Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, May 12, 2019
John tells us it was during the festival of the Dedication or Hanukkah when Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd who gives us sheep eternal life. This is significant because of what that festival meant to the Jewish people. Hanukkah is a celebration of liberation from Greek occupation. When they liberated the Temple, the little oil they had miraculously lasted 8 days. So their light did not go out. It’s why Hanukkah is also called the Festival of Lights. Now God’s people are under Roman occupation. They want to know if Jesus is Messiah because they want the same miracle to happen. They want liberation from their captors and independence from foreign rule and tyranny.
When Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, it is much more than an analogy to a loving caretaker of sheep. Shepherd is the title foreign emperors, kings, and tyrannical rulers used to describe themselves. Jesus is not just a fulfillment of messianic prophecy. He is King of kings, Lord of lords, Ruler of heaven and earth. He does not lord it over his subjects. He does not come to tax, take, and enrich himself off the backs of the sheep. He comes to give, enrich, and nurture the sheep of his Kingdom. He says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.” When we hear those words eternal life we may think that Jesus is just talking about life after death—our future heavenly existence. But it is much more than that. Jesus does not say, “I will give them eternal life” but “I give them eternal life.”
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| Stained glass from St. John the Baptist Anglican Church Ashfield, New South Wales, Australia |
Just as those in Jesus’ day fell short in their vision of who Messiah would be, so our vision of Messiah can and often does fall short of all that Jesus is for us and the salvation he brings. Eternal life is not just about the length of existence that never ends. It is about quality—the quality of living Jesus brings to us now. His greatness is unparalleled—boundless. The gift of life he gives is unquantifiable and immeasurable. As Psalm 23 says, “My cup overflows.” In other words Jesus is magnanimous. He is forgiving and generous toward those who are less powerful. He is the Good Shepherd who does not hold our sins against us and provides extraordinary care for us. St. Thomas Aquinas talks about the virtue of magnanimity. This is “the stretching forth of the mind to great things.” This is how Jesus describes his sheep—they are the ones who know the Good Shepherd’s voice, follow him, and realize the greatness of all the gifts he lavishes upon us.
Earlier we prayed, “Send us as shepherds to rescue the lost, to heal the injured, and to feed one another with knowledge and understanding.” In other words, develop the virtue of magnanimity among us. Make us like magnanimous like Jesus—forgiving, generous, nurturing, and empowering others—helping others realize the fullness of the Kingdom—stretching others so that they too will experience life that is incalculable, infinite, and never ending. Isn’t this what we celebrate and give thanks for on Mothers Day—those people who were there for us to make life possible—those who love and forgive us unconditionally—those who give and nurture us—those who fostered our growth physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually? This is what it means to participate in Mother Church. This is what it means to know the Good Shepherd’s voice, his heart for the world, to follow him, and to be the sheep of his fold—to benefit from he eternal life he gives and to share the good news of eternal life. This is what Jesus so clearly says earlier in John’s Gospel: “For God so loved the world that he have his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Eternal life is what the Good Shepherd purchased with his blood on the Cross. Eternal life is what the Good Shepherd delivers through his victory over death and the grave in his rising again from death. Eternal life is what the Good Shepherd gives us now—a magnanimous life in peace, grace, and gifts he gives to us, his beloved sheep. Eternal life is what we enjoy now. Eternal life is the good news we proclaim to the world. Eternal life is what we celebrate at the Table spread before us. Our cups run over. Grace super-abounds. We feast on Christ’s Body and Blood. His forgiveness is lavishly given. Our faith is strengthened in him who is the way, the truth, and the life. Eternal life is what the child of God celebrates when we say, “Sure goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house forever.”
The King of love my shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.
And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house forever! ("The King of Love My Shepherd Is" LSB 709, vv. 1,6)
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