The Voice of the Good Shepherd (Cemetery Service)

The Voice of the Good Shepherd

John 10:11-16 T Easter 3

Alleluia, Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed, Alleluia.

INI

A sheep with no shepherd is lost. They have no one to lead them to cool waters, or to fresh green grass. They have no one to protect them from the wolves which prowl around to seek, hunt, and destroy the sheep. Of course, we’re the sheep, and Jesus is the Good Shepherd, which He proclaims to us today.

It’s interesting how Jesus leads His sheep. Recently, I’ve watched several videos of border collies working together to herd a flock of sheep. For whatever reason, I’m just so fascinated with how they’re able to get behind the sheep, and sort of scare the sheep and push them into going a certain direction. Notably, the sheep are moved by fear of getting their ankles nipped at – not love or trust.

Contrast that with how Middle Eastern shepherds would lead their sheep. They would be in the front of the sheep, and call to them. The sheep know the sound of their shepherd’s voice and call. Hearing it, they probably think that they’re being led to better pastures. So, they gladly go wherever their shepherd calls them to go. They are moved by love and trust – not fear.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd leads his sheep in a similar way. He leads with His Word. He says – “I am the Good shepherd, I know my own and my own know me, just as I know the Father and the Father knows me.” The sheep intimately know their shepherd. They aren’t intimidated by him – rather, they love him and gladly follow him – because He’s leading them towards something beneficial for them. Towards the end of our assigned text, Jesus says “they will listen to my voice” and later on in verse 27, He says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Jesus shepherds His church with His Word. It’s the only tool He has in his toolbox. He doesn’t nip at our heels like the border collies do. Rather, He invites us. He calls through His Word and true Christians follow His voice – inviting them to know and trust that He is good.

         As we go about our lives, we interact, pass by, and live with people who don’t know the voice of the Good Shepherd. They hear it, but don’t follow. They flee to other more dangerous pastures, where wolves gather to devour the sheep. They are sometimes misled innocently – they believe they’re following the right voice, the right word. Other times, it’s intentional – because they hate the Word of God and what it teaches. They may hear it, but not recognize the transformative power and nature of the Holy Spirit through it.

         But for us who are continually being sanctified by the Gifts of the Holy Spirit given in the Divine Service through Word and Sacrament – we hear our Shepherd calling us to receive His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation through Word and Sacrament as He freely uses His words to give us His promises. He says – “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. “Take eat, Take drink, this is my body and blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” You are given such a great gift here that protects you against the attacks of the devil and his ravenous wolves that would love to draw you away from Christ and His gifts.

         Today, we observe this text in our lectionary as we overlook our cemetery, where the bodies of our loved one’s rest. In these graves, they await the resurrection of all flesh on the last day. On that day, when the Good Shepherd calls us from our tombs, we’ll arise to live before Him in heaven forever. Many of us love this cemetery. We cherish it. We’ve worked hard to make it look good – thus, we show honor to them through our efforts and service. We’re even expanding it for future generations so that we don’t have to worry about “not having a spot” in this cemetery.

         We continue to observe the fourth commandment by honoring our fathers and mothers – which don’t just include mom and dad. It also includes the spiritual forefathers who established Zion Lutheran Church on Augsburg Mountain all the way in 1883. They came from Germany and built a church here for worship because they recognized that the sheep need to orient their lives to hear from their Good Shepherd. A house of worship was a priority for them. It wasn’t secondary. They needed to hear the Word of God preached, taught, and received in the Sacraments. That’s the legacy they left us with.

So today, we honor, cherish, revere, and love them – just as the Lord has commanded us to do. But not because they were without faults. We honor them, because by doing so, we honor our Lord. And now, having run the race of faith, they rest as the church triumphant. For Christ their Good Shepherd has guided them with His gifts to a place of bodily rest, where they eternally rest in Him. For that, we give thanks and praise.  And we, the church militant, who still fight the good fight of faith, continue on with what they’ve worked so hard to proclaim, which is this… – Alleluia, Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Alleluia! This was their proclamation. And it’s ours too. Why? Because the same shepherd who guided them guides us.

The world around us may look quite different today. We live in a time that is less churched and more morally confused than in generations past. Yet isn’t that all the more reason for us to honor those who came before us—not just by remembering them, but by imitating the best part of their legacy: their faith and trust in Christ? In doing so, we bear witness to the same saving truth, so that others too might be drawn to the hope we have in Him.

Let‘s carry on the work they began, dedicating our time, money, and resources to the proclamation of the Gospel—for the sake of the lost sheep who wander without a shepherd. So many are led astray by false doctrines, chasing after what pleases their itching ears and feeds their selfish desires. To neglect the spread of Christ’s Holy Gospel is to dishonor not only the faith of our forefathers, but also the Good Shepherd Himself, who still calls His sheep to hear His voice and follow Him.

