St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

October 13 and 16, 2005 Pentecost 22

Ezekiel 34:12,13,25,26

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. 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 the settlements in the land…I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. 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.

People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

Have you read about the earthquakes in Pakistan? On the Internet they had one of those slide shows. The picture of a man’s face—his head all wrapped in bandages—a horrible black and purple bruise around his sad eyes. A picture of a mommy—her 6 children all in a row in front of her—all covered with blankets. Some of the blankets were too small—the children’s bare feet sticking out. It looked like the children were all sleeping—but they weren’t. The mommy was holding her head like it hurt—crying the most painful tears. The picture of a little boy—holding a juice box—while drinking from a huge bottle of Mt. Dew. In the background was the school that had buried him when it collapsed. The picture of 3 injured guys—all relatives—being helicopter-ed for treatment—with pillows and blankets all around them—just their smiling faces peeking out. They were so happy at being saved! How horrible—in a moment to have your whole world literally crashing down around you. How much more horrible by far—to have your sin and guilt crashing down around your heart and your ears. How tragic to be rescued from stone and brick and rubble—only to be lost forever in eternal destruction! Only the LORD—the Great I AM—the Holy One of Israel could rescue us from all our sins. This Evangelism Sunday this is the message we will share with the whole world:

The LORD Will Take Care of His Sheep

1. He will rescue the lost and scattered

2. He will bind up the injured

3. He will shepherd with his justice

The part of God’s Word we are concentrating on—from the scroll of the prophet Ezekiel. Think of one of the most painful times in the history of God’s Old Testament people. 722 years before baby Jesus was born—the violent and bloody Assyrians had carried the northern ten tribes of Israel off into oblivion—literally oblivion! 100 years later—the Babylonians were the super power. In 605 years before baby Jesus was born the Babylonians defeated Pharaoh Necho and the Egyptians. Now Babylon was the only super power. That power meant—as part of God’s plan to discipline the sheep of Israel—the brightest and the best of the children of Israel were taken into captivity—taken into exile. Men like Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego were moved 1000 miles from home to serve Nebuchadnezzar. 597 years before baby Jesus was born—Nebuchadnezzar returned to a rebellious Judah—to crush the rebellion. This is when Ezekiel was moved to Babylon. Eleven years later King Zedekiah—attempted yet one more rebellion. This time the Babylonians really lowered the boom. The walls of Jerusalem were reduced to gravel. Solomon’s Temple was smashed down. Anything of any value was hauled away. Any people that were left were either put to death or hauled away. All that was left were the very old—the very feeble—the people that wouldn’t make it to Babylon and weren’t worth an arrow to put to death! Israel would be left like the abandoned vineyard we heard about last week—the wall down—the hedge gone—thorns, thistles and sticker bushes and weeds growing everywhere! The LORD’s discipline was exceedingly fierce—because his never failing love was so great!

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. Shepherds are supposed to look out for their sheep—lead them, defend and protect them, feed and water them. That’s what shepherds are supposed to do. The shepherds of Israel did not take very good care of their sheep. The shepherds here—are first and foremost the political leaders of God’s people—the Kings and princes—the leaders and rulers—people in positions of great public trust and earthly authority! These shepherd who were supposed to protect God’s sheep had only used and abused them. Christians ought to be concerned about our leaders. We need to know what’s going on. We need to pray for our President and Vice-President—the Speaker of the House—our Senators—the Supreme Court—our Governor—our Mayor—our Police chief and Fire chief. The spiritual shepherds of Israel were not faithful either. When that happens—the sheep are scattered. A scattered flock needs to be gathered together!

I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness… Days of clouds and darkness are obviously days of storms and troubles. Sometimes you can see the dark clouds on the horizon. You know trouble is coming. And sometimes troubles come suddenly and unexpectedly—like heart attacks, strokes, car accidents, terrible hurt and harm that comes without warning. Only Jesus can make us as strong as we need to be on the day of clouds and darkness—that we will not be overwhelmed!

I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land… We live in a big world. It’s easy to forget that! There are what—250 million people in the United States—6 billion people alive on this planet? Jesus could tell you exactly how many people are alive—at any given moment—some being born and some dying. Jesus will gather his sheep from South Africa—the Ndebele people. Do you know who they are—the Ndebele? They are people who wear golden rings around their neck—making their neck longer and longer. Jesus died for the sheep who live in the Moroccan city of Fez—like the little red hats. Outside the city of Fez they have sheep skins and goat skins that are dyed bright red—drying in the sun next to white washed tombs. People have lived in the city of Fez since 800 years after baby Jesus was born. Almost no one there knows that Jesus is their Savior from sin. How sad is that? North of us is the Island of Newfoundland—by Laborador—places of rock and stone—where in the dead of winter the wind is bitter and the ice and snow are thick. They say the people who live in the first English settlements of Canada are strong hard people. Could you name the provinces of Canada? Do you know which is which? Do we worry about our neighbors to the north? Most of them do not go to church on Sunday. They would be the first to tell you—they have enough troubles and problems come Monday morning. And now they are supposed to be concerned about what happens when they die? Don’t call them—they will call us when they are interested—ok? The fact is—our Heavenly Father will gather his sheep from around the world. He will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries. And I will bring them into their own land. The only question is—will we be a part of that gathering or won’t we? Will we be a part of the great commission? Will we share God’s Word around the world—or will we struggle just to keep that Gospel to ourselves?

