Easter IV Year C [John 10:22-30] (17-Apr-2016)

This sermon was preached at St Luke's Lutheran Church, Snowtown, 8am, Trinity Lutheran Church, Blyth, 9.45am, and St John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Burra, 10.30am.

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no-one will snatch them out of my hand.

Prayer: Lord God, heavenly Father, send down your Holy Spirit to all of us, to me that I may preach well, and to all of us that we may hear well. Amen.

Today we are celebrating the fourth Sunday of Easter, and in the church calendar, we sometimes call this Sunday, “Good Shepherd Sunday”. We call it this because we read readings from John chapter 10 where Jesus calls himself “the Good Shepherd”. We also remember one of the most famous psalms, Psalm 23, which says: “The Lord is my shepherd”.

Shepherds and sheep are found all through the bible. Even we read about sheep with Cain and Abel, and right through to Joseph and his brothers. In fact, looking after sheep made the Hebrew people different from the Egyptians, who didn’t like sheep at all, and thought they were an abomination, that they were disgusting in some way.

But then Moses, King David and all kinds of people in the bible were shepherds. In fact, even today in the church, the word “pastor” is the Latin word for a shepherd. And in our reading today, Jesus particularly speaks about himself as a shepherd.

I always think that there’s something very warm and very friendly about this picture. We might think of the parable of the lost sheep, where Jesus describes himself as an anxious shepherd, looking for the one sheep he has lost. We read: When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Isn’t this a great picture?

Sometimes today I think we often forget this picture of Jesus as our good shepherd. Sometimes I think pictures of Jesus with little sheep are considered a bit old-fashioned. Maybe people find the whole thing a bit patronising – after all, we don’t think of sheep as being very clever! We call them “dumb sheep”! Sometimes I have visited people and they have rolled their eyes and said, “Hello pastor – checking up on your flock, are you?”

Anyway, in our gospel reading today, Jesus is talking about what it means to be part of his flock. And we’re going to look at our gospel reading in three parts:

I.                   Jesus answers the questions of unbelievers, who want Jesus to tell them if he is the Christ, the Messiah.

II.                 Jesus teaches us what it means to be one of his sheep and part of his flock.

III.              Jesus teaches us that he is one with the Father, and that Jesus’ personal flock is the same thing as “God’s flock”.

So let’s go through each of these things and pray that the Holy Spirit would open our ears to hear, and also to understand and believe. Amen.

So let’s read the first part of our reading: At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

In the previous parts of John’s gospel, we see Jesus constantly teaching, teaching, teaching. And there are all kinds of different responses and reactions to what the people hear: some want to throw stones at Jesus and kill him, some think he is a prophet, some think he has a demon, some think he is insane, and some people believe in him. We might think of the parable of the sower where Jesus describes different people who hear God’s word like different types of ground where a sower drops his seed. The seed is always the same, but the ground is different. In our reading today, it’s the same—Jesus’ words are consistent and reliable—but the listeners are not. They are all over the place and have all kinds of different reactions. In our reading today a group of Jews come to Jesus and say: How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.

They say: Cut the faffing around—we want “straight talk”. We don’t want any parables; just give us a “yes” or “no”. Cut to the chase—tell us like it is.

It’s a wonderful thing to have a friend that you can straight-talk with, isn’t it? Isn’t it great not to have to worry about offending someone, and you don’t have to tip-toe around them like walking on eggshells? – someone to sit down and have a coffee and just to speak your mind straight. Do you have a friend like that?

But I think it’s a great thing to be able to talk straight with Jesus like this. During the last week or two, I came across a testimony of a South American Indian chief who became a Christian. One thing he said was that when he examines himself and his life and his heart, he always asks Jesus to show him the things in his life that need fixing. He said, if I had to examine myself, I would always make excuses. I think it’s a terrific thing to be able to sit with Jesus and say, “OK, Jesus. I’m ready now. You look into my heart, and you show me what needs fixing. Give me your straight talk.”

However, in our reading, the Jews there don’t want a straight talk about their own hearts, their lives, or about forgiveness – all of which are a wonderful thing. They want Jesus to tell them if he is the Christ.

Well, here’s the thing – if they are asking him if he is the Christ, they obviously don’t believe that he is! Imagine sitting down with a friend and saying, “Tell me straight – how can I be a better friend to you?” That kind of discussion could be a painful discussion because the person might not want to hear the answers, but the person wants to improve the friendship, and to be a better friend. But then, imagine if they said, “Tell me straight, if you are really my friend!” This calls the whole friendship into question.

So these people don’t ask Jesus, “Tell me straight – how can I follow you better, how can I serve you more faithfully, how can I be a better disciple?” No – they say, “Tell us if you are the Christ!”

And Jesus recognises this unbelief, and he rejects it. But also, why were they asking? Were they asking so that if he said, “yes”, they would follow him, or kill him?

And so Jesus responds to their question: I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.

First, he says: I told you. I have already made myself clear. But you can see here that unbelief is always a lazy thing. And we have to be really careful with this. Jesus has given us a wonderful rich and powerful word in the Holy Scriptures, and he wants us to get our teeth into it! But we are often lazy, and just can’t be bothered thinking things through. I am often quite struck how many people just never think to look anything up in a dictionary or an encyclopaedia. If you’re sitting in church and you hear something in a reading you don’t understand, read it at home a few times, look things up, think things through. As we do this, the Holy Spirit works on us and shapes us.

Many people who are unbelievers say they want proof that there is a god, or proof that Jesus rose from the dead. The reality is that the proof is already there—it’s that they are too lazy to read it all and to piece it together and to think things through. So the words of Jesus ring true: I told you, and you do not believe. Then he says: The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me.

