Good Shepherd Sunday – What Does This Mean?

Dear saints, today is commonly known as Good Shepherd Sunday. It is the day we hear John 10 and Jesus showing himself to be our Good Shepherd. He is the Good Shepherd because he lays down his life for us, his sheep. It is also called Misericordias Domini. The mercy, or goodness, of the Lord. Our lessons help us to see just how good and how merciful our Lord is.

The people of Israel were shepherded by their leaders. Some were good and faithful. Moses and David are prime examples. They were shepherds of both actual sheep and were also called to shepherd the people of God. While both were flawed and sinful men, they were still faithful in their leadership and their leading of Israel. But other shepherds of Israel were not. In the days of the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah many of the shepherds, both the political and religious, were unfaithful. They are what Jesus would label as hired hands.

Those shepherds led the people away from God rather than to him. They promoted worship of and sacrifice to the pagan gods of the people around them. As a result, the Lord sent to these leaders and the people his own shepherds in the form of prophets. These brought the Word of the Lord to the people. They called them to repent and return to the Lord their God. But these warnings were not heeded. In the end, God exiled his people from the Promised Land as he said he would if they abandoned his covenant with them.

But that doesn’t mean he abandoned them. Instead, he declares that he will search out his sheep himself. He says that he will rescue them; he will bring them out and restore them to their country. He will feed them in both good pastures and on the mountain heights. Perhaps you are reminded of the 23^rd Psalm?

And the Lord does just what he says. He sends Jesus to be the shepherd of his people. God takes on flesh to seek out his lost sheep. Just like the prophets he sent, Jesus comes and calls the people to repentance. Some hear, see, and believe; others hear but don’t hear, see but remain blind, and turn away from their Lord, thinking him to be an imposter or liar. And at the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus lays down his life for his sheep.

He does what earthly shepherds just don’t do. After all, sheep are for raising, selling, clothing, and eating. Yes, you protect them, but you protect them because they are your cash source. But this is not how the Good Shepherd treats his sheep. Rather than seeing his flock as a commodity, he sees them each as a precious child who has wandered off. His search to find and recover them consumes him to the point he dies to recover them.

You and I are part of ‘them.’ We are part of the sheep who were lost and Christ sought out. We are those who were caught up in dangerous valleys or stuck in bushes. Some wind up there because they have strayed on their own. Others have listened to false shepherds and were led away by false teaching. No matter how you strayed, he has gathered us up in his arms and brought us back to the herd.

And it is here that we see and recognize the mercy and steadfast love of our God. It is us who rebelled. We are the ones who wandered off. We are the ones who put ourselves upon a pedestal and make ourselves God. We’ve been doing it habitually since Adam and Eve were deceived. God did not owe us anything. All he had to do was give us the eternal condemnation that we deserved and earned.

Instead, he fills the earth with his steadfast love. The One who spoke creation into existence takes on the very flesh that he created and saw rebel. As our Good Shepherd, he lays down his very life for us on the cross and takes it back up again to show he has delivered us from sin, death, and the devil. Through the shedding of his blood on the cross, he has made his sheep, his people, righteous.

So, shout for joy in the Lord. He has delivered your soul from death. He is your help and your shield. He has borne your sins on the tree. By his wounds, you have been healed. He has washed you clean in baptism. He leads you to eat and drink for your forgiveness in his Supper. Praise be to our Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. For we straying sheep are restored to him. Amen.

Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD