<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Fourth Sunday of Easter<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mother\u2019s Day<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May 8, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John 10:22-30<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our Good Shepherd Is Our \u201cSafe Person\u201d!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon\u2019s Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, \u201cHow long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.\u201d Jesus answered \u201cI did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father\u2019s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father\u2019s hand. I and the Father are one.\u201d <\/em>(NIV1984)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear fellow worshipers of our living Lord and Savior,<\/p>\n\n\n\n He is risen! He is risen indeed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Jonah started preschool last fall everything was new. Everything was different. And in some ways many things were scary. He didn\u2019t know any of the other children in his class. He didn\u2019t know any of the teachers or helpers. He didn\u2019t know what to expect. Thankfully, one of his teachers, Miss Liana, quickly became his \u201csafe person.\u201d As long as Miss Liana was there everything was fine. But, on the days that Miss Liana was not able to be there, Jonah became very quiet in class and was very hesitant to go to school. As soon as Miss Liana returned\u2014 he was happy to go to school and he was much better at participating in class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who was\/is your \u201csafe person\u201d? Especially when you were young who was the person in your life whose mere presence made you feel safe and secure? For most of us the very first \u201csafe person\u201d in our life is our Mom. Mom fed us. Mom took care of us. Mom wiped away the tears when we were injured or ill. As we grew older we may have had others who became our \u201csafe person\u201d in life\u2014 a spouse, a trusted friend\u2014 but for most people their Mom will always have a special place in their heart as their \u201csafe person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This morning as we continue our celebration of Easter we are given the opportunity to focus on the fact that today is both Mother\u2019s Day as well as Good Shepherd Sunday. To help us bridge those two wonderful truths let\u2019s study our text for today under the theme: Our Good Shepherd Is Our \u201cSafe Person\u201d!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The opening verses of our text give us a very good example of the type of situation our Good Shepherd encountered many times in His public Ministry. John tells us, \u201cThen came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon\u2019s Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, \u2018How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Feast of Dedication was a very important celebration in the lives of God\u2019s Chosen People. Today this feast is known as Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. This festival commemorated the victory of God\u2019s people over the Syrians and the purification of the Temple which had been desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes. As Jesus was walking around in Solomon\u2019s Colonnade on this very important day a group of Jesus\u2019 enemies \u201cgathered around him.\u201d<\/em> Very literally the Greek here says that Jesus\u2019 enemies \u201csurrounded\u201d<\/em> Him. Once Jesus\u2019 enemies had \u201csurrounded\u201d<\/em> Him, they demanded that He answer a very important question. They said to him, \u201cHow long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.\u201d<\/em> We can still feel the tension in the air as Jesus\u2019 enemies asked the right question\u2014 but the hardness of their hearts caused them to deny the right answer to that question! Jesus reveals the hardness of their hearts when He says to them, \u201cI did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father\u2019s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Two months before the confrontation recorded here in our text, when Jesus proclaimed that He is the \u201cGood Shepherd\u201d<\/em> who lays down His life for the sheep, John tells us that many of the Jews who heard Jesus make this claim responded by saying, \u201cHe is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?\u201d<\/em> (John 10:19). Through the message He was proclaiming in town and villages and cities throughout Israel, through the way He was living His life, and through the miracles He was performing in His Father\u2019s Name\u2014 Jesus had indeed clearly answered this question! The problem was not to be found in Jesus\u2019 testimony. No, rather, the problem was to be found in the fact that the people who had \u201csurrounded\u201d<\/em> Jesus there in Solomon\u2019s Colonnade were not Jesus\u2019 \u201csheep.\u201d<\/em> In their unbelief they had rejected Jesus as the Christ, as the Promised Messiah. In their unbelief they had rejected Jesus as the \u201cGood Shepherd.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Why did God the Holy Spirit make sure that this event was recorded for us on the pages of holy Scripture? While there are probably many reasons, I will highlight just two. First, God the Holy Spirit inspired the apostle John to record this confrontation in Solomon\u2019s Colonnade because He knows how often Jesus\u2019 disciples today\u2014 and that includes us!\u2014 He knows how often we are confronted by our spiritual enemies. No one has to explain to you that the unbelieving world is still very hostile to Jesus, very hostile to His message and very hostile to His disciples. Just try to bring Jesus into the conversation and you quickly find out just how hostile people can get! The \u201cstrangers,\u201d <\/em>the \u201cthieves,\u201d<\/em> the \u201crobbers,\u201d<\/em> and the \u201cwolves\u201d<\/em> that Jesus talks about earlier in John chapter ten are still bent on drawing and\/or driving Jesus\u2019 \u201csheep\u201d<\/em> away from their Good Shepherd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Living here in this world without our Good Shepherd is an absolutely terrifying thought! Without our Good Shepherd we would have no sense of direction. The ever-changing voice of the \u201cfalse shepherds\u201d<\/em> would lead us farther and farther away from the cross. (Pointing to the cross) Without our Good Shepherd we would be easy prey for the \u201croaring lion.