1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word for this 4th Sunday of Easter is taken from Acts 20:17-35. It’s entitled, “The Good Shepherd Cares for The Church,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. Picture a flock of sheep descending a sunny hillside. You can hear the baas and bleating, the bells around their necks and the beating of hooves on the dusty ground. Notice the man to the side of the flock. The sheep will only go as far as he goes. When the man stops, the sheep stop. When he turns and walks toward a patch of green grass, the sheep dutifully follow. Well, most of them follow. There are a few stragglers and strays, ignoring the progress of the rest and nibbling that last tasty bit. The man whistles, and his faithful dog snaps into action, herding the strays back into the flock. It’s then you notice another silhouette, high up on the hill. This one stands guard, rifle in hand, overlooking the entire scene. All three are shepherds: the man tending the flock, the dog gathering the strays, and the other man protecting all from any potential predators. All this is exactly what Jesus our Good Shepherd does. He gathers, tends, and protects. Not with whistles and a rifle, but with his very life, given for the love of the sheep (Acts 20:28)!
3. The Fourth Sunday of Easter is commonly celebrated as Good Shepherd Sunday. Each of our Bible readings today captures the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ as the paradigmatic shepherd. He is the only one who can ultimately gather, tend, and protect us—through the gracious and merciful love given in his cross. He does this all for us, for the love of sheep!
4. Paul was bidding farewell to the pastors of the church in Ephesus. He’d established the church and for three years shepherded it, but now it would see his face no more, and he was deeply concerned for what would follow. So too, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, established us as his church, but since he ascended back to heaven, we haven’t seen his face. And what’s happened in this world since must cause us deep concern. In our text, though, Paul continues to care for the Ephesian church through the pastors he’s leaving behind, and Paul is only doing what he’d learned from his Lord. We don’t see Jesus here shepherding us, but, through pastors he calls and through his people he equips, The Good Shepherd Continues to Shepherd His Sheep.
5. The Good Shepherd, who made us his own, continues to gather his sheep. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, sacrificed himself to save us, lost, wandering sheep. He obtained us with his own blood. Acts 20:28d says, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood." For Jesus is also the Lamb of sacrifice (Rev 7:14, 17).
6. Jesus called Paul to gather countless new sheep of the Good Shepherd. Acts 20:17–21 says, “17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul had evangelized the Ephesian church. The word that won souls was Jesus’ saving work.
7. Jesus continues to call pastors, such as the Ephesian elders, to gather new sheep of the Good Shepherd. Part of every pastor’s job is to tell nonmembers, “Jesus loves you, died for you, gives you heaven!” Not just “house to house”—but that may be. But, Jesus also calls every believer to gather new sheep of the Good Shepherd. You all have friends, coworkers Pastor doesn’t see. The Good Shepherd shed his blood for them too.
8. The Good Shepherd, who brought us to the truth, continues to protect his sheep. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, protected his own from anyone who would snatch them out of the Father’s hand (Jn 10:27–28; 17:12). He taught the truth that saves: his cross (Jn 14:6). He protects from all false teachers (Jn 10:24–26).
9.
Jesus called Paul to protect the Good
Shepherd’s sheep from wolves Acts 20:28-32 says, “28 Pay careful attention
to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you
overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not
sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking
twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering
that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with
tears.
32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to
build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are
sanctified.” Paul’s letters warned against false doctrine. Now he warns the
Ephesian pastors to be ready.
10. A real-life example of “fierce wolves” entering the flock occurred during the Seminex crisis of the 1970s at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Professors at the seminary began teaching that the Bible contains errors and should be interpreted through modern critical methods, undermining its divine inspiration and authority. These teachings deeply contradicted the Lutheran Confessions and the inerrancy of Scripture. In response, the LCMS rightly stood firm. The seminary's president, Dr. John Tietjen, was suspended, and many faculty members walked out to form Seminex (Seminary in Exile). Though painful, this event was a clear moment of guarding the flock from those who would twist God’s Word—from within. Paul’s warning in Acts 20 was fulfilled before our eyes: even among the shepherds, wolves arose. But Christ’s faithful undershepherds stood firm on the Word of His grace.
11. Jesus continues to call pastors, such as the Ephesian elders, to protect the Good Shepherd’s sheep from today’s false teachers. The wolves have surely come! Just as in Paul’s day, the Church today faces wolves—false teachers who distort the Gospel, leading Christ's flock astray. Here are several examples of such threats in our time: Prosperity Gospel Preachers These teachers claim that faith will always bring financial wealth and physical health. They twist Scripture to support a “name it and claim it” theology, which shifts focus away from Christ crucified and risen and places it on material gain. This false teaching misleads many and often burdens the faithful with guilt when trials come.
12. Another false teaching is, moral Relativism in the Church. Some churches now openly deny the reality of sin, particularly in areas of human sexuality and marriage. God's clear Word is replaced by human opinion under the guise of “love” or “inclusivity.” This has led entire denominations to approve of things God calls sin (Romans 1:18-32), leaving souls uncalled to repentance.
13. Universalism is another false teaching in the Church. The belief that “all people will be saved regardless of faith in Christ” is sadly gaining ground. This undermines Christ’s clear teaching that Jesus is, “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) and nullifies the call to repentance and faith. Self-Help and Therapeutic Preaching is another form of false teaching in the Church. Many pulpits no longer proclaim Law and Gospel but offer motivational talks with no mention of sin, grace, or the cross. The sheep are left starving without the true food of God’s Word and Sacraments. Jesus protects you through your pastor’s teaching.
14. Jesus calls every believer both to be vigilant and to protect those of the Good Shepherd’s sheep he places in our care. He guards you as you study his Word faithfully. He guards your families through your teaching. The Good Shepherd, who cared only for us, continues to nurture his sheep. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was always self-giving, serving our every need. Jesus healed, fed, guided, never serving himself. He surely followed his own words. Acts 20:35b says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." This beautiful saying of Jesus, though not recorded in the Gospels, was cherished and preserved by the early Church—and reminds us that Christian love is found not in grasping, but in giving, just as our Lord gave Himself for us. Jesus called Paul to labor selflessly in nurturing the Good Shepherd’s sheep (Acts 20:22–24, 33–35). Paul set the example of selfless service. The congregation was to follow in selfless care.
15. Jesus continues to call pastors, such as the Ephesian elders, to provide spiritual and physical care for the Good Shepherd’s sheep. Here, too, pastors set the tone for caring. Other workers, like deaconesses, may carry on. Jesus calls every believer to nurture the Good Shepherd’s sheep our congregations can touch. This begins for us in our homes. And then we support our congregation’s work.
16. All this that we do, all that we pastors do, in our various Christian callings as sheep, as shepherds, is because the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, has shepherded us, “the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28d). In fact, all that we do as Christians is truly a continuation of the Good Shepherd’s shepherding. That will never cease! We’ll even celebrate it when we join those who have come “out of the great tribulation . . . [and] have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:14). Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.
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