Title: GOOD STEWARDS
NEED THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Focus: To live as good stewards, we need Jesus, the good Shepherd.
Function: To encourage the people to look up and put their trust in Jesus as our good Shepherd, model, inspiration and hope.
Text: John 10:11-18
In his book Telling Stories, Compelling Stories, (p.155) William J. Bausch makes the point that Jesus is a “good figure to rally around as we teach our children to avoid prejudice and racism and bias of any kind.”
Bausch tells the story of an old Indian sheep farmer whose neighbor’s dogs were always killing his sheep. It got so bad that he knew he had to do something. As he saw it, he had three options. One, he could bring a lawsuit and take his neighbor to court. Two: he could build a higher and stronger fence to keep the neighbor’s dog away from the lambs and sheep.
He chose option
three: he gave two lambs to his neighbor’s children. In due time the lambs grew
into sheep and had other sheep and then the neighbor and his children got to see
the sheep not as an impersonal flock, but as something warm and fuzzy,
something personal with individual traits and a history and names. And soon,
the neighbor penned in the dogs. And then Bausch says: “The Good Shepherd is a
good God to pray to for the strength to overcome prejudice. The Good Shepherd
is a good revelation of the God who lets it rain on the just and unjust and
sends sunshine on the good and evil. The Good Shepherd is the God of Jews and
Samaritans and Gentiles, the God of rejects, lepers, and thieves, the God of
you, me, and them, the God who knows all of us by name.”
All of these things came to mind when I heard Jesus’ claim saying “I am the good shepherd,” and when I learned that the GEMS have studied this past year all about being good stewards. And then it came to me: good stewards need the Good Shepherd.
Let me explain. In the Bible the word “shepherd” has more than one meaning. Literally, the word “shepherd” refers to a person who takes care of a flock of sheep. That person guides, protects, and cares for the sheep and their lambs. That’s the work of a shepherd. But in the Bible the word “shepherd” may also refer to
· Prophets, priests, and civil authorities. These are the spiritual and political leaders of Israel who did a lousy job of providing leadership to God’s people called “Israel.” In Ezekiel 34, for example, we read: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves!” Should not shepherds take care of the flock?” It turns out that the religious and civil leaders of Israel were only looking after their own interests; they neglected the well-being of God’s people Israel.
“Shepherd,” in the Bible may also refer to
·
God Himself. As King over all creation, God
reveals himself as “shepherd” who cares in particular for his people with whom
he has entered into a special relationship. In Gen. 49, for example, we read
that Jacob blessed his son Joseph saying: “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a
fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness
archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained
steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of
Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel….”
God is Joseph’s, yes,
Israel’s Shepherd—their sovereign King.
Centuries
later, King David taught the people of God to sing about God’s rule and
guidance in their lives, saying: “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be
in want.”
In the Bible, the word “shepherd” also refers to
·
Pastors and teachers. In fact they form a group who complement the work of
apostles, prophets, and evangelists. I learned, for example, that the titles
“bishop” and “elder” refer to the same office in the N.T. (Acts 20:17,28; Ti.
1:5-7), and the term “pastor” seems to
be practically synonymous with “bishop” and “elder,” as shown by Peter who
refers to Jesus as the “Shepherd” and “Bishop” or overseer of your souls”
(I Pt. 2:25).
The
Bible also refers to the church or congregation as a “flock.” And the local
church leaders must “shepherd” the flock, building her up in the faith and
countering all kinds of false teachings and practices sneaking into the fold.
But
the term “shepherd” in the Bible applies especially to Jesus. For Jesus makes
the claim that he is “the good Shepherd” And it becomes clear
that in order for you and me to be good stewards, we need Jesus, the Good
Shepherd.
Now
I say that because I learned that you, GEMS, have been studying the Bible these
last 6 months. And in your studies you learned that you are stewards. Anyone
who comes to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and who wants to follow Jesus as a
servant must remember her responsibilities before God. Anyone who wishes to
serve the Lord God must deal with his responsibilities given by God. And those
responsibilities can all be put under the umbrella of “stewardship.” We are
managers of the gifts that God has given us. We are stewards.
