Where the Grass Really Is Greener :: Ezekiel 34:11-16

Would you consider yourself a good listener? Wives, what about your husbands? Fathers, how about your children? Kids, are your parents good listeners?

If y’all are being honest with yourselves, you know we all need help with our listening skills. We can all recall times in our lives when we didn’t listen ... or perhaps more prominently, when we listened to the wrong people. We all have followed bad advice because we didn’t listen to those with good advice. We stopped listening and then were deceived because we couldn’t distinguish between truth and error. Maybe we got duped by a slick commercial that was packed with so much glitter, we couldn’t see the rust. Maybe our emotions overwhelmed us. But too often we find ourselves ignoring the good word where the grass really is greener.

On this third Sunday of Easter, it’s a good time to stop, look, and listen. 

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. And in all of our readings, we can hear the good promises. 

OUR GOOD SHEPHERD PROMISES TO KEEP YOU IN FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM.

The prophet Ezekiel makes this word of the Lord perfectly clear. Thus says the Lord God, Adonai YHWH ... the maker of the heavens and the earth: I will seek you with care. ... I will recognize you. ... I will rescue you. ... I will bring you out. ... I will gather you. ... I will shepherd you. ... I will give you rest. ... I will secure you. ... I will bind you up. ... I will strengthen you (vv. 11-16).

God may seem like he is distant at times in your life, but his promises are very near your heart. Brothers and sisters in Christ, as if there was any question today ... 

I. The Good Shepherd is promising us to keep us ... by his grace ... in the fold.

When we hear the title “Good Shepherd,” which Jesus gives himself in our Gospel reading, it falls pleasantly on our ears. And he unmistakably is recounting the Word of the Lord that was given to the prophet Ezekiel. Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father.

The problem is, can you even hear the good news here? 

We often ignore the guidance of our Shepherd King. Like Israel, by nature, we’re a rebellious house, just like those to whom Ezekiel preached. We are constantly wandering, with our heads down, listening to other voices, the voices of shepherds who don’t actually speak God’s Word. The farther we wander away from the Good Shepherd, the more silent the Gospel becomes. Once gone, we find nothing but emptiness: Lives without direction and purpose; lives that are consumed by idolatry: Especially the love of me, myself, and I. 

This is the issue Ezekiel is addressing. Ezekiel grew up during an exciting time in the history of the sons of Israel: Religious reformation. But the kingdom of Judah never fully embraced that reformation. They continued following false shepherds, hanging onto their idols. Subsequently, God had them exiled by the Babylonians for 70 years because of their refusal to repent. 

The holy God of Israel will not tolerate sin. He demands the sole devotion of his people. Yes, even you. Since the people of God failed to live up to his demands, he punished them with exile. Gone were their good pastures, a land of milk and honey. Gone was the temple of God. 

You’d think the sons of Israel would learn from this lesson. But they didn’t mind at all. They grew fond of their new way of life in Babylon. They embraced the synchronicity of their religion with that of the world. They embraced new gods. They embraced new “traditions.” They lost sight of all that made them holy and chosen people. They began relying on their own self-righteousness as the means for entering God’s kingdom ... and in the process they began keeping others out (Mt 23:13). 

Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, they started adding to the Word of God, teaching things that God never said. They started teaching that all religions were not only OK, but that they were good. We all worship the same God, they began saying. They started teaching that there was no difference between their denominations ... that we all believe in the same shepherd. They started saying that their doctrine didn’t matter. What difference does any of that make, they declared.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, doctrine matters. To use the words of God through our readings from Ezekiel, John, and Peter, we have all become like sheep, who have gone astray, listening to the wrong shepherd. 

Have you forgotten why you are here at the corner of First and Locust? 

Too often we think the Divine Service is about our doing ... that we can merit the forgiveness of sins. Too often we think we can cleanse ourselves, and pay lip service to our sins. 

Our sorry plight, like Israel’s, is the result of our own folly: our stubborn refusal to hear God’s Word, to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd who says come ... return to the waters of baptism that now saves you ... return to the Supper that nourishes your faith, forgives your sins, and gives you eternal life. Stop listening to those who tell you what you think you want to hear. Those false teachers will rob you of God’s grace in Christ, saying that baptism doesn’t save you, that the Lord’s supper doesn’t forgive you, and that you can make a decision for Christ. 

In the name of Jesus, repent ... and hear the promise of your Lord calling to you.

II. The Good Shepherd never abandons his flock. 

I don’t know about you, but I was struck by the language of our passage from Ezekiel 34. There are 211 words in this passage. The word “you” doesn’t appear once. Instead, the Lord God Almighty ... Adonai YHWH ... tells us what he will do. 

Fifteen times he says I will! For thus says the Lord YHWH: Behold, me! I will seek my flock with care. ... I will recognize them. ... I will rescue them. ... I will bring them out. ... I will gather them. ... I will shepherd them. ... I will give them rest. ... I will secure them. ... I will bind them up. ... I will strengthen them. 

There is nothing you can do ... to save yourself. Adonai YHWH does it all. He seeks you. He delivers you. Our Good Shepherd comes to where we are. We couldn’t go to him. Instead, he comes to us. Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. ... I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 

This is exactly what Jesus did for us in humbling himself, taking on human flesh. As Peter recounted: He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to Him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed (1 Pt 2:22-24 ESV). 

Jesus is your good shepherd. He perishes so that those who are trapped in death by their sins will be set free. He is driven away from God’s love in order to bring God’s love to us. He was broken so that by his wounds we would be bound up and healed. He made himself weak so that we will become strong. He faces punishment for our sin so that by his victory we will be declared righteous. The good shepherd isn’t someone who says, Hey, guys, I’m here if you want, but you know ... it’s OK for you to just be you. 

You who are offered the means of grace should know better. 

III. Good shepherds lead the flock to the good pastures of God’s Word and Sacraments.

Rejoice in this ... always! God’s means of grace enable us to hear this Gospel. They are the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy. 

The Lord’s Word and Sacraments feed and nourish, protect and save. They give us Jesus, who uses these means to shepherd us, forgive our sins, minister to our hurts, and lead us to life everlasting. Under his care, our daily life becomes more meaningful, joyful, and purposeful. 

As we confess in the Third Article, the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church through this Gospel. The Gospel is given to us in God’s written and spoken Word, especially Absolution. The Gospel is joined to earthly elements in sacred acts that Christ instituted for us ... namely, baptism and the supper. Rejoice in the fulfillment of his promises. Here, Jesus causes us to stretch out and recline in the good fold and rich pasture (v 14). These means can never be an unfruitful, empty thing that does or profits nothing (LC V 30). Instead, through them, Jesus always delivers to us the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, you can be assured it’s true. The Good Shepherd has spoken. We have his promise. What a wonderful Gospel it is. Let us faithfully follow the Shepherd’s voice all the days of our life ... in Jesus’ name.