Sermon: The Good Shepherd and His Shepherds
Bible Passage: John 21:15-17
I. In the OT, the people of Israel are frequently called “sheep” or “flock”
1. Psalm 100:3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture
2. Zech 9:16 On that day the Lord their God will deliver them as the flock of his people, for they are the precious stones of a crown sparkling over his land
3. Isa 53:6 All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him
II. The LORD uses “Shepherd” metaphor to explain His relationship with His people (In other words, the writers of the Old Testament looked at the LORD as “the Shepherd”)
1. Gen 48:15 Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac walked—the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day
2. Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd
3. Isa 40:11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close to his heart; he leads the ewes along
III. Human leaders were made shepherds as the LORD’s proxies
1. 2 Sam 5:2 In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the real leader in Israel. The Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people “Israel”; you will rule over Israel’”
2. Isa 44:28 I am the Lord … who commissions Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd to carry out all my wishes and to decree concerning Jerusalem
3. Ezek 34:1 The word of the Lord came to me: 34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel
4. Human leaders work on behalf of the LORD
IV. The human shepherds disappointed God by becoming greedy, neglectful, and self-serving (Ezek 34:1-10)
1. Self-focused and fail to feed the God’s sheep Ezek 34:2-3
2. Neglected the welfare of the sheep for which they were appointed (Ezek34:4)
3. Exposed the LORD’s sheep to vulnerability (Ezek 34:5)
4. God was frustrated with human leaders (Ezek 34:10 Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds)
V. When human shepherd-kings failed, divine Shepherd became a messianic expectation (Ezek 34:11-16; cf. Jer 23:3; 31:10)
1. 34:11 For this is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out
2. 34:12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day
3. 34:13 I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land
4. 34:14 In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel
5. 34:15 I myself will feed my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the sovereign Lord
6. 34:16 I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them—with judgment!
VI. Jesus is the messianic Shepherd prophesied in Ezek 34:11-16
1. Jesus announced, “I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11)
2. He demonstrates what true “shepherding” involves
a. Jesus laid down His life for His sheep (verse 11)
b. Jesus knows every single sheep intimately (v.14) and His sheep know Him (verse16)
c. Jesus provides ultimate security (verse18), and is deeply committed to His sheep
d. Jesus went after the weak, helpless, and ignored (Luke 19:10 vs. Isa 40:11 and Ezek 34:16)
e. Jesus went after the lost (Matt 15:24 cf. Matt 10:6)
f. Jesus provides ultimate “pastoral care”
John 21:15-17: Jesus calls His believers “my lambs” and “my sheep”—precious possession (John 21:15-17)
VII. Jesus delegated (appointed?) His care to the leaders of the church—it involves (two verbs)
1. Feeding Jesus’ sheep with spiritual nourishment
a. Feeding stimulates growth
b. Feeding leads to maturity
2. Tending Jesus’ sheep—to watch out, to keep them together
a. Guiding
b. Administering
VIII. God has put so much for expectation on pastoral office (theology of pastoral leadership)
1. Jesus’ believers need care, growth, and be held together
2. The leaders are called upon to be proxies for Jesus—to be “under shepherds” for the Good Shepherd
3. God planned His sheep’s spiritual nurture through preaching, teaching, and caring
4. Jesus prefers “shepherd leadership” which is “sheep focused” rather than shepherd focused
5. Only by “tending” and “caring” for Jesus’ sheep, leaders demonstrate their love for Jesus
6. One’s faithfulness to Jesus is not measured just in his/her ability to speak or grow the flock in number, but in their commitment to care for the sheep
7. Positions of leadership at a local church is not positions of status, but they position of service
Take Away:
1. (Leaders) Look constantly to Jesus to carry out “flock focused” leadership
2. Commit to be part of a congregation where “shepherd leadership” is practiced