And
so, you GEMS have learned that you must manage God’s
TIME—the days, the months and the years that God gives us. We are
stewards of God’s GOODS—money, wealth, property,
for example. And we are stewards of God’s WORLD—being
caretakers of this beautiful creation called the earth and universe. We also
are stewards of God’s GIFTS to us—spiritual
gifts, and talents and abilities to use for the well-being of all. And you,
GEMS, also learned that we are stewards of God’s TEMPLE—our
minds and hearts and bodies.
You
know, when you really think about it, you and I are kings and queens, called to
rule, to have dominion, to assert influence in every area of our lives. We are
kings and queens, stewards in the kingdom of God here on earth today.
We rule, however, under God. We cannot be a law unto
ourselves. We may not make up the rules of God’s Kingdom. No, God has given us
his Word, and he comes to us as Sovereign King. In fact, that’s why God has
sent his Son, Jesus. And Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He rules us as our
ascended Lord of lords and King of kings. We are kings and queens—stewards
under the Lordship of Jesus, the Good Shepherd-King.
Do you know this Shepherd-King, this Jesus? I ask you
because in order to be good stewards we need the Good Shepherd. You see, once a
king or queen in the kingdom of God, always a king or queen in God’s kingdom!
There will come a day when followers of the Lord Jesus
Christ will rule for eternity. When Jesus comes again and makes all things new,
he will give us resurrection, glorified bodies, and he will give us stewardship
tasks to do; he will call us to manage his new and restored creation; he will
call us to be stewards on the new heavens and earth. And already today, the
Lord Jesus calls us to exercise our duties as stewards and rulers under him.
That’s why I say: good stewards need Jesus Christ. For Jesus is the one who
says: “I am the Good shepherd.” Jesus is our model, our
inspiration, our hope for evermore.
Take note, for example, that Jesus is our GOOD shepherd.
His excellence as our Shepherd-King comes to light when you consider that
·
He died for us. Listen: “I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” You see, because of our
sins and sinful nature, we were dead—subject to the power of sin, Satan, and
death. We were in the pits, so to speak. Jesus went down into the pit of death.
Though sinless himself, Jesus took our sins upon his shoulders and he died in
our place. He laid down—voluntarily—his own life for you and me. But that’s not
the end of the story.
·
Jesus rose again from
the dead. The power of death
could not hold Jesus down in the grave. Jesus’ sacrifice paid the price for our
sins. No longer has death the power to claim us forever in the grave. Jesus now
has the key of death and eternal life. Jesus opens the door unto eternal life.
And all Jesus’ sheep—you and I included—may follow Jesus through that door.
That’s why we need the Good Shepherd. In order to rule and be wise stewards
today and for eternity, we need the One who leads us to the green pastures of
forgiveness, repentance, eternal life and perfect peace. Only when we are in a
faith relationship with Jesus, will we learn to rule and manage his good
creation with wisdom and power. Good stewards need the Good Shepherd.
Here’s why:
The Good Shepherd is our
model: Jesus calls us to follow him; to imitate him, and to learn from him. You
and I are being shaped and spiritually formed into the image of Christ. The
mind of Christ is to become our mind. The love of Christ is to become ours. And
the obedience of Christ to do the will of his heavenly Father is to become our
obedience, so that we do the bidding of our heavenly Father as well. Jesus is
our model. We need him.
Also, Jesus is our
inspiration: Jesus knows us. He lives in heaven; he rules us with his Word and
Spirit, and he knows us by name. Listen: “I know my sheep and my sheep know
me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father….” Jesus knows us by
name. We may enter into a relationship of trust and prayer and conversation
with him. We may appeal to Jesus’ power, to Jesus’ role as the One who prays on
our behalf. You know your parents, of course; and they know you. Yet, to be
known by Jesus is to be so wondrously loved and cherished and guided and
guarded—no parents can ever know their children in that way. Jesus and the
Father are wondrously One in fellowship, in essence, purpose and will. They
know each other. The Good Shepherd knows his sheep and his sheep know him.
Jesus is our inspiration.
Yes, more than that. He is not only our model and
inspiration, he also is our hope. Whoever comes to Jesus by faith, whoever
surrenders to Jesus in love and service, will receive hope—a steely hope,
strong, resting in these foundational truths: “Christ has died; Christ is
risen; Christ will come again.” As we serve Jesus today as good stewards in
life, we take hold of the future, the inheritance that is ours when Jesus comes
again. Once a king or queen in the kingdom of God on earth, always a king or
queen in God’s eternal kingdom. To live as good stewards—now and then—we need
the Good Shepherd today!
In the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.