Jesus gives us words to think about and meditate upon, but he also has works, things that he has done, that show us who he is.

So we have a wonderful book which we read as Christians – but it’s not a spiritual book of fairy tales. It’s about living facts of history. When the people were gathered on the day of Pentecost and the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other languages, it wasn’t simply God’s word that they spoke, but we read where the people said: We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.

So we should think it through: what does Jesus show me through this miracle, this particular miracle? What difference does it make to my faith that Jesus was born of a virgin, that he died on a cross, that he rose, that he ascended into heaven? These are all the works of Jesus, and they are real! They bear witness about Jesus. Jesus says: The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me.

This is a bit like what St Paul says in 1 Cor 15: If Christ had not been raised, then your faith is in vain, and you are still in your sins.

Do you see how God’s word says things, but it also records real events and describes real events in history.

Then Jesus shows to his interrogators the reason for their hardness of heart: You do not believe because you are not among my sheep.

Jesus shows us that we believe not because of what we do, but because Jesus himself has gathered you into his flock. When people don’t believe, it is because Jesus has not gathered them, and they very well may also resist being gathered. Jesus chases after them, but these sheep just keep straying further away.

But then sometimes we think: “I have a weak faith. Maybe Jesus hasn’t gathered me.” Hang on a minute – that’s not true. Faith is faith is faith, whether it is weak or strong. And if we were only saved by strong faith, then we wouldn’t be saved by faith, but by our strength. And sometimes Jesus allows our faith to appear so weak to us, so that he can show us that it is not us who created our faith, but him who created it by his word out of nothing, just like he created the world.

And so we cry out: “Jesus, I wish I had a stronger faith.” This is a wonderful prayer, because then we know that Jesus has created our faith and we ask him to increase it. Our faith is only ever as strong as we want it to be. The strength of our desire for faith, is the strength of our faith. Because wanting to believe is faith as well. Philippians 2 says: It is God who works in you, both to will and to work to his good pleasure. If we desire faith, then we know that God has created this desire, this will. And if he has worked the will, then he will bring about the work.

But also the most important thing about faith is not how weak and strong we are, but how strong Jesus is. He is strong, and our faith is only ever as strong as he is. Sometimes our faith shares Christ’s weakness on the cross, and we suffer for a while and we get down-hearted. But then just as Christ rose from the dead, he also gives new strength and energy to us after our times of testing, and our dark nights of temptation.

So Jesus wants us to trust in him, that he is not a liar. He gives a trusty word. Believe it. And also he gives us wonderful works which witness to him—in history, his life, his death, his resurrection, but also today—he gives us baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These things witness to his wonderful love for us, and show us his loving heart for us. He connects us to himself and gives us his Holy Spirit in Baptism, and then continually feeds his flock with his own body and blood.

And so in our reading, Jesus encourages us in the faith and tells us six things which describe what it means to be part of his flock and one of his sheep: He says: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

These words are just such rich and powerful food from our Lord! How can we begin to do them justice?

Firstly, Jesus shows us the source from which all this goodness, all this living water flows. He says: My sheep hear my voice. We should never think for a moment that we don’t need to read the Scriptures, because we know what’s in it already. No—God’s word never changes, but we do. And every time we go back to the Word, we are different. Jesus wants to show us again and again, not only that his steadfast love never ceases and his mercies never come to an end, but also that they are new every morning! And so, we, Jesus’ sheep, should have our ears glued to our Shepherd’s voice as we find it in the bible. These words are his words, and every word is his word. And they are full of teaching, because we have so much to learn, full of correction because we always go astray, full of reproving because we want to trust ourselves, full of training because Jesus always wants to build us up, and full of encouragement because we always sin and always need forgiveness.

Secondly, Jesus says: I know them. We know Jesus only a little bit, but he knows us fully. He knows too much about us than we would like. But he pours out his forgiveness on every wound, sin and failure, and loves us.

Thirdly, Jesus says: They follow me. When we hear our Good’s Shepherd’s voice and are known by him, we just want to hear more of him and go wherever he speaks to us. We have followed him here today, and will lead us through the week, to serve him in our neighbours and people around us.

Fourthly, Jesus says: I give them eternal life. If we are to follow him, we must end up in heaven, because that’s where Jesus ended up. If we are just trying to have a good life on this earth, then we are always going to be disappointed. Jesus gives us eternal life, and this is the most important thing for us.

Fifth, Jesus says: They will never perish. Have you realised this? Christians don’t die. They are always alive with their living Lord Jesus. We perish when we forsake our shepherd’s voice, but when we listen to his voice, then we never perish, because through this living word, Jesus creates faith in us, and if he can create faith he can create eternal life and change our faith everntually into sight, and we will see our Good Shepherd face to face.

Lastly, Jesus says: No one will snatch hem out of my hand. Sometimes we find this one hard to believe. We think sometimes in our life that the devil is constantly snatching us out of Jesus’ hands. But even the devil can’t do anything without Jesus’ permission. Jesus promises that all the hairs on our head are numbered, and that not one bird falls to the ground without his knowledge, and we must realise this and cling on to it even If we are going through fiery testing. St Peter says: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. Or later on he says: After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

So remember these words of Jesus: No one will snatch them out of my hand.

One last verse in our reading says: My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.

Jesus has given us so many promises and so much encouragement. But then he goes even further to say that each of his promises is sealed and stamped by his Father. Actually, everything Jesus says is signed in triplicate: it is triple-signed by the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Because Jesus is not just some good teacher and all-round good bloke – but he is the maker of heaven and earth – he is our Lord and our God. He and the Father are one. Under the hands of Jesus are the Father’s hands. What a privilege it is to have a good shepherd like this, who feeds us with such wonderful promises, and who will never let us go. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.