The Good Shepard
April 26, 2026. John 10:1-10. Erin Lussier
As many of you know, I grew up on a farm in southern Alberta. We didn’t have sheep, but we had cattle, chickens, and pigs. My best friend in elementary school also lived on a farm (because everyone did) and I remember going to her parents’ farm in the springtime and bottle feeding the little lambs.
So cute, sweet, small, and fluffy! I couldn’t understand why my parents didn’t want sheep on our farm! So I asked my dad about it, and he said something along the lines of: “Absolutely not. Sheep are dumb. I’m not dealing with that.” You can imagine my confusion the following Sunday when my Sunday School teacher (who was my mom) told me that I was a sheep. Hmmm…
This Sunday is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. We’ve got Psalm 23, the most familiar psalm in the Bible, rich with the comfort and life and provision of our Good Shepherd for us, His sheep. This image is given to us to show us what God’s relationship is to us. It paints a picture of our salvation. We are the sheep. How much do you know about sheep? Are sheep dumb, like my dad thinks? Yes, kind of! Can they find food and water on their own? They need to be led. How do sheep protect themselves? Do they have fangs or claws? Are they good at camouflage? Can they fight? No, not really! Sheep are defenseless.
They are prey, constantly at risk of being picked off by coyotes, wolves, and even foxes and cougars.
Sheep need a shepherd. They need to be led by someone who will protect and guide them, lead them to green pasture, and watch over them while they rest by still water. Shepherds are so very important. Without them, the flock would be demolished, eaten by wolves, and the remnants scattered and eventually finished off. The shepherd fights off the predators, and when a little sheep gets lost and wanders from the flock, the shepherd seeks them out, scoops them up with his shepherd’s crook, and gathers them back to himself.
This is what shepherds are called to do. Is this what we see our shepherds do? Do the leaders put in place to care for God’s people always faithfully serve and care for the sheep? Or are they filled with pride and self-importance, seeking power, like the Pharisees? Are they put in place so that they can manipulate and control the sheep? Are they called to ignore the needs of the sheep and satisfy their own selfish desires? In our roles of leadership and influence, do we lead selflessly, with humility? Hm. Difficult questions.
In premarital counselling, the pastor might ask the couple these two questions: Why do you want to get married? and, Why do you want to get married to each other? And the couple might respond emphatically with expressions of how much they love each other and the life they dream of building and the family they hope to have. And that’s great. Those are good things. But in a way, they’ve missed the point. To get married is to die. It is to die to self. It is putting the needs of another person above yourself until death do you part. It is selflessness. It is taking up your cross each and every day in love and service to another.
Jesus, in John 10:11, said, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Shepherds are called to die for the sheep. Shepherds are called to place the needs of the sheep above their own. Why? Because of the love the Father has for each one of those sheep. Our Good Shepherd leaves the 99 in search of the one, because that one is of infinite value to Him. He doesn’t sit and wait for them to find their way back to Him! No, He seeks them out, draws them back to Him, and protects and guides them in their going out and coming in for all time.
Sheep might be dumb. But they have one thing going for them: they know the voice of their Shepherd, because He speaks to them. God gives us faith to hear His voice, and He speaks to us by the Holy Spirit working through the Word. We know His voice. The thieves and robbers may come, seeking to steal and kill and destroy, the wolf may lurk, ready to snatch up one of these precious lambs, but our Shepherd destroyed the power of the wolf by rising on the third day. Our Shepherd pours out life and life abundant. He is the door–the way, the truth, and the life–and because of His atoning sacrifice, we get to graze in the pastures and eat at the table, we will rest in tranquility by the water, and listen to His voice for all eternity.
Let us not sit passively and wait for the sheep who have been lost to come to us. Like our Saviour, we are called to go out and seek the sheep, to speak life to the lost, to bravely share our faith with those we meet, to offer to pray with a friend. This can be a very scary thing. I am so guilty of biting my tongue because of fear or nerves in situations when I know I should speak. In our vocations, our families, our spheres of influence, we are invited into God’s work of seeking and drawing the lost into His care and salvation. Lutherans are not called to be apathetic and wait for the sheep to come to us! We are called to reject apathy, to lay down our lives for the sake of another, to put their needs ahead of our own, to go out and share the Good News, to be brave and bold! Offer to pray for your friend. Invite a coworker to church. Serve in outreach ministry and share your ideas for our congregation and community. Selflessly serve your neighbour. The Holy Spirit working within us gives us everything we need in the moments we need it, forgiving us, strengthening us, and equipping us for the Gospel work that we are called to do.
Our Good Shepherd laid His life down for us. This is life-giving Good News of immeasurable value. Come and hear His voice this Sunday in the Word, where we sheep are fed, nurtured, and sustained for the battles of each day, for the work of the Gospel, and to stand firm in the face of thieves, wolves, and robbers, knowing that our Good Shepherd is there to protect us with the words of victory on the cross: “It is finished.” Amen, amen
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