Some of the most comforting words in scripture
and when God calls himself our shepherd Psalm
23 says the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not
want We love that picture the green pastures
the still waters a soul restored when life wears
us down But if you've ever seen how sheep behave,
you know, the comfort of that image comes with
the dose of reality There's a story from Turkey
where one sheep wandered too close to the edge
of a cliff and fell. And the rest of the sheep
followed. All 1 ,500 of them. One right after
another right over the edge. And most of them
survived only because they landed on the pile
below. It's a vivid reminder. Sheep don't always
make the best choices. They wander. They follow
blindly. They get shoved around. And sometimes
the very shepherds meant to protect them turn
out to be selfish or corrupt, even as those very
shepherds who were on their break came back and
only then realized what had happened. That's
why God keeps reminding His people of this promise.
I myself will be your shepherd. I will seek you
out. I will rescue you. Today we'll see how that
plays out in two passages. Ezekiel 34 and Luke
15. One is a grand prophecy to a people scattered
and hurting in exile. The other is a parable
Jesus told when sinners and tax collectors were
drawing near. Put them together and we get a
picture of God's heart. A shepherd who rescues
his flock from every danger. Corrupt leaders,
harmful communities, and even our own wandering
hearts. Ezekiel shows us the problem clearly.
Leaders who fed themselves instead of the flock,
sheep who trampled and shoved one another, and
others who wandered away into danger. And then
in Luke 15, Jesus seeing those who had wandered
away. tells a story of a shepherd who leaves
a 99 to search for the one. Together it's a story
of a God who refuses to give up on his people,
even when the trouble is one we brought on ourselves.
Listen to how Ezekiel records God's promise.
For thus says the Lord God, behold, I myself
will search for my sheep and will seek them out.
as a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is
among his scattered sheep. So will I seek out
my sheep, and I will rescue them." Do you hear
the intensity? I myself, not an angel, not a
prophet, not a hired hand, God says, I will come,
I will search, I will rescue. This week, We remember
the images from 9 -11, when firefighters and
first responders rushed into burning towers as
others fled. They weren't calculating risk or
weighing odds. They were compelled by love and
duty to seek, to rescue, to save even one more.
That's the kind of shepherd God promises to be.
He doesn't stand at a distance. He comes into
the smoke, the rubble of our lives to find us,
even when the danger is great, even when the
odds seem impossible, even when life may be offered
in exchange for our own. And when Jesus tells
the parable in Luke 15, he's saying the same.
A shepherd leaves the 99 for the one. See, from
the outside, it looks like something reckless.
But when it's the perspective of love, it's the
only thing that makes sense. But who were the
shepherds that Judah had at the time? The ones
that Ezekiel seems to be condemning? They were
Judah's kings, princes, priests, and leaders.
The very people God had appointed to care for
His people. And instead of protecting the flock,
they exploited them. What was happening at the
time, King Jehoiakim imposed heavy taxes to pay
tribute to Egypt and to Babylon, while ordinary
people struggled to survive, even though they
would still be taken into exile anyway. Leaders
indulged in luxury while the poor went hungry,
and priests oftentimes neglected their duties,
leading worship astray with their own corruption
and tolerating idolatry, even the practices of
the local priests of other religions. These leaders
ate the fat and clothed themselves with the wool,
while failing to strengthen the weak, heal the
sick, seek the lost. Because of their neglect,
the people were scattered. They were left vulnerable
to enemies, both human and spiritual. We've all
seen this kind of failure. The boss who takes
credit for the team's work while the employees
are unseen. The politicians enriching themselves
while ignoring the ones they're meant to serve.
The lifeguard at the busy pool who's just busy
tanning and sipping soda, and we wonder why they
didn't notice the kid that was failing. That's
the kind of failure that God is confronting through
Ezekiel. But we even saw it 24 years ago. The
fraudulent charities that cropped up claiming
to help victims' families only to pocket donations.
People that were in desperate situations and
preyed upon. Some employees who survived or lost
co -workers at the World Trade Center facing
retaliation, unsafe working conditions, or wrongful
termination as companies tried to protect financial
interests in the chaos. and how many of our own
leaders, even the ones claiming to be Christian,
did nothing unless they were forced to do so.
Sometimes people are hurt where they should be
cared for. Leaders, even religious leaders, can
fail. God sees it, and He says, enough, I will
shepherd them myself. Jesus later calls Himself
the Good Shepherd, and part of His goodness is
that He is nothing like the false leaders. He
lays down his life for the sheep instead of using
them up. Where human shepherds fail, the divine
shepherd rescues. But it wasn't just the shepherds.
