The Shepherd’s Voice

Readings for Sunday, April 25^th
Acts 9:36-43
Psalm 23
John 10:22-30

My Sheep Hear My Voice – The Shepherd’s Voice from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Vimeo.
Download The Shepherd’s Voice – Sermon Video (.mp4)

Hearing is an amazing part of the body’s physiology. However, sometimes we have a problem hearing God. Listen to a few of these statements from a book called “Do You Hear Me?” It’s a book my wife gave me, I’m not sure why.

When God gave out brains, I thought he said trains, and I missed mine.
When God gave out looks, I thought he said books, and I didn’t want any.
When God gave out heads, I thought he said beds, and I asked for a soft one.

So, how well do you hear God or maybe a better question how well do you listen to God? Our gospel reading today has a tone about it that implies we need to listen to God. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.”

In our gospel we see Jesus in Jerusalem at a festival of Dedication. This is also called a festival of lights or Hanukkah, which is a celebration of the Israelite victory over the Syrian leader Antiochus Epiphanes, who persecuted Israel in ca. 170 B.C.

The Jews fought guerrilla style (known as the Maccabean Revolt—166–142 B.C.) against Syria and freed the temple and the land from Syrian dominance until 63 B.C. when Rome (Pompey) took control of Palestine. This should give you a little idea of why peace comes in such a difficult manner in this part of the world. People have been fighting over Jerusalem, and the land around it for almost 3000 years. Sometime it would be fun to have an adult forum and watch a video I have called “the History of Jerusalem.”

Anyway, in our text we see it’s winter, the wind is likely blowing and that’s one of the reasons Jesus is walking on the eastern side of the temple, in the portico of Solomon. This is a protected area and it was likely a place where people gathered to talk and hear about what’s going on in the community at that time.

Jesus is talking to a Jewish crowd who were a little annoyed with him, they said, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Hopefully, you can envision this bantering that is going on here between Jesus and the Jewish crowd.

Jesus response to this was, “I have told you, and you do not believe.” Had Jesus really told them plainly? Here are some examples of earlier sections of the text – you decide:
(John 8:41-43) Jesus is talking to a group of followers about their father Abraham – They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word.”
(John 9:36-37) The Pharisees are investigating one of Jesus’ healings; a man blind from birth had received his sight again. He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.”
(John 10: 7-9) So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.”
We see on many occasions before today’s story Jesus has made it perfectly clear that He and the father were one and that he came from God and he will return to God when his mission on earth is fulfilled. (John 8:42, 16:27, 17:21)

The point being that Jesus on a number of occasions had spoken clearly, what was heard was a different matter. This has to do with, “My sheep hear my voice.” Do you hear God’s voice? Do you consider yourself one of the fold; one of the sheep?

One Sunday morning, a layman accosted the pastor and said, “Pastor, this church has been insulting me for years, only I did not know it until this week.” The stunned pastor replied, “What on earth do you mean?” “Well,” said the layman, “every Sunday morning the call to worship in this church ends with the words, ‘We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His fold.’ Then this past week I visited the Chicago stockyards. There I began to realize that sheep are just about the dumbest animals God ever created. Why, they are so stupid that they even follow one another docilely into the slaughterhouse. Even pigs are smarter than sheep, and I would certainly be angry if my church called me a pig’ every Sunday morning. So I’m not at all sure I want to come to church and be called a sheep’ any longer…even God’s sheep’.”

Perhaps the man had a point, however, whether we like it or not, that is the language of the Bible: both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament. We are called “God’s sheep.” The favorite psalm of many people, we read it this morning, Psalm 23 begins by saying, “The Lord is my shepherd…” And if “the Lord is my shepherd,” then I am one of the Lord’s sheep. Centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah said to his people: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

Maybe, you don’t want to be called sheep, but the Bible is very clear about this kind of imagery that even Jesus used extensively. Also, ministers are often called “pastors.” In the dictionary, one of the meanings of “pastor” is “shepherd,” coming from a Latin word which means “feeder.”

Remember last week, we talked about when Jesus appeared for the third time to the disciples by the Sea of Galilee, He asked Peter three times whether he loved Him, and Peter answered three times that he did. Then Jesus said to Peter, “Feed my sheep.”

Sheep hear the shepherd’s voice and they follow the shepherd. Our gospel text today is very clear about differentiating between people who listen to God or Jesus, God’s son and those who don’t. When talking to the gathered crowd today Jesus told them, “26but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.”

Certainly, some of us struggle with this kind of differentiation. We don’t want to leave anyone out, right, but Jesus is clear and that clarity leads to a promise.

Notice verse 28, Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Sometimes when we are doing selective listening we don’t hear or at least don’t understand what God may be wanting us to understand. It’s even more frustrating for some when we are afraid to ask, or don’t ask for what ever reason.

There is a story that came out of a Readers’ Digest which I like. Someone told of this real life encounter he had. “While I was sitting in my parked car on the street one day, a young woman in the car ahead came over and asked me if I had a hammer that she could borrow. When I said no, she got one from the man in the car in front of hers. She then proceeded to smash out the vent pane on the side of her car. After returning the hammer, she opened her door, took out the keys and waved them at us with a triumphant grin. As she drove away, the fellow who lent her the hammer came over to me and said, ”If only she had told me what she wanted the hammer for I think I could have helped her. I am a locksmith.”

As we listen to Jesus voice talking about salvation, the promise of eternal life what are we hearing? We are all broken individuals, but we can’t allow that brokenness in our lives to lead to self-atonement, our own solution to the problem of sin. We can not fix our fallen nature, our selfishness, our proclivity to short-cuts on our own.

Jesus told this crowd if you believe, “No one will snatch them out of my hand.” Do you hear that today? Is that clear to you or are you still looking for a hammer when you should be asking God to unlock your heart? God has the keys, God has the solution, God has an answer, even before we ask the question, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)

The gospel today is so clear, Jesus said, “What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

In her book The Preaching Life, Barbara Brown Taylor tells of a conversation she had with a friend who grew up on a sheep farm in the Midwest. According to him, sheep are not dumb at all. “It is the cattle ranchers who are responsible for spreading that ugly rumor, and all because sheep do not behave like cows. Cows are herded from the rear by hooting cowboys with cracking whips, but that will not work with sheep at all.

Stand behind them making loud noises and all they will do is run around behind you, because they prefer to be led. You push cows, her friend said, but you lead sheep, and they will not go anywhere that someone else does not go first-namely, their shepherd-who goes ahead of them to show them that everything is all right.”

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.”

I think she is right – sheep know their shepherd and their shepherd knows them.

The friend went on to say “it never ceased to amaze him, growing up, that he (the shepherd) could walk right through a sleeping flock without disturbing a single one of them, while a stranger could not step foot in the fold without causing pandemonium.” Origin – Unknown

My sheep hear my voice, Jesus said, what he did while here on earth, those works testify to Him. As we hear God’s call, as we believe God’s message of hope, of liberation from sin, death, and the power of evil we can cling to the promise that “No one will snatch (us) them out of my (his) hand.” Allow Christ to unlock the door of your heart today and believe the good news.

Amen

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