1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:16,200 And Christ our good shepherd, dear brothers and sisters, five million sheep in the United 2 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:26,100 States, 2.5 million goats, 20 million sheep in my country, Brazil. 3 00:00:27,266 --> 00:00:38,533 But I have not seen a single sheep in the last two, five, maybe ten years. We drove all the way 4 00:00:38,533 --> 00:00:50,033 to Boston last summer. I didn't see one single sheep. Lots of corn, corn, corn, corn. United States, 5 00:00:50,033 --> 00:01:03,100 I mean states united by corn. So if I didn't see any sheep, what are the chances that I saw a real 6 00:01:03,100 --> 00:01:16,666 shepherd? None. Nul. But I have never been without a shepherd since I was 13 days old. 7 00:01:19,766 --> 00:01:30,266 So you have not been without the shepherd, even though maybe you never saw a real shepherd. We 8 00:01:30,266 --> 00:01:42,433 have a shepherd ever since we were singing, I am Jesus little lamb. And I myself, I was given Psalm 9 00:01:42,433 --> 00:01:51,733 23 verse one as my confirmation verse. I didn't pick it. Pastor gave it to me. So this is a very 10 00:01:51,733 --> 00:02:00,366 important text for me. And here we are today. This is the fourth week of Easter, the fourth Sunday of 11 00:02:00,366 --> 00:02:09,066 Easter. Yeah, it's still Easter. It used to be the second or maybe the third Sunday, use to be recorded 12 00:02:09,066 --> 00:02:16,666 Domini, the Sunday of the Good Shepherd. And a very known text, a very well-known text. 13 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:29,000 Who's not familiar with this John 10 text? So what is Jesus saying here? Can we hear it again? 14 00:02:31,933 --> 00:02:42,066 You know, when Jesus finished speaking, when he was done, there was again a division among the 15 00:02:42,066 --> 00:02:50,866 people because of these words. Some of them said he has a demon. He is insane. And others said, 16 00:02:50,866 --> 00:03:00,433 no, these words are not words of a demon possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? 17 00:03:01,533 --> 00:03:12,900 So what was so striking, so offensive in what Jesus was saying? Well, people knew Psalm 23, 18 00:03:14,433 --> 00:03:24,266 Yahweh shepherds me. The Lord is my shepherd. And now comes this Jesus of Nazareth and he says, 19 00:03:25,033 --> 00:03:30,333 I am the shepherd. And not just the shepherd, I am the good shepherd, 20 00:03:30,766 --> 00:03:39,900 ho poimen ho kalos, the beautiful, yeah, the beautiful savior. But the good is the excellent. 21 00:03:40,866 --> 00:03:50,166 He is unique. Oh yeah, there are others, but they are called hirelings, their hired hand. 22 00:03:51,266 --> 00:04:01,733 But he is the excellent shepherd. He is the only one. Yeah, there is opposition. 23 00:04:02,300 --> 00:04:12,100 There are others out there, hired hand, hirelings. You have this since the beginning in the New 24 00:04:12,100 --> 00:04:23,566 Testament. Paul is very happy because he sees the triumphal march of the gospel through the world 25 00:04:24,466 --> 00:04:34,866 in 2 Corinthians 2. And then he has to add, yeah, there are some who peddle the word of God for 26 00:04:34,866 --> 00:04:46,466 profit. And then he is sitting in prison joyful, very happy because the fact that he is in prison 27 00:04:47,266 --> 00:04:54,500 made the brothers bold and they are preaching Christ. But then he adds, 28 00:04:55,466 --> 00:05:02,566 okay, yeah, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry. 29 00:05:06,733 --> 00:05:16,033 So the Good Shepherd, the excellent shepherd, He is alone. 30 00:05:16,466 --> 00:05:19,266 Even if there is competition. 31 00:05:21,133 --> 00:05:28,333 So there was division in the audience because Jesus' words are very striking. 32 00:05:28,933 --> 00:05:37,333 This is a very impressive claim. But He goes on and I think there was more that could be striking 33 00:05:37,333 --> 00:05:49,000 or offensive to that audience. At least it is in a sense offensive to me. He says, I lay down my 34 00:05:49,000 --> 00:06:07,300 life. And He repeats it. He says it five times. Now this is kind of strange because I know the 35 00:06:07,300 --> 00:06:17,033 rod and His staff comfort me. But now He lays the staff aside. 36 00:06:19,700 --> 00:06:31,366 I am walking in the valley of shadow of death. But now He is heading for the deadly valley. 37 00:06:33,333 --> 00:06:47,966 So He laid aside His staff and became a silent lamb. And now this comforts me. 38 00:06:51,133 --> 00:06:54,733 And since we are one day after 39 00:06:58,133 --> 00:07:06,833 Call Day, let me say that this is a pattern for shepherds, pastors. Yeah, the word poimen can be 40 00:07:06,833 --> 00:07:15,966 translated as shepherd, but it's also the pastor. So for pastors, this is the pattern. We see this 41 00:07:15,966 --> 00:07:24,733 in the epistle reading for today. We ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. Too many pastors 42 00:07:24,733 --> 00:07:33,266 out there with a staff in their hand. Not a material staff. But it's good to lay the staff 43 00:07:33,266 --> 00:07:48,133 aside and share the gospel and share our lives. So Jesus says that He lays down His life. Now is this 44 00:07:49,066 --> 00:07:55,433 not Easter yet? But He added something at the end. He had more to say. 45 00:07:56,566 --> 00:08:02,100 He says, I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 46 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:08,333 See, He does not say God is going to give it back to me. 47 00:08:09,666 --> 00:08:19,766 He's saying, I take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down on of my own accord. 