I found it rather interesting that out of all the Sundays I could have come to visit your congregation and share a message from God’s Word with you, it had to be this one. In the readings you just heard that were appointed for today, we are given word pictures of sheep and shepherds. I just had to smile at the timeliness of God’s Word. Here I am, a pastor, an undershepherd of our Lord Jesus Christ, invited to preach to you good people here at Redeemer Lutheran Church, who are in a time where you are in the process of calling a new Pastor to serve as your spiritual shepherd in this place. So it is a very timely thing for us to pause and reflect on this topic of shepherds and sheep, so that when we leave here today, we can rejoice in the fact that God provides us with faithful shepherds, who will lead and feed His flock.
Before we go any further, first it would be good for us to review a couple of characteristics about sheep. Sheep are not exactly the most intelligent animals around. They have a tendency to wander off if they are not given a sense of direction, which of course makes them easy targets for predators. Sheep are also pretty helpless if they get into trouble. If they end up in a dangerous situation, their odds of survival are not very good.
The other thing we should note that in Biblical times especially, sheep were very valuable in that their wool provided means for making clothing and other needed items, and they also were an important source of meat. And let’s not forget that for the Jews, there was also the need for lambs for sacrifices and for the Passover meal each year. As a result, the profession of Shepherding was a very important task. One that required a lot of work, diligence, and a willingness to face danger for the sake of the flock. Not just anyone would do. For if a shepherd who cared only for his own well being runs away at the first sign of trouble and the sheep were left to themselves, dangerous things would happen and very soon the flock would be scattered.
So now we get to situation of the prophet Jeremiah. To say that things were pretty bleak would be an understatement. God had placed kings and priests over the people to care for them. The kings were responsible for the temporal affairs of the kingdom, of guiding the people of God according to His commands, while the priests were to tend to the spiritual care of the people, to continue to point them to the promises of God, to remind them of all that God had done for them in the past, was continuing to do in the present, and what He would do in the future by sending the Messiah into the world to save His people from sin and death, and lead them to forgiveness and life. But, that’s wasn’t happening. The priests had become lax and immoral. In some cases, they were actually endorsing the worship of idols, a practice many of the kings had permitted and encouraged. Even the temple itself had become a place where worship of false gods had been taking place. In doing so, these supposed shepherds, guardians of the flock of God, had ignored the sheep. And it was time for God to do something about it. By the time we get to our reading for today, the Babylonians had come in and started taking over. The king, Zedekiah, was essentially a puppet of Babylon. By this point, the city of Jerusalem has fallen. Many of the people have been killed. The temple is rubble. And the people are about to be led off into exile in a far away land. Unsure of when, or if, they will ever be able to go home again. And there are those who wonder aloud “Does God still care about us? Will He still be faithful in fulfilling His promise of a Messiah for us? Is there any future and hope for us?”
It is in the midst of all of this, first we hear God through the prophet Jeremiah speak some very stern words to these so called shepherds, the religious leaders whom He had entrusted with the task of proclaiming His Word, of being willing to go out and making sure the sheep stayed fed, sheltered, and safe in the safety of the promises of God’s Word: “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord.” (v.1-2) First, it’s important for us to note that the Babylonian Captivity is the direct result of the people’s refusal to turn away from their sin and back to God in repentance and faith in the forgiveness of sins in the Savior to come, but the priests who allowed this to happen, who instead of risking their well being and comfort for the sake of the sheep decided to just let whatever happen, are being held responsible. They were the ones who failed to sound the warning of God’s Word. They were the ones who wanted the prophets to be silenced. They are the ones who are responsible for the scattered sheep who are now left on their own and being carted off to who knows where. Their fate? They are being removed from their office as shepherds and being held accountable for what’s just happened.
Indeed, now that the consequences of sin are apparent, there seems to be little hope for the people of God. In the midst of this, what’s going to happen after the false shepherds are dealt with for their evil deeds? “Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.” (v.3-4) God says better days are coming. He will place new shepherds over them, new religious leaders who will do what they were called to do. Who will be faithful in speaking God’s Word. Who will be faithful in warning the sheep of the danger of sin, and who will reassure them in times of danger that the Savior is coming. That their sin is forgiven. That they can turn back to God in repentance and know that there is forgiveness and life in the fold of His flock. That there will come a day where the flock will be brought back together out of exile. And this will all be God’s doing.
But more importantly, even though it looks like they have no future, God has even better news: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: The LORD is our righteousness.” (v. 5-6) There is another King coming! A King from the line of David as I promised. Unlike Zedekiah and the other kings who came before, this King will have a reign that lasts forever. This King will not abandon His people, but will save them by willingly facing their enemies of sin and death, and defeat them forever. That King, of course, is Jesus Christ. Who comes into this world through the line of David, who perfectly resists the temptations of the devil, who shows His power over the things of this world through healing, through miracles, through His teaching, and then, willingly accepts the sin of the world, and suffers the punishment for it at the cross. And just when it looks like His reign has ended, He rises again to defeat the power of sin and death, and gives the forgiveness and life He wins there to those who listen to His voice in His Word and follow Him.
