Good
St. John 10:11-16
April 14, 2024 anno Domini
If you were taking your final exam in Sheep Management at the vocational college and the final question was, “What makes for a good shepherd?” don’t give the Biblical answer. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Wrong. You fail. It’s surprising none of the shepherds in the crowd gave Jesus a hard time. Maybe stick to woodworking like your dad taught you and leave the shepherding to us.
Like so many words, God has His own definition, even of this little word good. Something is good when it accomplishes God’s purpose, when it works His will – so the Bible speaks of good soil and good seed that bring life and a harvest. A good tree produces good fruit. This word also means beautiful, as when something displays its God-given character. The pearl of great price is good. It’s a fine pearl a pearly pearl. The woman who anoints Jesus’ feet has done a beautiful thing. The practice at weddings is to serve the good wine first – that which was the best, the finest display of what wine should be. So, something is good when it works God’s purposes. Something is good when it displays or demonstrates outwardly its true character.
That’s how Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Laying down His life accomplishes God’s purpose – life for the sheep, life for you. Laying down His life displays His true character, for God is the author and giver of life.
Somewhere this week I read that wolves do not eat until all the killing is done. If that information is correct a pack of wolves won’t stop to eat one lamb if they’ve got six or seven cornered. They’ll kill them all and then settle down for the feast. This is why the Good Shepherd has to lay down His life.
The Devil would never get his fill of us. He is never satisfied. It wasn’t enough to get Adam and Eve to sin. He had to get Cain to kill Abel and work all sorts of mischief between the sons of God and the daughters of man. Pride is never content. It is always hungry for more chaos and pleasure and destruction. Look at all he orchestrated to get Jesus on the cross – the betrayal of Judas, the cowardice of the disciples, the political expediency of Pontius Pilate, the jealousy of the Jews.
You and I are easy prey. We’re sinners and the Devil knows we have the same pride he does. We’re his offspring because of our sinful nature. That is shown in our sheepishness. We have ears, but we do not hear the voice of our Shepherd. We follow our bellies and passions into danger. We get paralyzed with fear and because we are sinful we have no defense against the Devil. We love to follow that old wolf to our deaths, because we are not good.
Jesus is the one meal the Devil cannot stomach, because He is good. The Son of God who became man. The Good Shepherd does good work, the work that works salvation and life. He lays down His life for the sheep. Not by accident, not because He was tripped up, not because the wolf caught Him unawares, but deliberately. I lay down my life, that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.”
The cross is the sacrifice for our sins, but it is also the Devil biting off more than he could stomach. He lives off death and destruction, but Jesus didn’t stay dead. The Devil swallowed Christ like the tomb held His body, but neither could contain Him, because Jesus of Nazareth was good. He knew His Father, and this was His Father’s way to accomplish the salvation of the world. The Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep and now the sheep live. You are free from sin. The Shepherd paid for that. You need not fear death because your Shepherd lives again after death. That old wolf the Devil may still snap and swallow others who are full of pride, but not you, because you follow the living Shepherd.
This I believe is another part of good. Something good is not something you do for yourself, but for God. The Son lays down His life because He knows the Father. The Son does this for you because His Father wants you to have life. To do what is good often means sacrifice and even death. The good seed dies in the soil to produce an abundant harvest. The good tree make good fruit not for itself, but produces fruit for God to feed His creation. The woman who anointed Jesus’ feet could have made a profit off that perfume. Judas thought she should have sold it and fed the beggars over by Applebees. That would have been good for Judas, who wanted a large commission on the sale. But this woman gives it all away for the sake of her Lord as He prepares to lay down His life for the sheep.
In a sermon on this text Martin Luther said the sheep have the best ears of all the animals. I don’t know if that’s true, but all that I’ve read about sheep indicates they can pick out their shepherd’s voice in the midst of many other noises and voices. They wouldn’t go to a man not their shepherd. And the shepherd’s voice might be the very thing to get them moving away from danger. Jesus often said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matt 11:15)
We need good ears to know our Shepherd and to be known by Him. In all the noise and confusion and danger and pride of this world, only One voice is good for us. Only one voice calls us to life and delivers that life to us. Only one voice delivers us from our enemies and gives us a future. It is the voice of the Good Shepherd who says, “I lay down my life for the sheep.”
That voice also calls us to be good like our Shepherd. Remember what good is – good is doing what accomplishes God’s purposes. Good is displaying outwardly your God given character. Don’t expect your marriage to work if you are not willing to die to yourself, to confess your sins, and forgive those of your spouse. It isn’t fun. It will hurt, but it is good. Humility is good. Pride is not. God’s truth is good. Silence in the face of lies is not good.
Learn from Jesus. He was the only good human to stay good. He was humble. He didn’t His Divinity to His own advantage. He gave Himself over to death. At the same time, He spoke the truth, even when it cost Him His life. He knew His Father. He obeyed His Father. He loved going to God’s House. He loved His Father’s Laws. He spoke not just among His disciples but before governors and kings. He was good for you and His goodness worked – you are human again, you are alive again, your enemies are dead and defeated. Use your good ears to hear His voice and then do good. Do what is right. Do what is beautiful. Goodness and beauty will then follow you in the name of Jesus. Amen.