48 00:08:20,633 --> 00:08:28,666 I have authority to do so. So this is exactly what was so offensive. So who can do this? 49 00:08:29,433 --> 00:08:38,299 Only the Good Shepherd can do this. So the risen Lord is the shepherd of the flock. 50 00:08:38,299 --> 00:08:44,433 And this is Easter. Yes, brothers and sisters, there is a flock. 51 00:08:46,533 --> 00:08:53,033 Let me add something about the flock. I mentioned that I never saw a real shepherd. 52 00:08:54,066 --> 00:09:03,000 Well, I think I saw one once, at least once, maybe twice. Visiting the Holy Land, 53 00:09:03,733 --> 00:09:10,033 all of a sudden looking up on a hill in the distance, I saw a man walking. 54 00:09:10,633 --> 00:09:15,433 I said, oh, that's a shepherd. But how could I know that he was a shepherd? 55 00:09:16,533 --> 00:09:23,033 Well, I saw a flock. So if there is no flock, there is no shepherd. If there is no church, 56 00:09:23,233 --> 00:09:32,400 there is no pastor. If there is no call, there is no pastor. So there are sheep in this text. 57 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:46,866 That's us. And we are normally on the receiving end. The text says the shepherd knows his flock. 58 00:09:47,733 --> 00:09:56,366 The shepherd owns the flock. The shepherd gathers more sheep into the flock. 59 00:09:58,233 --> 00:10:07,700 But then it also says that we do something. We are also active. It says, 60 00:10:09,633 --> 00:10:19,400 I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me. Now I would say, 61 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:29,366 can you say this again? My own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. 62 00:10:30,033 --> 00:10:39,266 Are you serious? They will listen to me. Sheep? 63 00:10:39,266 --> 00:10:50,200 Hmm. Let me tell you a short anecdote. But first let me say this. People in other parts of the 64 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:57,133 world where they know goats and sheep, they don't like this idea. We have it in the Bible. 65 00:10:57,666 --> 00:11:03,966 The sheep are the good guys and the goats are the bad guys. Because normally the goats are 66 00:11:04,533 --> 00:11:12,433 docile. So they forage for themselves and the sheep are scavengers. So the goats are the good 67 00:11:12,433 --> 00:11:20,333 guys. The sheep are the bad guys. I think that's us in a sense. So it happened in the life of my 68 00:11:20,333 --> 00:11:31,666 father-in-law, Mr. Zimple. Small farmer in southern Brazil. Six, seven cows. Soybean field, 69 00:11:32,333 --> 00:11:39,333 cornfield. All of a sudden a proposal from the government. What about sheep? We're going to bring 70 00:11:39,333 --> 00:11:46,900 you six sheep and in two years you have to give back six sheep. The rest of the flock you can 71 00:11:46,900 --> 00:11:56,100 keep. And the father-in-law said, well that's a good idea. He had an enclosure, an electric fence, 72 00:11:56,100 --> 00:12:04,766 and he knew that these animals are small animals so he added one more wire and then he got the 73 00:12:04,766 --> 00:12:14,733 sheep. Now that extra wire was nothing for those sheep. Where are the sheep? Well over there in 74 00:12:14,733 --> 00:12:25,266 the soybean field. Where are the sheep? Out there in the cornfield. A nightmare. So father-in-law 75 00:12:25,266 --> 00:12:35,133 had two joyous moments in this experience. The day the sheep arrived and two months later when he 76 00:12:35,133 --> 00:12:42,333 took them back to the place where they had come from. When I heard this I said, oh I can relate 77 00:12:42,333 --> 00:12:51,000 to this. This is very much like sheep are and yeah if Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are the 78 00:12:51,000 --> 00:13:02,700 sheep or the flock. Okay I know Him. Do I know Him? Do I listen to Him? Now this is the law. 79 00:13:04,133 --> 00:13:12,433 The law comes always in the form of a question. Do I remember Him? But now let me tell you something 80 00:13:12,433 --> 00:13:21,466 else. This comes from Bo Giertz's The Hammer of God. This is impressive. A Christian man is dying 81 00:13:22,566 --> 00:13:24,933 and the daughter approaches him and asks, 82 00:13:26,666 --> 00:13:38,100 you remember Jesus don't you dad? And the man answers, my dear I can barely think 83 00:13:39,066 --> 00:13:53,566 but I know that Jesus remembers me. So He lives and remembers us. He lives and He knows us. 84 00:13:54,533 --> 00:14:05,766 He lives and He feeds us. He lives and He makes us lie down in green pastures. 85 00:14:06,333 --> 00:14:16,466 He lives and leads us beside still waters. He lives and He prepares the table for us. 86 00:14:17,100 --> 00:14:25,833 Surely mercy and goodness will follow us all the days of our lives even today. 87 00:14:29,500 --> 00:14:38,933 The Good Shepherd is risen. He is risen indeed. Amen. 88 00:14:40,533 --> 00:14:47,633 And may the peace of God, keep you and guard you in His name. Amen.