The stronger Israelites mistreated the weaker
ones. While in exile in Babylon, wealthy Jewish
exiles with connections would sometimes prosper,
even while the poor were trampled down all around
them. Remember, this is Ezekiel speaking before
and after the beginning of the exile. Back in
Judah, though, even those who were left behind
fought over the scarce resources that had left
after Babylon had pillaged them, and some oppressed
their own neighbors rather than sharing. And
the social injustice, the strong pushing with
flank and shoulder, muddying the water so others
couldn't drink, was a metaphor for how the privileged
kept others from survival. Ezekiel wasn't only
criticizing the leaders, he was talking that
ordinary people could wound and exploit one another
instead of living in faithfulness. God says,
is it not enough for you to feed on the good
pasture? that you must tread down with your feet
the rest of your pasture. You push with side
and shoulder and thrust at all the weak with
your horns till you have scattered them abroad.
Some of the sheep were muddying the waters, trampling
the grass, shoving others aside. Even with God's
people, there were sheep who harmed one another.
Sheep do behave this way. They jostle at the
trough. They stir up the mud. Others can't drink,
and sometimes that's us. We muddy the water of
God's truth for others by impatience, gossip,
even selfishness. Why would they want to hear
God's word if that's what we come up with? In
everyday life, we see people who do this. The
kid at the recess who monopolizes the water fountain.
The co -worker. The one emptying the coffee pot
and doesn't think about refilling for others,
the player who refuses to pass the ball, selfishness,
thoughtlessness, pushing and shoving, muddying
the water for everyone else. But let's think
of something a bit, maybe even more serious than
these. After the towers fell, families of victims
and survivors were sometimes exploited by insurance
companies and fraudulent charities. pressured
to accept settlements far below what they were
owed. Some adjusters delayed payments, tried
to minimize claims taking advantage of grief
and crisis. People desperate for help were taken
advantage of, preyed upon in their grief. And
that's exactly what Ezekiel is describing. Sheep
hurting one another, getting what was theirs
and not caring for the flock, even when they
should care for one another. Sometimes the threat
doesn't come from bad leaders up top, but from
the way sheep treat each other in the flock.
Gossip, criticism, harshness, pride, they muddy
the waters and the weaker sheep go thirsty. God
promises to rescue us from that too. He seeks
the weak, the exploited, the vulnerable, and
He will act. And yet, Sometimes the sheep do
not need false shepherds to lead them astray
or to misuse them. Sometimes they do not need
other sheep trampling all over them. Sometimes
the sheep just wander off and lose themselves.
After Jerusalem fell in 586 BC, many Israelites
were carried into Babylonian exile while others
were left behind in Judah. And those who were
left behind faced poverty, danger from surrounding
nations, and strife from within. Without faithful
leaders, the people were scattered. They were
vulnerable. And spiritually, many of them drifted
from God in their hopelessness. Seeking security
with foreign alliances, with countries that they
had no business making treaties with, and even
idolatry. losing sight of what God wanted for
them. The flock was literally and figuratively
lost. But the shepherd goes out and searches
until he finds the lost sheep. Not if he feels
like it. Not if the sheep deserve it. He searches
until he finds it. And then there's joy. The
heart of the Gospel, when he has found it, he
lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. The shepherd
doesn't scold the sheep. He doesn't say, boy
sheep, you've gotten yourself into this mess.
You can get yourself out, can't you? He lifts
it onto his shoulders, carrying the weight, rejoicing,
and calls his friends and neighbors, rejoice
with me. I have found my sheep that was lost.
This is the Gospel. Whether our wounds came from
corrupt shepherds, or from muddy sheep, or from
our own wandering, God Himself comes to rescue
us. He doesn't tell us to clean up and find our
way back. He comes and lifts us onto His shoulders
and carries us home. We don't do this on our
own. Like a search and rescue team combing flood
waters for a single person. grateful for the
99 they've already found, but knowing that there
is one more, there is always one more. The first
responders climbing into the burning towers,
the stairs that kept collapsing, the smoke and
the fire, and still saying, who can we save again?
Not scolding the people they were rescuing, why
were you there in the first place? But the joy
of rescuing one more, even as Jesus rejoices
when one sinner is found and carried home, and
even remembering that those 99 who are still
with the other sheep, each one of them has needed
to be rescued themselves in their own time and
in their own way. The shepherd delights to rescue.
