stressing us in life. But again, Jesus is not like us. He is the Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep, for you individually, far better than anyone else could. Who else knit us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13) and knew us before our parents named us? Who else knows how many hairs are on our heads (Matthew 10:30) and how long they’ll stay there? Who else promises that they will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6) despite what may go on in this world? It’s your Good Shepherd and him alone. He knows what is on our mind and what we’re going through. He knows what we need and will provide it because he is the Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep. And not just for our physical needs. But also for our spiritual needs as it says in 1 John chapter 1 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Whenever we go to the Lord in repentance, he immediately gives us forgiveness. And that is a blessing no one on earth can give to us. A blessing that only our Good Shepherd can assure is ours. And no matter how many sheep are in his flock, Jesus knows each one by name and will care for us as he knows best. Sheep need a shepherd to care for them as much as my pet dog Gastogne needed my brother and me to take care of him. Without them, they are helpless and will get themselves into trouble. Although we may not want to admit, we are as helpless as sheep are when it comes to our spiritual lives. We need a Good Shepherd to care for us and we have him in Jesus Christ. He will not abandon his sheep when danger comes along as the hired hand does. Jesus knew what he would have to suffer to be our Good Shepherd and he was willing to endure all those things for our sake. The Good Shepherd and his sheep know each other well. We know who Jesus is – the one with the authority to lay down his life and to take it back up at his own command as we saw him do that just a few weeks ago. And he knows who we are even though his flock has billions of sheep today. May we always treasure the Good Shepherd we have who cares for his sheep. Amen.
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