Shepherds and Signs

2nd Sunday after Easter 2012
“Shepherds and Signs”
Rev. Stephen E. Stults
St. Barnabas Anglican Church
April 22, 2012

John 10:11 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
During Eastertide, we are very blessed in our Gospel readings, for a large portion of them come from the blessed St. John. He was, you’ll recall, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” According to Dr. Leon Morris (PhD, Cambridge) , the Gospel of John is one of the most important Christian books ever written, one that is even central to the Christian faith. His major reason for saying so is that John’s Gospel is known as the “Book of Signs”, all of them pointing to God the Father or to Jesus as the Messiah.

As the “book of signs” John’s Gospel is special. Although the other three Synoptic Gospels all relate the mighty deeds of Jesus, and all of them have their particular focus, John’s Gospel is unique in that it is constructed purposefully around the works of Jesus as “signs.” We could talk for months about these signs, and the many, many, books that have been written about them, but suffice it to say that the signs in the Gospel of John do one thing; they point to one inescapable fact, according to John: God has intervened in the affairs of men. This “intervention”, if you will, has come in the form of God Himself coming down to us and taking our flesh upon Him. This intervention God has Willed in order to save man from himself, that is, from his inherently self-destructive path towards eternal death. That is the truth of Jesus the Messiah. This is the truth that all of the signs point towards, and the ones that most of the Jewish leaders missed.

Two examples serve to show how the religious authorities could miss the signs pointing towards Jesus the Messiah. The first is story of the raising of Lazarus of Bethany. Recall that Lazarus, to whom Christ referred to as “our friend”, had died. Christ performed a mighty miracle and called Lazarus from his tomb. Recall that amazing scene as Christ called, “Lazarus, come forth!” and the man formerly dead comes out, bound in his burial cloths. Recall that Christ purposefully stayed two days where he was before journeying to Bethany. This was so to avoid Christ’s skeptics of accusing him of merely waking Lazarus from sleep. Instead, to the glory of God and as John tells us, “to the intent ye may believe” , he calls Lazarus forth from the grave to new life.

Why is this particular work, or sign, so important? First and most obviously, it is critical to us because of its sheer magnitude. No one in the entire history of the world has ever raised a man from the dead, especially one that had been in the tomb four days. This fact alone testifies to Christ’s Messiah-ship and his complete sovereignty over all things. Not even Death, the old specter, is able to thwart Jesus’ power. Instead, with a word, he calls Lazarus forth. This miracle also acts as a foreshadowing of Christ’s own Resurrection, where he will call forth not just one man from the bondage of death, but will release all men who believe from mortality’s steely shackles. For this reason, it is a paramount sign of Christ’s authority.

The second reason for this sign’s importance is that the “powers that were” in Jesus’ time completely missed it. Even though it became widely known that Jesus had raised a man from the dead and even though this was a sure sign of the Messiah, the leaders completely failed to see it. Recall that John even tells us that one of the big reasons for Jesus’ triumphant procession into Jerusalem is that many of the people had heard that He had done this and wanted to see Him. Great throngs of people lined the streets of Jerusalem, waved palm branches and shouted “Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. “ They shouted, they exulted, and they gave glory to Christ, the Messiah. Thus, the people “got it”, while their appointed spiritual guides and shepherds did not. These men, who were charged with guarding the spiritual life of Israel, absolutely missed the most important advent of all time, to which their own history had pointed.

The reasons for this are apparent, so there is no point with wearying you with them. Suffice it to say that the scribes, Pharisees and other members of the Sanhedrin were too concerned about losing their own position, their own spiritual authority, in order to give allegiance to Him who should have been given it. Instead of recognizing the signs, foretold by prophet after prophet, they chose instead to safeguard their own places in society and their own comfortable, prestigious lifestyles.