Not just out of mere duty, but out of love. because
God rescues to bring us home safely, and He's
willing to give of His own self to do so. See,
there's an image that oftentimes had been in
my head since I was a kid about sheep. See, I
never had this image of sheep as being these
really intelligent creatures. Shepherds would
tell of sheep that learned how to jump over a
fence because they wanted to get to another field.
But even when the fence was gone, they kept jumping
at the same spot. No fence, no barrier, nothing
there but still acting the exact same. But isn't
that just like us? Following our old patterns,
or the habits that other people showed us? Not
realizing the Good Shepherd is calling us to
freedom, but the question is whose voice are
we listening to? Are we listening to corrupt
shepherds who feed themselves while the flock
suffers? Are we listening to pushy sheep who
muddy the waters for others? Are we listening
to our own wandering desires and following patterns
that lead to danger? On social media, trends
arise and fall by the day. Everyone follows someone,
but few ask if the voice is the right one to
follow. Is this the meme I want to post? Is this
the person I want to quote? We're currently at
a turning point in our society, a watershed moment.
This past week has been one of tragedy and tension.
We have seen people gunned down in schools with
children and schools with adults. We've seen
a public figure shot in front of his own family
and people struggling with the feeling of mourning
and loss. We need time to grieve. No matter what
people may think of a person himself, this is
not how civilized people should ever respond
to one another. The danger though, it comes from
going beyond grief and seeking out a desire to
be a movement. A movement that may not always
be going where it needs to go. People whose sorrow
has turned to rage want a place to put their
rage. Many of them are picking up their Bibles
to use as swords against other people, even though
the irony is that the sword of the Spirit, the
Word of God, is only meant to divide between
our own soul and spirit. The Word of God is only
meant to divide between our own joints and marrow,
in order to penetrate us deeply, helping us to
discern our own thoughts. and intentions. God's
Word cannot be an actual weapon in any sense
that people are looking for right now against
the world. There are those who will try to find
things in Scripture to create a modern day crusade,
bringing back one of the darkest chapters in
history, unless we say no. The Good Shepherd
doesn't lead us into a battle that requires attacking
other people. Our battle belongs to the Lord.
Only Christ Jesus can strike the blow and He
already did it into His own flesh. The answer
is not to find whom we should attack. The answer
is to offer, believe it or not, forgiveness and
hope. We're meant to be salt and light, not to
be salty and lit up with anger. Listening to
our leaders and other sheep who are attempting
to take us down their paths will only lead us
away from the Good Shepherd. Even when Protestant
reformers attempted to stand up for their oppressed
leaders five centuries ago on the battlefield,
all they ended up doing was bringing about bloodshed
instead of the Gospel message. Following other
sheep brings death. The shepherd's voice is the
one that leads to life. Jesus says, my sheep
hear my voice and I know them, and they follow
me. Even when we fail to listen, even when we
wander, He comes after us. He calls. He lifts
us up. He carries us home. No one else can do
that. No other name. No other legacy. During
9 -11, while the chaos raged, the firefighters
and the first responders went into the danger
to rescue the lost. They weren't waiting for
permission or passing responsibility to someone
else. And that's Jesus with His sheep, seeing
us lost and trampled and coming Himself. See,
the ones who were the true heroes were the ones
who served, the ones who sacrificed, the ones
who gave up their own lives, the ones who brought
us hope and life. And it wasn't until later that
decisions made for the sake of vengeance and
punishment got us into making terrible decisions.
that would haunt us for decades to come. May
we not do so again. When we listen to the Good
Shepherd, He is not like the corrupt leaders
or the selfish sheep. He does not exploit or
shove or leave us to wander. His call is not
just practical, it is full of love and joy. And
when we hear His voice and follow Him, we step
into life, freedom, and safety. Ezekiel told
us of a shepherd who would come to rescue his
sheep from corrupt leaders, from selfish sheep,
from their own wandering. I myself will search.
I myself will rescue. We know what this looks
like. Even when so much has already been taken,
the answer is to be willing to give of our very
lives, our very selves, for the sake of forgiveness
and mercy. And that's the picture Jesus gives
us. He doesn't just give us home. He comes for
us, lifts us up, and gives us the true example
that we should follow by giving us of Himself
in humility and service. Because the truth is,
we need rescue, now especially, from the true
shepherd. So whose voice are we listening to?
Don't follow the muddy waters. Don't follow the
pushing horns. Don't even follow your own wandering
heart, no matter what it may feel. Follow the
shepherd. Because even when we don't, the shepherd
is already on his way to us. Searching, lifting,
rejoicing, carrying us back no matter what this
next week may reveal of itself. May we follow
Christ? Christ alone. Thanks be to God.