“Our Master’s Voice”
John 10:1-18

Click for Audio

Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Fourth Sunday of Easter—May 11, 2014

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

A hundred and fifty years ago, back when our state was still the “Wild West,” the very worst crimes were horse-thieving and cattle rustling.  I remember when I was a boy in Canton, Kansas, on the wall in the old drug store were dozens of wooden plaques, each burned with the unique brand of a cattle rancher in that area.  If anyone found a head of cattle with one of those brands, they knew to whom it belonged.

In today’s Gospel Reading from the tenth chapter of John, Jesus alludes to the methods for herding sheep and preventing sheep rustling back in Bible times, the same way it’s still done in the Bible lands today.  During the daytime, the shepherds take the sheep out to graze in the countryside.  A typical flock has from 20 to 500 head.  The shepherd is usually a young boy, preferably a member of the family.  For large flocks an older man may be the head shepherd, assisted by boys as undershepherds.  We find the shepherd’s job description in Psalm 23.  With the help of a sheepdog he leads the sheep to good pasture, protects them from predators and rustlers, guides them to water, looks after their hurts and wounds, and, most important, keeps any of the sheep from wandering and straying from the flock. 

Isaiah tells us, “We all like sheep have gone astray.”  We have so often gone astray, spiritually wandered away from the Lord with our sins.  But Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd . . . and I lay down my life for the sheep.”  Your Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, loves you so much that he laid down his life you, to compensate for your sins, to merit your forgiveness, to bring you back into God’s flock.  As Peter says in today’s epistle reading, “You were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

At the end of the day, all the shepherds usually bring their flocks back to the village and pen them up together for the night in a common sheepfold.  In your bulletin is a reproduction of an ancient rock drawing from Jordan, showing shepherds herding sheep into a sheepfold.  This is actually an ancient picture of the scene Jesus is describing in today’s Gospel Reading.

An ancient rock drawing from Jordan showing shepherds herding sheep into a sheepfold.

The sheepfold usually has high stone walls with only one gate.  The shepherds rotate as the gatekeeper, taking turns spending the night to protect the sheep from wolves, and from thieves and robbers who might try climbing over the wall.  This is what Jesus is describing when he says, “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.  The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. . . .  I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.  I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.”

Early in the morning, the various shepherds come back to fetch their sheep.  The gatekeeper lets each shepherd into the fold to call out his own sheep.  The sheep of each flock will recognize the voice of their particular shepherd and follow him only.  Scientific tests prove that the sheep go by the exact sound of their shepherd’s voice; even a good imitation of his voice won’t fool the sheep.  Jesus describes this scene which was so familiar to the people of Bible times, “The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.  The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

“I am the gate for the sheep,” Jesus says.  “The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.”  Over his flock the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, appoints undershepherds.  I got a little concerned at a country church I once served when I thought I heard the church council recommend renting out the pastor to make extra money.  It turned out they wanted to rent out the pasture behind the church.  But there is a connection between the words “pastor” and “pasture.”  “Pastor” literally means “shepherd,” one who takes the flock out to “pasture” and feeds them.  As Paul says in Acts to the pastors at Ephesus, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made your overseers.  Be shepherds of the church of God.”  And as Peter tells pastors in his First Epistle, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care.”

A true Christian pastor is an undershepherd of the Good Shepherd, nourishing Christ’s flock with the green pastures of God’s word, guiding them to the refreshing still waters of Holy Baptism, and the cup running over with God’s grace in Holy Communion, leading them in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  False teachers try to climb over the wall of the sheepfold, but the Christian pastor who truly preaches Christ and his word is a genuine undershepherd of the Good Shepherd.  “The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.”  The Christian flock heeds and follows the voice of undershepherd for only one reason: They recognize in his preaching and teaching the voice of their Good Shepherd, because he preaches not himself nor his own ideas, but Christ and his word.  As Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “We proclaim not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord.”

Jesus says, “The man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.”  The thieves and robbers are false teachers who do not proclaim the truth of Christ and his word, but their own, man-made false doctrines.  False teachers trying to steal you out of Christ’s flock. 

Jesus says, “Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”  don’t be deceived if false teachers and their followers portray themselves as genuine Christians.  As Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.  It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.”  They are trying to imitate your Master’s voice.  If these false teachers openly proclaimed their false doctrines, you would see clearly that they are not representatives of your Good Shepherd, and quickly do as Jesus says: “They will never follow a stranger; in fact they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

So, the most clever cults use some Christian words and mix in a few Christian ideas along with their false teachings; don’t be fooled if some of the things false teachers and their followers say seem to be true.  “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.”  Or, as Mary Poppins puts it, “Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down.”  Just a little bit of the truth will make errors and falsehoods easier for you to swallow.  Like wolves in sheep’s clothing, false teachers try to cover up their heresy with a thin veneer of truth.

And don’t be misled by the zeal and dedication of false teachers and their followers.  As Paul says in Galatians, “These people are zealous to win you over, but for no good . . . it is a fine thing to be zealous, provided the purpose is good.”  Zeal in the cause of falsehood is not a virtue.

In addition to the cults, there are many other thieves and robbers trying to steal you out of Christ’s fold.  Pagan religions, the occult, and outright Satanism are gaining adherents in our land.  But, worst of all, even within some Christian denominations, there are outrageous heresies, blasphemies, wandering from the truth.  As Paul tells the pastors at Ephesus, “Savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.”

Jesus says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life.”  How can you separate the false teachers from the true?  How can you know true teaching from false doctrine?  How can you be sure you are following your Master’s voice and not a clever imitation?  You must learn to know and be intimately familiar with the voice of your Good Shepherd.  A shepherd and his sheep have such a close bond because they spend so much time together.  You must do as Peter says in today’s epistle reading, “Return to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

Spend time listening to the Good Shepherd, learn to know your Master’s voice, by reading his word, speaking to him in prayer, worshipping here in his house.  As Jesus says, “If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth.”

Learn to know the voice of the Good Shepherd, and no imitation will ever fool you.  Learn to know the voice of the Good Shepherd, and like the sheep who flee from the stranger’s voice, you will know the false from the true.  “I am the Good Shepherd.  I know my sheep and my sheep know me.  They will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.  My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.”