St. John 10:11-18
Divine Service
Easter 4

Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Today is historically called “Good Shepherd Sunday”.  And when we think of Jesus as the Good Shepherd and us as His sheep, the Bible passage that probably comes to mind before any other is Psalm 23 – the Psalm that we spoke as our Introit.   That would also probably be right at the top of the list of Bible passages that most people know by heart.  Even people who hardly go to church know Psalm 23.  And that got me to thinking...why is Psalm 23 so popular?  Part of the reason for the popularity of Psalm 23 may be because of how it speaks to us about God's commitment to us.  It has a nice, poetic way of saying the same things that Jesus says in this text: Jesus is our “Good Shepherd.”

So...what does the word “good” mean?  Well, a little word study on the word “good” shows that the word “good” – as it is used here by Jesus – is the same word that He uses in Matthew 13(:8) to describe “good soil” at the end of the parable of the sower. “Good” in the sense of soil that produces a good crop.  “Good” for the direct benefit of others.  In other words, it doesn't mean “good” morally as opposed to something that is bad or evil.  It means the goodness that is directly related to being committed to the good of others. 

Jesus is the “Good shepherd” in contrast with the hired man.  And what is that contrast?  The contrast there is in commitment.  The “Good” shepherd is committed.  The hired man is not.  The hired man is in for what he can get out of it.  The hired man is there to earn money.  This is typical of people in lots of places, I think.  While I was working in business, I saw that while there may be lots of people out looking for employment, they aren't necessarily looking for work.  Yes, that's right…most people aren't really looking for work – they are looking for money.  And that causes the job to simply be the obstacle to getting money.  This is sad, but true.  And that attitude comes out pretty easily in people.  A dedicated employee does this or that because it needs to be done, not so much based on the attitude: “how much am I getting paid for it.”

King Solomon understood the principle or concept of being dedicated as being personally involved.  Remember the story about his great wisdom found in 1 Kings 3? Two women lived in the same house.  Both had babies at the same time.  One baby died.  The mother of the dead baby swapped the live one for the dead one, so that both women ended up claiming the one live boy.  King Solomon found himself in the unenviable position of deciding which woman was actually the mother of the child.  His solution? He ordered a sword be used to cut the baby in half, and each woman could have half of the child.  One woman quickly agreed to this.  The other was horrified, and quickly cried out that the other woman could have the boy, that she didn't want him cut in half.  Solomon then knew that the woman who was willing to give up the child rather than have him killed was really the mother. 

How committed, how dedicated, are each of us to the Lord?  This is something that has been on my mind.  It is something that is always on the minds of many of the pastors throughout our church.  We pastors always wonder...how committed are the young people that we are confirming?  How committed are those part-time attendees?  How committed are the regular attendees?  When confirmed, we all of us stand before the church and make promises of commitment, including that they promise to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from Jesus.  That's commitment!  It's a very serious promise!  So the question is, how strong is that commitment?  How genuine are the intentions?  Each pastor asks the same thing of those being brought into adult membership in the church – either through confirmation or adult profession of faith: Don't promise this sort of commitment before God just because someone else expects you to.  Don't do it just because you feel like you are entitled because you have “finished” a course of instruction at this church.  That's like the hireling or hired man in our text.  He said, “yes,” when it was easy.  He said, “yes,” because he wanted the benefits.  But when things got rough, this hired help simply deserted his job.  He left.  He wasn't committed.

I hope that each you are committed to the Church.  Not necessarily to this church – this building – but to the Church with a capital C.  The Holy Christian Church that we confess in our creed; the universal Church.  But, our commitment comes and goes, doesn't it?  That's true of people whether they are in church every Sunday or not.  The devil has so many things that he puts into our path, trying to have us be far less than committed.  But that is something important to realize.  Whatever gets in the way of your coming to church on a regular basis is the devil's handiwork.  Even if it happens to be conflicts and disagreements with people in the church or the way the church does things.  It's the devil keeping you away from church.  The wonderful news is, Jesus isn't talking about our commitment, He's talking about His commitment.  Did you hear? “I am the Good Shepherd”.  He has come to care for us, His sheep.  How committed is Jesus to us?  He said it Himself: “I lay down my life for the sheep.”  And going all through holy week with Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, we dwelt on that great commitment of Jesus, didn't we?  Jesus gave His life.  He gave His life knowing that there would be people who aren't always committed.  He gave His life knowing that there would be people who could care less about Him. 

Jesus gave His life for all of us – to pay for each and every sin ever committed; to win forgiveness of sins for sinful man.  He didn’t give His life just for Lutherans – He didn't give His life just for Christians.  He didn't do it for any smaller group of people in the world than for the entire human race.  Jesus' death on the cross is for every single person who has ever lived or will ever live.  He died for all the people in the Old Testament, and for all the people who have lived and will live since He died and rose again.  He died for all.  As He says in this Gospel, I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.  He gave His life for all of those sheep – all of the people of the world.  He died for those who are committed; for those who aren't committed; for those who could care less.  He died to pay for all of our sins. 

Of course, even though the death of Jesus is for everyone, it does people no good when they don't believe it.  It's like having money in the bank.  Sometimes, we don't exactly know how much money we have in the bank.  Sometimes, NSF notices come because you think you have more money than you do.  And, have you ever run really close all month, put off buying things because you thought that you were right at the edge of being over-drawn...only to find out later that you actually had subtracted wrong or that you had omitted entering a deposit and you had more money than you thought?  It's a pleasant surprise.  Yet while you didn't know that, you lived as if you had very little money.  So it is with the gift of God given us by the death of Jesus.  He did it for everyone.  He did it for everyone here in this church.  He did it for everyone alive on the earth.  He did it for everyone in heaven.  He did it for everyone in hell.  It's just that those who don't believe in it don't make use of it.  They aren't committed to Jesus. 

Jesus is committed to you.  He is committed to you if you don't belong to any church.  He's committed to you if you are here every Sunday.  He's committed to you if you are here for the first time in God knows how long.  He's committed to you if you come once a year, twice a year, or every Sunday.  He's committed to you when you feel close to Him.  He's committed to you when you feel far away.  He's committed to the alcoholic, the drug abuser, and the person on death row.  He's committed to the homeless and the hungry.  He's committed to those who don't even believe that He exists. 

His voice calls to all.  Your shepherd is calling His sheep.  He knows each and every one by name – and that includes all of us.  He's calling you.  He was there as each of us was born anew into His care – at our Baptisms.  He laid down His life for His sheep – us – on the cross of Calvary.  He feeds each of His sheep – at every Lord’s Supper.  He feeds us with the most precious food of all – His very body and blood.  With this Shepherd protecting and calling us, we will live within His house forever.  This was the reason for His death and resurrection: that sinful man – us – might have life eternal, and dwell in His house forever.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Amen

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