St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church -- Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Christ the King Sunday -- November 17^th and 20^th, 2005

Dear sheep of the Good Shepherd. Amen

How many of you have pets? I would think that most families have some kind of pet, whether it is a dog, cat, fish, crab or rabbit. Isn’t it the cry of just about every child at some point in their life, Mom and Dad, can we get a pet. They promise over and over that they will feed the pet and play with the pet, bathe it and keep its cage clean and the list seems to go on and on. So when you have finally been badgered to point of caving in, you finally say yes, but the rule is that you are responsible for that pet. Things go well for about two weeks and then you begin to notice that there is no food in the food dish. There is no water in the water dish. The cage hasn’t been cleaned out for a long time. The novelty has begun to wear off. This is where it seems that the parents have to step in and assume the role of taking care of the pet.

As we look at our words for today, we are going to see that under God’s perfect plan he wanted the spiritual leaders of the people of Israel to care for his people who are also called sheep. But the spiritual leaders (shepherds) had neglected their duties and had in fact left their sheep to die spiritually. At this very low point in time, God reminds us through the prophet Ezekiel that he is still our Shepherd and that he will take care of us and watch over us. That is the picture that we will use today under the theme:

Ezekiel was transported to Babylon along with Daniel and many other inhabitants of Judah. It is estimated that he lived there about 30 years, which is about half of the entire Babylonian captivity. Jerusalem was burned in 586 B.C., and that incident became the focal point of Ezekiel’s prophecy. Before the city’s burning, he had prophesied of destruction and judgment. After Jerusalem’s burning, he prophesied comfort and restoration. Included in his prophecy of comfort was the coming Messiah, Jesus, who would give his people eternal rest in the Promised Land of eternity.

This particular section of Ezekiel’s prophecy is part of a section that speaks against those who were supposed to be shepherds of God’s people, the spiritual leaders. In contrast to their wickedness and unfaithfulness, God promises to be the Shepherd of his people. He talks about the many things he would do for his people as their Shepherd and holds out to them the promise of "David," who would be their Shepherd and Prince in days to come—a prophecy of Jesus, the great descendant of David.

"For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them." Note the emphasis on "myself." These initial words of the Lord set the tone for this entire section. What follows is in sharp contrast to what God said in the previous verses about the "shepherds" who were supposed to be leading his people. Their neglect of duty was one of the primary reasons that God’s people were led away into captivity. Since these spiritual leaders were filled with greed and were more concerned about their own welfare than the spiritual welfare of the people, God saw it necessary to bring about punishment on the people as a whole. The idolatry of the people of Israel was brought about in great part because of the lack of shepherding by the kings and other spiritual rulers of Israel.

So now God himself vows to be their Shepherd. He promises to search for his sheep and look after them. Such searching indicates that the sheep have gone astray. The sheep have gone astray! But God searches for them—an example of his goodness. Yes, this entire text is a striking illustration of the gospel, the good news of God’s grace. He does so many things for his wandering sheep! Here is one of them—he searches for them.

He also looks after them. He looks after them like a shepherd does, with great affection for the flock. The parallels between sheep and us humans (sinners) are many, and they are useful. We need someone who is smarter and stronger than we are to look after us. God himself promises to do that very thing. Not only is he smarter, but he is also all-wise. Not only is he stronger, but he is also all-powerful. Just as the people of Israel needed a leader like that, so also we do today. Just as they found a leader in the covenant God, so also we have that same leader to guide us today. Jesus is our Shepherd.

"As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness." These words may have reminded Ezekiel’s hearers of the day they were led off into captivity. Ezekiel, like Daniel, was one of those that was taken away from his homeland. And if these words didn’t remind them of that particular day, then it may have reminded them of the day that their beloved Jerusalem was destroyed. When they lost that city, they lost their capital, their center of worship, their pride and joy. That was a day of clouds and darkness. And that day was followed by many other days of clouds and darkness, at least for those who longed to return to their beloved homeland once again.

In today’s world there are many days that would be fittingly described as days of "clouds and darkness" for God’s people. Our own personal sinfulness brings us such a feeling. The evils of society, the uncertainty of the future, hardships of all kinds, loss of loved ones, personal tragedies, overwhelming challenges, a really grievous sin committed—all fill the days with clouds, darkness, and misery. God’s people today often feel like they have been scattered from the shelter that love and security provide.

That’s where the words of our Shepherd enter the picture. And what beautiful words they are! "I will rescue them!" Notice how many things he promises and why this is therefore such a fitting text for focusing on the end times: "I myself will search . . . look after . . . rescue . . . bring them out . . . gather them . . . bring them... pasture them... tend them... search for the lost.., bring back the strays. .. bind up the injured. . . strengthen the weak. . .[destroy] the sleek and the strong. . . shepherd the flock with justice".