Another example of missing the obvious sign is that of the man born blind. Recall that Christ saw a man “blind from his birth.” He anointed the man’s eyes with spittle and clay told the man to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man washed and came away seeing. Later, he would be accosted by the Pharisees, who demanded how he was able to see. When he told them, there was great dissension. Some said he was a prophet, while others said that he was not of God because He healed on the Sabbath! Once again, one of the greatest signs ever done has just been performed in front of them and instead of recognizing it as a sign of the Messiah, they are consumed with rage because Christ healed on the Sabbath…amazing.

Both of these signs point to Christ’s message in today’s Gospel. Both of these signs point to the Messiah, but they do in an oblique fashion. That is, one had to be acquainted with the Old Testament prophecy in order to see that they were Messianic signs. One could either accept them, as the Palm Sunday crowd did, at least for a while, or they could reject them, as the Jewish leaders chose to do. On the other hand, Christ tells us today, “I am the good Shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

Several wonderful things are happening, virtually at once in this passage. First, there is a clear claim that Christ is the Messiah, for he claims to the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep and is known of them. To better understand the significance of this, let us review some facts about 1st century Palestinian pastoral life. First, we know that flocks from a village were made up of several families’ sheep, from various households. The families decided who would keep them, usually picking a person or even hiring a shepherd. This shepherd would then lead the sheep out to pasture, to water, and then back home again. What is fascinating is that each flock knew their particular shepherd’s call or whistle. Even though they might be gathered together in one large group, for example for watering, when it was time to go the shepherd would call and the sheep would follow. They knew their own shepherd’s voice and would not follow another.
Thus, it is especially significant and even poignant when Christ says “and they shall hear my voice.” To whom is Christ referring? He speaks not only of the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”, to whom He was specifically sent, but also “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring”.

Thus, it is obvious to whom Christ is speaking. To God’s eternal Glory and for our eternal benefit, it is us. We, the Gentiles, are that other flock to whom Christ is referring, thanks be to God. Christ is the Good Shepherd, who lays down His life for the sheep. Returning to our examination of shepherd life in Palestine, we need to recall how sheep were kept. The sheepfolds were nothing more that rocky enclosures, either man-made or simply against the side of a mountain. The shepherd himself would actually lie down in the mouth of the sheepfold to bar entrance to predators. If the shepherd owned the sheep, or was a trusted family member, he might stay to guard the sheep when danger or predators came. But if the shepherd was merely “a hireling”, one contracted to keep the sheep, the likelihood was small that he would stay and fight for the sheep, since he had no vested interest.

In this case, however, in the case of Christ, he says that “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” Christ doesn’t run away in terror when His sheep are threatened. In fact, He actively lays down His life for His sheep, because as He said, "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.” Our shepherd doesn’t run from His fate; He meets it squarely in the Garden of Gethsemane and accepts it. In so doing, our Lord, our Good Shepherd completely and utterly defeats the predator of Hs sheep, eternal death.

What one thing can we take away from this wonderful passage of Scripture? Simply this: let us not fail to see the signs of God in our life. When God puts things in our life for instruction, or formation, or for our growth, let us not fail to see them for what they are. Let us see them as God intends them to be seen, namely as signs pointing to greater growth in Him. Thus let us be like the people, who at least for a while got the message, even though their leaders did not.

When we do this, we will begin to realize, to know and to appreciate all that God is doing for us. Although it is difficult, although it is sometimes painful and not very pleasant, we know that our Good Shepherd is doing what is best for us in the mysterious aspects of His will for us.

It is then that we begin to grow as Christians. It is then that we begin to fully appreciate the greatness and goodness of His will for us. It is then that we can understand, just a bit, the magnitude of Christ’s love for us. When we do that, we can exclaim in our hearts and our spirits: “Christ is MY Good Shepherd. He laid down his life for me.”

Therefore, let us give thanks for the Great Shepherd God has given us, even for us, the Sheep of God.

Glory be to God the Father, and to God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, now and forever. AMEN