The good news for the people of Israel as they are at their lowest point is this: it may look hopeless now, but it isn’t. I will send you faithful shepherds to speak My Word to you. And I am sending my Son into the world to be your Good Shepherd, who will lay down His life for you and take it up again so that you too can die to sin and rise to new life with me.
Just as these words were true for the people of God in Jeremiah’s day, they are true for you and me, the people of God here at Redeemer Lutheran Church in our day. God has brought you together as a flock through the preaching of His Word and the administration of the Sacraments that take place here. Each one of you has been made a part of this flock by the life, death, and resurrection of your Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. He has brought your congregation this far since your organization in 1956. But more than that, He also has provided you pastors, who are best described as “undershepherds” of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
You are in a time in your congregation’s life that’s very important, because right now, you do not have a called shepherd in this place. And while I’m certain that you have been very blessed to have Pastor Jensen here as your Interim Pastor these last several months, you also know its not quite the same as having a Pastor you know is committed and called to stay here for the long term. And because of that, my observation over the years has been that congregations during a pastoral vacancy tend, as the vacancy extends month after month, to get a little anxious. It’s hard to look to the future sometimes because you don’t know when your next Pastor is going to be here, where he or she will come from, or what direction that Pastor might lead you. Sometimes it seems like God has forgotten your church, and that you can’t reach out with the good news of the Gospel because you don’t know what’s going to happen in your future. I have to admit, when I’m asked to serve as a guest preacher in a congregation in such a time as this, my heart as a pastor goes out to you, because indeed, you are in a sense, sheep without a shepherd.
But I’m here this morning to remind you of this: just as God remained faithful to His flock in Jeremiah’s day, and in Jesus’ day, He remains faithful to His flock here at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Estherville, Iowa gathered here on July 22nd, 2012. For starters, you are reminded today of who your true Shepherd is. Your mission statement says it best: This church is a church where “Everyone is someone and Jesus Christ is Lord.” For our purposes today, we could change it to say “Where Jesus Christ is THE Shepherd!” Nothing can ever change the fact that Jesus Christ has lived for you, has died for you, has risen again for you, and offers forgiveness for all of your sins of thought, word, and deed. And because He has done this for you, you have hope. You have hope for your future.
For those of you who are worried about tomorrow, you have hope knowing that Jesus Christ is your Good Shepherd, the One who will lead you out of these times of worry and doubt to certainty of your future. Where the world leaves us uncertain of what lies ahead, in Christ, we know what does, forgiveness and eternal life! The promise that He hears our prayers. The promise He will provide our daily bread, even if we don’t know where it will come from. The promise that for those of you who are sick or injured, that your Good Shepherd will lead you to healing and health. Maybe in this life. But even if you suffer, you know your suffering is only temporary. You know He leads you eventually to a life where you will never know suffering or pain again. For those who know their days in this life are numbered and fear the end, you hear the voice of your Good Shepherd. Where the world would say death and destruction is your enemy and you have no hope, you have the certainty that Jesus Christ has a future for you, a future with Him in heaven, where you will never know sorrow, tears, or pain again! A place where indeed, you will enjoy still waters and green pastures forever, not because of anything you have done, but because your Good Shepherd has led you there by what He has done for you!
And for you as a congregation at Redeemer Lutheran Church, you know this. God will raise a shepherd up for your congregation. As you go about this task, be careful! Don’t be willing to settle for just anybody. Remember this shepherd is called to point you to the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. This shepherd will warn you of the dangers of sin, and be willing to put himself or herself at risk of ridicule, scorn, and other things of the world to make sure that you are kept from harm and danger that the world, the devil, and your sinful flesh wish to inflict upon you. The faithful shepherd points you not to himself or his thoughts, but points you to Jesus Christ, the source of your life. He does this in the pulpit, in the classroom, in the hospital room, at the nursing home, at the graveside of a loved one, at the baptismal font, and at every stage of your life. He faithfully points you to Christ and His Word. For indeed, when such a shepherd does this, you will not be sheep without a shepherd. You will be the flock whom Jesus has purchased with His own precious blood, who reaches out and gathers more lost sheep into this flock, where they graze safely on the Word and the Sacraments, where they are cared for and nourished by their Savior.
May you find your joy, your future, and your hope, for your life together as a congregation at Redeemer Lutheran Church, and for your life as a sheep, in the Word of your Savior and Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Amen.