\u201d<\/em> Without our Good Shepherd we would be overwhelmed by the temptation to follow false Christs and false teachers. Without our Good Shepherd we would be drawn to false gods\u2014 such as the gods of our bellies, the prophets of prosperity, the shallow theologies and false philosophies of this world. Without our Good Shepherd we would be left to blindly wander through the darkness of this sin-filled world until we fall over the cliff that results in eternal separation from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Secondly, God the Holy Spirit inspired the apostle John to record this confrontation in Solomon\u2019s Colonnade so that even when we are surrounded by our spiritual enemies we will have the peace and the comfort that comes from knowing that our Good Shepherd is our \u201cSafe Person\u201d! What does this mean on a practical level? I see three beautiful answers to that question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first answer is found in Jesus\u2019 words, \u201cMy sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.\u201d<\/em> You know as well as I do that we hear a whole cacophony of competing voices as we journey through this world. There is the voice of human reason which tries to convince us that everything needs to be understood and explained and accepted on the basis of science. There is the voice of \u201cequity\u201d which tries to convince us that we need to accept that all lifestyles and all religions have equal value and equal validity. There is the voice of human logic which tries to convince us that if we want to get to heaven, if we want to be saved there is something that we must do<\/strong>\u2014 some work that we must<\/strong> perform, some decision that we must<\/strong> make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of that cacophony of competing voices our Good Shepherd, our \u201cSafe Person,\u201d says to us you and to me, \u201cMy sheep listen to my voice.\u201d<\/em> How do we listen to the \u201cvoice\u201d<\/em> of our Good Shepherd? How does our \u201cSafe Person\u201d speak directly to us? The answer to both of those questions is right here\u2014 God\u2019s holy inspired Word. The only <\/strong>way our Good Shepherd, the only way our \u201cSafe Person\u201d speaks to us today is through the power of the holy, inspired, inerrant Word that He has graciously placed into our hands. Whenever we are reading and studying our Bible, whenever we gather together here in God\u2019s house we are listening to the \u201cvoice\u201d<\/em> of our Good Shepherd!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second practical application that comes from knowing that our Good Shepherd is our \u201cSafe Person\u201d is found in Jesus\u2019 words, \u201cI give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.\u201d<\/em> Take a moment to digest those words. The one thing we \u201csheep\u201d<\/em> need more than anything else is security. We need to be protected. Why? Because all too often we are completely unaware of the dangers that are all round us. Think about it. How much danger to our soul\u2019s welfare do we encounter every day out there in the world? How many times have we walked into spiritually dangerous situations completely clueless of their eternal consequences? Yes, we need protection. We need the protection that only our Good Shepherd, only our \u201cSafe Person\u201d can provide!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Praise God that we have the peace and the comfort that comes from knowing that our Good Shepherd is our \u201cSafe Person\u201d He is the only <\/strong>One who has the right and the authority to say, \u201cI give them eternal life.\u201d<\/em> Note how clearly Jesus reveals to us that eternal life is \u201cgiven<\/strong>\u201d<\/em> to us as a free gift<\/strong>!Eternal life comes from the great \u201cI AM,\u201d <\/em>the One who stands alone, the One who alone is \u201cbig\u201d enough to make such an offer to the entire world, the One who alone is able to deliver what He promises! (Pointing to the cross) He alone can guarantee<\/strong> to each and every one of His sheep, \u201cThey shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That truth ties in well with the third practical application that comes from knowing that our Good Shepherd is our \u201cSafe Person.\u201dLook at what our Good Shepherd says to us in the closing verses of our text, \u201cMy Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father\u2019s hand. I and the Father are one.\u201d<\/em> A more literal translation of that last sentence has Jesus saying, \u201cI and the Father\u2014 we are one.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus and the Father are \u201cone.\u201d<\/em> They are \u201cone\u201d<\/em> not only in essence, but also in purpose. Jesus was sent by the Father to be our Good Shepherd\u2014 the Shepherd who would willingly lay down His life for us\u2014 His sheep. The perfect unity between our Good Shepherd and our heavenly Father\u2014 who is \u201cgreater than all\u201d<\/em>\u2014 gives us the unparalleled peace and comfort of knowing that no one and nothing will ever be able to \u201csnatch\u201d<\/em> us out of their hands\u2014 not even death, not even Satan!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In just a few weeks Jonah\u2019s first year of school will be over. At that time he will learn what many of us have learned many times, namely, our \u201csafe person\u201d can and does change over the course of our life. As you and I gather together today to celebrate both Good Shepherd Sunday and Mother\u2019s Day, my prayer is three-fold. First, if you are blessed to still have your Mom with you here on this earth, I pray that you will take the time to thank her. Thank her for all the times that she was and still is your \u201csafe person.\u201d Second, if your Mom is blessed to be with the Good Shepherd in His heavenly Home, I pray that you will take the time to thank your Good Shepherd for the perfect eternal safety that He has granted to your Mom. And finally, no matter how often you may find yourself surrounded by your spiritual enemies, I pray that you will take the time to turn to and to trust in your Good Shepherd as your ultimate \u201cSafe Person\u201d!<\/p>\n\n\n\n To God be the glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Fourth Sunday of Easter Mother\u2019s Day May 8, 2022 John 10:22-30 Our Good Shepherd Is Our \u201cSafe Person\u201d! Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon\u2019s Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, \u201cHow long will you keep us in suspense? 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