And where do we hear that voice? The Lord goes before us, calling His sheep to come to church weekly, leading us to hear His voice in the Scriptures and to hear the messenger apply the Scriptures to our time and culture. He calls us to receive the strengthening of faith through the Sacrament of the Altar. As we depart, He calls us to help our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who gather under the same voice, the same shepherd.

But to hear that voice, we must understand who it is that calls, and why we should follow. Jesus calls himself the “Good Shepherd”. You may have heard me say it before, but it bears repeating. The adjective ‘good’ doesn’t describe the quality of His shepherding – like, that He’s not a bad shepherd, but He’s a good shepherd. Rather, it’s the claim that He is the only shepherd. There’s no other shepherds like Him. And how is he distinct? Jesus tells us in His next breath – “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” He warns us that there are hirelings that’re among us. That is to say, many will say “follow me and my teachings”. They will lead and guide you by either manipulating the truth of God and His Word, or they will use another false Gospel entirely. Even with those who claim the name “Christian,” many false teachers abound—especially among prosperity Gospel preachers. They’re dangerous because they distort the voice of the Good Shepherd. Instead of teaching God’s people to take up their cross and follow Christ in suffering and humility, they promise earthly riches, health, and success as signs of God’s favor. And when those things don’t come, they blame the believer: “Your faith just wasn’t strong enough.” But that’s not the Gospel. That’s law disguised as grace. The true voice of Christ calls us not to comfort and ease, but to repentance, trust, and faithfulness—even in suffering.

Other false shepherds—or hirelings—come in many forms. Secularism, for example, teaches people to ignore God entirely, often claiming that religion is outdated or only for the emotionally weak. Then there are the world’s many false religions—Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Deism, and others—which all mislead people about the true identity and saving work of Christ, the Good Shepherd. But what all of these have in common is this: the god they present—if they speak of one at all—may demand obedience or offer love, but he never sacrifices himself for his people. Only in Christianity does the one true God lay down His life for the sheep.

That’s what makes Jesus the Good Shepherd—He lays down His life for those who follow Him. Not because He’s forced to. Jesus makes it abundantly clear that He has the authority to lay down His life and the authority to take it up again. He says, “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

One of the criticisms sometimes raised about Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection is that He didn’t have a choice—that He was trapped in His fate, powerless to avoid the cross, simply following orders from His Father. But is that how sons and fathers work? Sons disobey their fathers all the time. They have a will of their own. And Jesus, the Son of God, certainly had the power to avoid the cross. But He didn’t. He chose it. He willingly laid down His life.

Why? First, because He loves His Father. He listens to His Father’s voice and perfectly obeys it. And second, because He loves you. He loves His sheep. He lays down His life to gather them—all of them—into one flock, one church, under one Shepherd.

So, when Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd, He’s declaring that all other so-called “shepherds” are nothing of the sort. They’re impostors. All false gods are ultimately dead ends—they lead their followers not to life, but to despair, to death, and finally to eternal separation from God. But Jesus is the living God. He alone is the true Shepherd, because He alone leads His sheep with His voice into eternal life. When we hear His call, follow His voice, and receive His gifts through His Church, He brings us to the Father—for Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

And His flock isn’t complete yet. There are still sheep outside this fold gathered here today. But Jesus says, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.” That means the voice of the Good Shepherd must continue to go out into the world. There are still many who need to hear Him and receive His gifts here, in this place. They will hear His voice when His Word is spoken and lived through His people. So, we don’t retreat into our sanctuary and say, “Well, we’re safe, and that’s all that matters.” No—Christ desires that His kingdom grow. He wants more sheep gathered into His flock here, to receive His gifts in this Church, so that one day they too may join the church triumphant with all the saints—yes, even with those buried in our cemetery, who now rest in Him.

So when Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd,” He’s not offering a gentle suggestion. He’s making a claim. A claim on you. A claim on your life. A claim on every breath you take. He’s saying: “I laid down my life for you. You belong to me.”

And that’s not just poetry or imagery. That’s a promise. A real, flesh-and-blood promise from the crucified and risen Lord who still speaks to His sheep through His Word. A Shepherd who doesn’t drive you with fear, but leads you with mercy. A Shepherd who doesn’t stand far off, but goes before you—even through death itself—and comes out alive on the other side, to lead you there too.

So don’t be fooled by the hirelings. Don’t be drawn off by the wolves. Don’t wander into pastures that promise pleasure but deliver poison. You have a Shepherd. You know His voice. Stay close. Come and eat. Come and drink. Come and live.

Because the day is coming—and it is coming—when the trumpet will sound, and the Shepherd will speak once more. And those buried in these hills will rise. And those who’ve heard His voice in this life will follow Him out of the grave. And not one—not one—will be snatched out of His hand.

Alleluia, Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed, Alleluia.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston