The Second Sunday After Easter '23
A Sermon for the Second Sunday after Easter, April 23, 2023
The Epistle, 1 St. Peter 2:19-25 - The Gospel, St. John 10:11-16
The Rt. Rev’d Stephen C. Scarlett
I. Good Shepherd Sunday
The Second Sunday in Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. In the gospel Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd.” In the epistle St. Peter writes, “You were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”
Many of God’s favorite people in the Bible are shepherds, including Abel, Abraham, Rachel, Moses, and David. The earliest biblical reference to the shepherd as an image for God is in Genesis 49:23-24. On his death-bed, Jacob blessed his son Joseph, saying,
“The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob through the name of the shepherd, the stone of Israel” (Gen. 49:23-4).
When Moses was about to die, He prayed to God for a successor, saying, "Let the LORD . . . set a man over the congregation . . . who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be like sheep which have no shepherd" (Num. 27:16-17). Matthew 9:36 uses these words to describe Jesus’ concern for the crowds: “[Jesus] was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”
Zechariah 13:7 says, “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.” Jesus quotes this verse to describe the events of Maundy Thursday. In Mark 14:27, he says, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: `I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.'” (see also Matt. 26:31).
The most extended Old Testament prophetic reference to shepherds is Ezekiel 34, which is a devastating evaluation of the leaders of Israel. God said to Ezekiel:
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel . . . and say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; (Ezek. 34:2-5).
God’s answer is to take over the job himself. Ezekiel 34:11-12 proclaims,
Thus says the Lord GOD: Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.
This provides the biblical context for today’s gospel, where Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd.” That is, Jesus will fulfill the promise of Ezekiel 34. He will regather the sheep who we scattered by the bad shepherds.
II. The duties of a shepherd
In the Bible shepherds have three duties. They protect the sheep from predators; they pursue lost sheep who wander away; and they lead the sheep to food, water, and abundant life.
An image of the shepherd as protector is provided by David. When the armies of Israel cowered in fear before the Philistines and their champion Goliath, David was willing to fight. King Saul protested that David was just a boy who didn’t know how to fight. David defended his abilities saying,
Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God." (1 Sam. 17:34-36).
Clearly, the young shepherd David was flying under the radar, just wandering with the sheep, killing lions and bears!
Malcolm Gladwell provides some helpful insight on David’s skills. David is often viewed as a boy with slingshot. Gladwell says that the sling was in fact ancient artillery. A skilled “slinger” could hit a target at great distance with lethal effect. It was like a modern gun. Goliath, by contrast, seemed like an undefeatable foe, but he may have suffered from certain diseases that made him ponderous and partially blind. Thus, David versus Goliath was indeed a mismatch, but in ways that weren’t apparent to the naked eye.
This provides an image for the spiritual battle. It often looks like the foe is insurmountable, but the hidden power of faith, prayer, and God’s word—the “whole armour of God” (Eph. 6:10f.) makes us powerful to participate in Christ’s victory over the evil. As we abide in Christ through prayer, we have the promise Romans 16:20, “The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet.”
Shepherds also seek the lost sheep. Jesus told a parable of the man who leaves the ninety nine sheep to seek out the one who was lost. When he finds it he comes home and has a party, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” This is the how God views his people who drift away from his fold and then return. As Jesus said, "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” (Lk. 15:4-7).
This reminds us that If we want to participate in the ministry of the Good Shepherd we must seek out the missing and wounded, the lost sheep, and rejoice with the host of heaven when people are reconciled with God.
Shepherds also lead the sheep. As Psalm 23 says, “He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake (23:3). In baptism and confirmation we promise to follow the Good Shepherd. The epistle tell us what this means. It says,
Christ . . . suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth"; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Pet. 2:21-24).
St. Peter says that to follow Christ means to respond to evil with good, and to do what is right even if we suffer for it.
This is not just a command. It is part of our healing—“By his stripes you were healed.” The healing we experience through forgiveness and reconciliation with God frees us from the need to fight our old personal battles for recognition and vindication. We are free now to do what is right no matter what anyone else does to us.
Our growth in Christ can measured by the degree to which we are able to let go of our old battles and begin to fight the good fight for Christ. The Good Shepherd is leading us to the Resurrection. We follow him by practicing right behavior in response the wrong behavior of others—just like Jesus did for us on the cross.
Easter is a good time to practice letting go of our old battles and to practice fighting the good fight in new ways. This is how we enter more fully into the life and power of Easter. “For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”
