Thank you so much, children’s choir! Thank you for leading us in worship, and thank you for giving us such a fresh perspective on the Christmas story.
When Mrs. Ashley first told me the concept, that we were going to tell the Christmas story from the perspective of the sheep, I thought it was a baaaad idea. But then she showed me the script—which she wrote by the way. And boy, did I feel sheepish. Glynwood is blessed to have so much talent in our congregation.
Boys and girls, what if I told you that the Bible is full of imagery about sheep and shepherds, and not just the Christmas story? It’s true! I’m not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. The Bible uses imagery about sheep and shepherds to tell our story over and over again.
The Bible is one big story of sheep that get lost,
a shepherd sacrifices Himself in order to bring them home,
and the hope, peace, and joy we have when we get found.
This morning, we lit the fourth candle of Advent—the candle of love. And so this morning, I want to focus on the love Jesus, our Good Shepherd, has for us, His flock.
Let’s pray
Sheep that Get lost
The prophet Isaiah put it plainly in Isaiah 53:6
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;
That’s not an insult. It’s a diagnosis. And a remarkably tender diagnosis at that.
You see, sheep don’t typically rebel or go feral or attack their shepherds. Sheep don’t go awry; they go astray.
They drift. They wander slowly, one bite of grass at a time, following whatever looks good in the moment until they’re farther from safety than they ever intended to be—and no longer know how to get back.
Now, I’m not suggesting we soften sin. Sin is still rebellion against God. It is any action, attitude, word, or thought that disobeys God. And Scripture doesn’t shy away from describing both sin and its consequences. All have sinned, says Paul in Romans 3:23. And the consequence of that sin is eternal separation from God, according to Romans 6:23.
And it’s worth paying attention to how Jesus himself spoke about sin and sinners. Jesus certainly knew how to name defiance—especially when he was speaking to religious leaders. But when he looked at the crowds, he spoke a different word. He didn’t describe them first as rebels. He described them as lost. Luke 15 is Jesus’ most famous trilogy of parables. He talks about
• A lost sheep.
• A lost coin.
• A lost son.
Matthew 9:36 tells us that when Jesus saw the crowds, “he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
The gospel doesn’t let us off the hook for our sin. We are not ok. But the gospel doesn’t begin with condemnation. It begins with compassion.
Isaiah 9 is one of our foundational passages for the Advent season. And look how Isaiah sets up the story:
Isaiah 9:2 ESV
2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
Lostness isn’t just moral failure. It’s disorientation. It’s moving through life without bearings, without clarity, without a clear sense of where safety lies. It’s that feeling of not knowing where you are and not knowing how to get home.
Just like a sheep without a shepherd.
Into that darkness, Jesus says in John 8:12,
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
To people walking in darkness, Jesus is the Light.
Advent doesn’t begin with a lecture, but with a light.
Not by showing us we’re wrong, but by showing us the way.
The Sacrificing Shepherd
In Luke 15, Jesus asks what sounds like a rhetorical question:
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?”
The truth is, for most people in that crowd, the honest answer would have been: Not me.
I wouldn’t do that. I would write off losing one sheep as the cost of doing business. As long as the ninety-nine were safe.
I think most shepherds would do that.
But not Jesus.
For Jesus, love doesn’t cut its losses. Love moves toward the lost.
The good shepherd doesn’t wait for the sheep to wander back. He goes looking. He searches the dark. He enters danger.
Luke 19:10 ESV
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Don’t miss this. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Not seek and reprimand. Not to seek and correct.
He came to seek and to save.
And here’s the gospel: in order for the sheep to be saved, the shepherd had to be sacrificed.
Jesus’ Jewish audience was accustomed to their leaders being compared to shepherds. In Numbers 27, Moses prayed that God would appoint a successor for Moses, so that God’s people wouldn’t be “as sheep that have no shepherd” (Numbers 27:16-17). God told David that he would shepherd his people Israel (2 Sam. 5:2). The prophets had harsh condemnation for religious and political leaders who took advantage of the ones they were supposed to be shepherding.
But then Jesus comes along and says something no ordinary shepherd would ever say. In John 15:11, he said,
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
The Old Testament gives us faithful shepherds and faithless shepherds—but it never gives us a shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. That idea arrives fully formed with Jesus. Jesus says that the shepherd’s life is expendable for the sake of the flock.
Jesus knew how his earthly story would end, because Isaiah had already told it. Earlier, I only quoted half of Isaiah 53:6. Now let’s look at the rest of it:
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
The shepherd doesn’t just find the sheep. He takes their place.
He bears what would have destroyed them.
Advent is not sentimental. It is sacrificial. The cradle and the cross are inextricably connected.
Jesus says the hired hand runs when danger comes. The hired hand protects himself. But the good shepherd stays.
He stays when the cost is high.
He stays when the risk is real.
He stays when the sheep don’t even understand what he’s doing.
And that’s the scandal of grace.
Sheep are not rescued because they are good.
They are rescued because the shepherd is good.
The Blessing of Belonging: “The Lord Is My Shepherd”
What does it feel like to be found? In Luke 15, we get the perspective of the Shepherd:
5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
But as the children have already led us so well, today we are looking at this from the perspective of the sheep.
And that’s what Psalm 23 does for us. Psalm 23 tells us how it feels to be found. How it feels to be in the fold.
The blessing of belonging.
“The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.”
A funny thing happened on the way to writing this sermon this week. I was looking at that sentence, “I shall not want,” and I thought,
“What if I read that as a command?— I SHALT NOT WANT!!!!” Boy, that would change Christmas shopping, wouldn’t it? Admit it, moms and dads— haven’t there been times you’ve wanted to look at your kid this time of year and say, “You know, Psalm 23 says you shall not want…”
But here’s the thing. Psalm 23 isn’t a prohibition. It’s a declaration. It’s not telling me I shouldn’t desire. It’s telling me I shouldn’t lack.
If it was a command, then it would be all about what I shouldn’t do. Instead, its a description about all Jesus has done.
And that’s the gospel. That’s the blessing of belonging to Jesus flock.
Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need.
• I am rested.
• I am nourished.
• I am accompanied through the darkest times of my life.
• I am protected.
• I am anointed with oil.
• I have a table prepared for me in the presence of my enemies.
• I have goodness and mercy as my constant companions all the days of my life.
• I have a place in the house of the Lord forever.
Belonging changes everything.
Praise God that “I shall not want” isn’t one more commandment i fall short of. But it is a priceless declaration I can be assured of.
I am part of God’s flock. Not just forgiven, not just rescued, but welcomed home.
We are not just saved sheep.
We are gathered sheep.
We are kept sheep.
The light that dawns in Isaiah does not merely show us the way. It is the way, and it stays with us— all the way.
Closing
This is the gospel:
We were lost.
The shepherd came.
The shepherd gave his life.
Now we experience the blessing of belonging.
And if you feel scattered this Christmas—tired, uncertain, unsure of your footing—hear this good news:
You do not have to find your way back.
The shepherd has already come looking.
You only have to listen for his voice.
[Invitation]