I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak… There are lots of injuries. The first ones that come to mind are the injuries that make you bleed. The nose bleeds—the cuts and scrapes that bleed. The wounds that are so grievous—when you bandage them—the blood seeps all the way through the bandage—then turns a dark burgundy—almost black as the blood dries. Sometimes these physical injuries are so painful people cry out! People call 911 and people come in little box shaped trucks to haul you to the ER where they are expert in treating injuries that threaten your physical life. Sometimes the injuries are mental and emotional. Sometimes the hurt is deep inside. Little children lie. They tell lies with practiced ease. They look you right in the eye—and without flinching—lie. Sometimes teenagers steal alcohol. They steal money and buy drugs. They have hugs and kisses in the back seat of a car—or in a home where no parent is home. Sometimes spouses are apart because of work or business—and someone is physically unfaithful—shattering their marriage promises! These kind of injuries are so deep—there is no bandage—no salve—no lotion to ease that hurt. Only Jesus can bind up our injuries—the kind that bleed and the kind that you can’t see—but are in many ways even more painful. Jesus heals those hurts with his powerful forgiveness. Jesus heals us—by forgiving us and making us strong enough to forgive those who have hurt us. Jesus binds up the injured and strengthens the weak. When we realize we are weak—then we know Jesus’ strength. That’s why the apostle Paul could write, “When I am weak—then I am strong.” Jesus is our strength when we know we are weak and cannot stand on our own.

I will shepherd the flock with justice… Justice! Don’t you want that? Take for example the baseball game last night. The Angels and the White Sox. A guy named A. J. is up to bat. A guy named Josh is catching. A guy named Doug is the umpire. The wind up and the pitch—A. J. swings and misses. The umpire shoots his arm out—every grade school child knows what that means! Strike three! Y’re out! The catcher catches the ball—and rolls it out toward the mound. The Angels all run toward the dug out. A. J. runs to first base! The catcher—if in doubt—should have tagged A. J. out. He didn’t. If he was out—the umpire should have yelled, “He’s out!” He didn’t. A. J. is safe on first base. Is he out or isn’t he? Conference—conference—conference. They decide he’s not. The next thing you know—he steals second. The next thing after that—there’s a long ball—and he scores and the White Sox win! That isn’t right is it? Oh, they say—they should have instant replay. They should make sure they get it right. No, others say—umpire mistakes are part of the game. That’s the way the ball bounces! What do you think? In this world—justice is often an illusive thing! The older you get—the greater the danger that we will become painfully cynical. That we like Pontius Pilate will say—“What is truth?” Where is justice? The LORD—the great I AM—the Holy One of Israel will being justice in the end. His judgments will ring true. We will stand acquitted—declared not guilty by the ultimate Judge—forgiven for Jesus’ sake!

I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down declares the Sovereign LORD. If you watch the news—you must be aware there is much ado about the Supreme Court of the United States. Again and again they talk about John Marshall. Do you know who he was—John Marshall? He studied law briefly in 1870—can that be right? That part of a year—he read about law. The next thing you know—he is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America! He is Chief Justice for 34 years, 5 months and 2 days—until the day he dies. He is part of more than 1,000 decisions. He writes the decision for more than 500 cases. According to history books—no one in history has had as much of an effect on Constitutional Law as John Marshall! Did you know that? It’s ok if you didn’t. Because the one who will judge all people—the living and the dead is the Lord Jesus. That’s the only Supreme Judge that you and I really need to be concerned about. They say that people in Ireland have a special way of weaving woolen sweaters. They say that each family has a particular pattern that they weave into the sweaters worn by the sailors—the fishermen of their family. If their loved one should be on board a ship that sinks—if their loved one is swept overboard and drowns—they will be able to identify the body in part—because that woolen sweater—that the cold salt water will not ruin—will bear the family pattern. We who are Jesus’ lambs and sheep will bear his mark come judgment day. It won’t be a sweater of wool—but it will be a robe of righteousness that Jesus purchases for you and for me at the exceedingly high price of his innocent blood. Jesus died and rose again—the Good Shepherd laying down his life for sheep who love to wander. Because the innocent died in our place we are forgiven. We are Jesus’ lambs and sheep not just for now but forever. Share that Good news with everyone everywhere—at every opportunity Jesus gives you. Amen!

To God alone all glory!

Rev. Anthony E. Schultz