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Sheep, Shepherds, and the
Good Shepherd
ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The words “leader” and “leadership” have become buzz words in the language of the Church. You can read plenty of books about church leadership, but they sound more like instructions for operating a business than providing pastoral care to the people of God. Scripture uses the actual word “leader” only a handful of times, and almost never to refer to those who are called to spiritual office in the Church.
In this text from Ezekiel, it is clear that God wanted His people to be served by something more than mere leaders. He showed this when He called both kings and prophets “shepherds.” And through His prophet, the Lord told His people in captivity in Babylon that their shepherds had failed them. These bad shepherds cared more about themselves than the sheep. Therefore, the Lord said He would replace them. He Himself would become their Shepherd and take the place of those wicked shepherds.
When the Lord said He wanted His people to be shepherded, He was comparing them to sheep—and it is not a flattering comparison, because sheep are stupid. It is said that a mother sheep sometimes will not recognize her own offspring. Can you mothers imagine not recognizing your children? Sheep can be kept in a pen even when the gate is open; lay a pipe or rod on the ground across the opening, the sheep will usually not pass it. Sheep rescued from a burning barn have been known to try to run back into the flames.
Do you sometimes feel like a sheep? Please pardon the directness of the language here, but sin makes people stupid. As the prophet Jeremiah said, “Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtledove, the swift and the swallow observe the time of their coming. But my people do not know the judgment of the Lord.” Ignorance is not bliss. Sin makes us stupid, like sheep. Left to ourselves, we stumble around defenseless and lost, in need of help and hope that we can never generate. No wonder the Lord was angry at those shepherds who did not care for the flock. And their biggest failure? They did not feed the sheep.
As this text makes clear, feeding the sheep is the chief duty of the shepherd. You can gather the straggling sheep and bandage the wounded, but if you don’t feed them, those things will not make a difference. And so the Lord declared that He would be the Shepherd of His people. Everything the others did that was wrong, He would do right. He would take care of His sheep, gathering them and binding up their wounds and, yes, He would feed them. He would be their Shepherd, and they would want for nothing.
In light of today’s Gospel, we understand that Ezekiel’s words are a prophecy of the coming of Jesus. Jesus is God, but He did not hesitate to become our Good Shepherd. He did the dirty work involved in being a shepherd. The Good Shepherd “lays down His life for the sheep,” Jesus said. On the cross He was protecting us from the peril of our sins by taking those sins upon Himself and dying to pay for them. And then this Good Shepherd rose from death, and He lives to keep on protecting and guiding us. And now He lives to feed His Church, His flock, on His Word.
How great is His love for us! Not only did He do the work of salvation; not only has He sent His Word into the world, even by inspiring the prophets and apostles to write it down; but He has also given to His Church those men who now preach that Word for Him. He has given His Church pastors, under-shepherds of the Good Shepherd. St. Paul told the pastors in Ephesus, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the Church of God, which He obtained with His own blood.” Pastors feed the flock on the Word of Christ. That is the essence of their work; all that they do involves feeding the sheep.
And what about the sheep? If you read on in this 34th chapter of Ezekiel, the prophet issues warnings. One was about the sheep carelessly trampling the food. Thus, the Lord warns us about false teaching in the Church; He wants us to retain the standard of healthy words that come from Him. The Lord also warned the sheep not to trample one another or push each other aside from the food. How do we treat each other? It’s a fair question to ask. Is anyone disregarded in this church? Do we have unloved sheep who are pushed to the side by others? It is amazing how insensitive we can become without realizing it, without even meaning to do it.
But these reminders simply bring us back to the fact that we are sheep, and sheep are stupid. That is what sin does to us. We need Jesus, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep, and then took it up again. We need Him to pay for our sin— which He has done—and to see to our safety forever. No other Shepherd will do! And the good news is that the Lord does not forsake us; He is pleased to be our Shepherd. And He is the Shepherd who is just right for us. He is the Shepherd we can live with, and the Shepherd we can die with. For sheep like us, none other but the Good Shepherd will do. ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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