Good Shepherd Sunday
April 17, 2016
Revelation 7:9-17
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (NIV1984)
Dear fellow worshipers of our living Lord and Savior,
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
When you think of the life of a shepherd what comes to mind? The image of a shepherd always makes me think of a large open field. Scattered across that field are, of course, sheep. Those sheep depend on their shepherd for absolutely everything. He leads them to clean drinkable water. He brings them into green pastures where they can freely graze to their heart’s content. If one of the sheep gets lost or begins to stray the shepherd goes and brings them back into the fold. Actually, in my mind’s eyes the life of a shepherd is quite idyllic. I envision the life of a shepherd to be a life of peace and tranquility. But, of course, in reality the life of a shepherd is not always so idyllic. Being a shepherd is hard work. Since sheep are not exactly the smartest animals being a shepherd could be quite frustrating at times. And then there are the times when being a shepherd is downright dangerous. In I Samuel 17:34-40 David reveals that as a shepherd he had to fight both lions and bears in order to protect his flock of sheep.
Today, my friends, as you and I celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday I would like us to focus on the fact that our Shepherd, Jesus, has indeed fought our fiercest and most dangerous enemies in order to protect us, His sheep. The enemies that Jesus fought for us were not lions or tigers or bears. No, rather, the enemies Jesus fought for us were none other than sin, death and the devil himself. Since we gather together today still basking in the warm light of Easter our goal on this Good Shepherd Sunday is to use this portion of Scripture to focus our hearts on: The Shepherd’s Victory. We will concentrate on two things today. First we will see that the Shepherd’s victory rightfully brings Him honor and praise and worship. Then we will see that the Shepherd’s victory guarantees our victory.
Our text for today gives us a glorious glimpse right into heaven itself. As the apostle John looked around in heaven what did he see? He says that he saw “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language.” Down through the history of the church there have been people who claim that heaven is only for certain people— usually people who look and talk just like them. Nothing could be further from the Truth! Jesus was born into this world to save all people. Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sins of the whole world. Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations.
As John views this “great multitude that no one could count” where were they and what were they doing? John tells us that they were “…standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’”
Does this scene remind you of anything? It reminds me of Palm Sunday! Just as Jesus rightfully received worship and honor and praise as He triumphantly rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, so also the risen Christ rightfully receives worship and honor and praise as He now takes His place on the throne of the Kingdom of Heaven. And why does Jesus deserve to receive such worship and honor and praise? Because He is the “Lamb”! He is the “Lamb” who holds in His possession the gift of eternal “salvation.” He is the “Lamb” who was slain and with His blood He “purchased men for God” (Revelation 5:9). He is the “Lamb” who alone has the right to say, “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Revelation 1:17-18).
Yes, my friends, our Good Shepherd, the One upon whom we depend for absolutely everything is the Lamb of God. He is the Lamb of God who was sacrificed on the altar of the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. He is the Lamb of God who physically rose from the dead to prove that He has secured the victory over sin, death and the devil! This unparalleled victory is what brings Him worship and honor, praise and thanks from both the saints and the angels in heaven above. This unparalleled victory is what brings Him our worship and our honor, our thanks and our praise today. The victory that we so desperately needed, the victory that was completely impossible for us to achieve on our own, that glorious eternal victory was secured for us by our Good Shepherd. Let’s make sure that no matter whether we are here in church or at home, no matter whether we are at work or at play that we bring our Good Shepherd the glory and the praise, the worship and the thanks He deserves for the victory He has won!