Of all the many things God promises to do, rescuing his sheep is one that he mentions early. The people of Israel needed to be rescued from the land of captivity. That was fulfilled when they were restored to their homeland. All sinners need to be rescued from their captivity to sin and its consequences. God does that as well. He does that by freeing us from the guilt of sin and by finally bringing us to perfect freedom in heaven. As sheep in his flock, we can face the trials and difficulties of a sin-filled life with that reality in mind.

"I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements of the land." God was very specific with these words. This word of prophecy should have left no doubt in the minds of those who listened to Ezekiel preach that they would be brought back home once again. What the so-called spiritual leaders of Israel could not accomplish, God, their Shepherd, would. What the so-called spiritual leaders of Israel actually took away from the people, God, their Shepherd, would restore to them. Though the fulfillment of this prophecy did not come immediately, it did come. God’s people were indeed restored to their homeland. They once again enjoyed the opportunity to live in the Promised Land, that had become theirs so many years before.

Though these words do not always come to fulfillment immediately for each of us, we know that they will indeed be fulfilled when we reach the Promised Land of heaven, which God reserved for us long ago. Because God, our Shepherd, has called us into his flock, we can be assured that he is leading each of us on the path to that land where we will enjoy perfect bliss forevermore. Thus in these words of Ezekiel, we see prophecy that was fulfilled once, long ago, when the people of Israel returned home, and that will be fulfilled again when each child of God enters that land of glory that has no end!

"I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel." What was it that made the pastureland of these sheep so good and rich? Although it may be true that the land itself offered that promise, it can hardly be said that the land was the only thing that would make the pasture good. The people of Israel surely faced difficult seasons of drought and famine after they returned home once again. There was more to this promise than what the land offered. What made the land good is the fact that God would be the one who would shepherd these people in that land. He would give them a place of refuge from their sins and the terrible consequences of sin. He shepherds his people by providing rest for the sinner’s soul.

So also today those who are members of God’s flock rejoice in the goodness and richness of their pastureland no matter what physical circumstances they may be in. The fact that God is their Shepherd reminds them that a spiritual richness is theirs through the forgiveness of their sins and the promise of eternal life. No matter where we are, no matter how things may be going on this earth, we live in a good pasture, a rich pasture, since God is at our side, guiding us on the path to the next life, the life that is good beyond all compare.

And so today the power to do what is right, the power to find comfort in this life, is found in only one source—the gospel message of what God has done and will do for us. This section of Ezekiel’s prophecy is full of that gospel power. The Lord will be the Shepherd of his people! No earthly man, no pastor, no teacher, no government ruler will do what God himself has done and will do. Our true Shepherd gives us comfort, guidance, and strength as we sinful sheep wander through this life and on to the next.

"I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice." A new thought is injected with these words, but a thought that is truly necessary for all God’s people to hear. We note the "injured" and "weak." Those who are truly God’s sheep recognize their weaknesses. They realize they are sinful and in need of divine guidance and strength. Those who are called sleek and strong are those that feel no such need. There were those that fit that description among the people of Israel during Ezekiel’s day. Some of the "sleek and strong" were the so-called spiritual leaders of the people. That’s why God had said, "I am against the shepherds" (v. 10). Since such people felt no need for a spiritual shepherd, since they felt they were by themselves strong and sleek, God promised t! o destroy them. He is a just Shepherd!

But in his justice God also sent his Son to bear the load of sin for all people. And those who realize that only God could bear that load and remove it have been found by God’s amazing grace, have been healed of their sin-sick souls, have been strengthened by God’s might. To appreciate fully the wonderful gospel that God himself is our Shepherd is to also recognize fully the need to have him as our Shepherd! We weak, injured, and lost sheep have been strengthened, healed, and found by a just and loving Savior-God.

"I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken." David had been dead for about four hundred years, so this is obviously a reference to someone other than King David, whom the Israelites would certainly recall. David was the great king who brought power to Israel, who ruled them as an undivided nation, the man of faith that the Lord had blessed richly, in spite of his sins. Who is it that fits the description of David in history? Who is it that could be called by that name and be the one that would tend Israel as its Shepherd, who would be prince among the people? This is a prophecy of none other than Jesus Christ, who was of the ancestral line of David, who still does tend the sheep of "Israel". Jesus is the one who could claim for himself the title of Good S! hepherd!

In these verses, we see the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy regarding God’s shepherding his people. Jesus Christ has won redemption for his people. Those who lived before Jesus’ time believed in that upcoming fulfillment. Those who have lived since that time believe in what has already taken place. But all are members of God’s flock, by faith. That’s why this prophecy spoken by Ezekiel is a prophecy for all sheep of all time, a prophecy that gives to all God’s sheep the promise of eternity.

As we live in this sinful world, we may wonder what is going on and how am I going to make it. It is at points like this that we need to remember that our Good Shepherd is always taking care of us. We are never alone. He has spiritually healed us up from our spiritual wounds and will tend us until he calls home to heaven. We never need to worry or be afraid, because Jesus is our Shepherd. Amen