Fourth Sunday of Easter - Video of Divine Service and Sermon Text
The Fourth Sunday of Easter
1 Peter 2:19-25
John 10:1-10
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
The Gospel reading today continues a conversation that began when, on a Sabbath day, Jesus healed a man born blind. Eventually, the Pharisees, the great self-appointed policemen of Sabbath keeping, got involved, because Jesus healed on the Sabbath. Chapter 9 contains an instructive conversation about who is truly blind and who really sees. But the conversation is about more than just about sight, blindness, and working on the Sabbath. It is also about hearing and obedience.
Before Jesus healed the man born blind, he responded to his disciples’ question about whose sin caused this man’s birth defect. Was it the man or his parents? Jesus says the man’s condition exists “that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Jesus then proceeds to make mud, anoint the man’s eyes with the mud, and direct him to the Pool of Siloam to wash.
Amazingly, amid a cacophony of voices, the man heard the clear voice of Jesus and obeyed him. He trusted Jesus. He went. He washed. He came back with sight.
In John 10, Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd. On the fourth Sunday of Easter each year, we enjoy a reading from this chapter. Jesus’ self-identification as the Good Shepherd takes our biblically informed imagination to the confessional prayer of Psalm 23. It is in John 10:11 that Jesus makes the connection explicit between the promises of Psalm 23 and himself. “I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
In the verses that comprise today’s Gospel reading, Jesus identifies two distinctive characteristics of the first century shepherd that are essential for the well-being of the sheep. First is the door. The second is the voice of the shepherd.
In a time when the night is lit up only by stars, the moon, torches and candlelight, enclosures are essential for keeping animals safe. Thieves, whether animal or human, love to take advantage of the darkness to snatch up what does not belong to them. Enclosures with sturdy walls or prickly brush that only have one door in and out are the best defense in the dark. Because livestock is valuable and essential for life, the shepherd will use his own body to guard the door. He lays down at the door. He literally lays down his life for the sheep. He is the barrier in front of the door to stop the would-be robber. One door for in and out makes the enclosure all that more secure.
In those days, it was not unusual for several smaller flocks belonging to different shepherds to share the same space at night. When dawn with her red-rose fingers appear once more, the time comes to go their separate ways. How do the shepherd and the sheep know to find each other? The sheep hear their shepherd’s distinctive voice. They follow the familiar voice. Past experience taught them that that voice is trustworthy. Following their shepherd’s voice takes them to water, food, and safety. So, they follow the shepherd’s voice through the door out into the world once more.
The man born blind lives in a unique dark enclosure. He knows the world through smells, touch, sounds, and voices. From experience, he knows that can trust certain voices above others. We have no indication that Jesus has any kind of connection with the man born blind or his family. The way that the man born blind responds to Jesus’ touch and his instruction can only be explained as the working of the Holy Spirit within the man to create faith. This man has faith in Jesus. He listens to His voice. He lets Jesus touch him. He goes through the door of Jesus’ promise and he washes. He is healed.
The world has always had many voices and many doors. Many voices say that their truth is THE TRUTH. The voices direct us through their door so that you can have what you seek. What makes Jesus’ voice and the door of his salvation true? We have so many choices. Why have faith in Jesus as our Good Shepherd? Why listen to His voice and His voice alone?
One part of that answer is the working of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit creates faith within us to grasp the truth, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit created faith in the man born blind. The Holy Spirit creates faith in us through the Word. Faith receives Jesus as our Good Shepherd. Faith receives the promise that the Good Shepherd is the door through which lies our salvation.
Another part of the answer is the witness of the Apostles. They testify that Jesus is the incarnate Son of God who saves us by laying down his life for us. Jesus is our Passover lamb. As the Apostle Peter bears witness in his Epistle to the church. Jesus committed no sin, he bore no deceit, he did not return evil for evil, he lived among us in complete trust of our heavenly Father. He suffered for you. He bore your sins in his body on the cross. Through his wounds, through his stripes, through his death, you are healed. The Son bears the burden of your sins, so that the Father’s righteous judgment and wrath falls upon the Son, and not upon you. The Good Shepherd lays down His life so that you may live forever in paradise.
Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. Sin is destroyed by the cross. Eternal death is destroyed in the resurrection. Jesus is our Good Shepherd for eternity.
The final hymn that we sing today is “Savior, Like a Shepherd Leads Us.” As we return to the world with its temptations, and myriad doors and voices, the hymn is a prayer for us. As we are in the world, we need the Shepherd’s tender care. We need His mercy, his grace, his forgiveness. We need the direction of his will in the commandments. Above all, we need His love. “Early let us seek Your favor, early let us do Your will; Blessed Lord and only Savior, With Your love our spirits fill. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, You have loved us, love us still.” We need his voice to call us through His door of promise unto everlasting life.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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