As we turn now to the second half of our text let’s focus on the joy and the confidence of knowing that the Shepherd’s victory is what guarantees to us our own victory. John writes, “Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes— who are they, and where did they come from?’ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”
The “great tribulation” that is spoken of here in our text refers to the life of a faithful child of God in this sin-darkened world. It includes the persecutions that the Christians were enduring in the days of John. It includes the exile that John himself was forced to endure as a result of his faithful proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It includes any difficulty and every hardship that you and I endure as a result of our faithfulness to Jesus and to His holy Word. If you take just a moment to think back on your own personal life it won’t take long to see exactly why our life as a child of God in this sin-filled world is described as a “tribulation.” But the key point in this portion of our text, my friends, the words which reveal to us how the Shepherd’s victory guarantees to us our own victory are the words, “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Now I will admit that I don’t do a great deal of laundry at home— for very good reasons! But humanly speaking if we wanted to take something that is filthy dirty and make it sparkling clean and white, the last thing that would come to mind would be to wash it in blood. At yet, the God of heaven and earth has consistently revealed in His Word that the only way to “cleanse” something, the only way to make us sinners “clean” and “holy,” “pure” and “perfect” in His sight is through blood— specifically, the blood of the Lamb of God. In 1 Peter 1:18-19 we are told, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” In 1 John 1:7 we are told, “…the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” And in Hebrews 9:22 the writer to the Hebrews, quoting from the Old Testament book of Leviticus (5:11, 17:11) reminds us that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
When by the power of God the Holy Spirit we were given the gift of saving faith in our heart, the faith that enables us to believe and confess that Jesus Christ is our personal Savior from sin, at that very moment we were clothed with a white robe of pure sparkling righteousness. This precious robe guarantees to us that all of our sins have been completely “washed away” from God’s sight forever. This precious robe guarantees to us that eternal life in heaven is now ours as a free gift from our Savior God. This precious robe guarantees to us that no matter how much tribulation and no matter how many trials we may endure in this life the victory is ours purely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This precious robe guarantees to us that the victory that we will experience when it is our turn to leave the “tribulation” of this life and join together with all the saints and all the angels in heaven is a victory that goes far beyond anything we can even begin to imagine. Yes, my friends, this precious robe is the gift of saving faith in our hearts. It is the faith that enables us to look at the cross and know deep in our heart that our Good Shepherd did all this for me!
Think that through just a little bit. The precious gift of faith guarantees to us that the Shepherd’s victory is now our victory! But what exactly does that victory include? Well, if this life is described as a “great tribulation” the victory that our Good Shepherd guarantees to us is described in these words: “…they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; and he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
By the grace of God you and I know that this victory is ours, my friends, because by the grace of God you and I know that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. That is a truth, that is a victory that we need to keep clearly in focus not just today on Good Shepherd Sunday, but every single day of our lives. Why? Because as we all know, we don’t always “feel” victorious do we? Satan does his best to use the “tribulations” that we endure on this earth to make us “feel” defeated and hopeless. Again, think back on your own personal life— whether you go back years or days or perhaps just hours. Do you wake up every single day “feeling” victorious in your life and victorious in your faith? Or, are there days when you wake up and wish you could just stay in bed? Do you face every single difficulty you encounter, every single set-back you experience whistling “I’m But a Stranger Here”? When you go toe-to-toe with the temptations that the devil, the world and your own sinful flesh bring against you do you do so with the same confidence that fills your heart and soul on Easter Sunday? If we were to depend on how we “feel” from one day to the next we would all be in serious trouble! Praise God, that instead of depending on how we “feel” we can depend on the One who has done so very much for us (Pointing to the cross), the One who has so very much waiting for us in His heavenly Kingdom, the One who has the right, the power and the authority to say, “I am the Good Shepherd, I am your Good Shepherd.”
The Shepherd’s Victory. Thank and praise God, my friends, that the gift of saving faith which God the Holy Spirit has created in your heart enables you to know that The Shepherd’s Victory truly is a victory that brings honor, praise and unending love and devotion to Jesus, our Good Shepherd— not only from the saints and angels in heaven, but also from us, His saints here on this earth. Thank and praise God, that the gift of saving faith which God the Holy Spirit has created in your heart enables you to know that the The Shepherd’s Victory is what guarantees to you your own victory.
To God be the glory!
Amen