Dear little lambs, Jesus says that we are sheep. While that can come across as something cute and cuddly, it's really not. Sheep are dumb animals. They are obstinate animals. Sheep wander off. Sheep get in trouble. To be called a sheep is NOT a flattering thing. To be a sheep means to acknowledge that you are NOT Jesus' cute and cuddly stuffed animal. To be a sheep means to confess that you are stupid, stubborn, obstinate, you like to wander off, you get caught in trouble and you wouldn't know a wolf coming until he took a took a bite out of you! To be a sheep is not to confess anything flattering about you at all. Being a sheep is to confess that unless you have a shepherd, you're just one more item in the buffet line for the Big Bad Wolf, the devil. So Jesus calls you a sheep. But don't despair! It's not about you; it's about him. If we have to be sheep, if that's what we are, then the Good News today is that Jesus, the Son of God is our Good Shepherd. And with Jesus as a Good Shepherd, there's nothing to be afraid of. Don't worry about being an idiot of an animal, a sheep! Your Good Shepherd is going to take care of you and make sure no wolf eats you up!
For all of their dopiness, sheep do have one thing going for them: their ears. Sheep have very good hearing. Amidst all their baa-ing and bleating, a sheep can hear and recognize its shepherd's voice. From all the sounds around it, a sheep is able to pick out and follow that one voice that it knows is its shepherd. Jesus says the same thing: He knows His sheep and He is known by them because they know His Voice. That Voice of Jesus is His Word. What does that Voice of that Shepherd say? He says, "I lay down my life for the sheep." How do we recognize the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd among all the voices we hear in this world? Among all the other FAKE Jesus voices we hear? The Good Shepherd's own words: "I lay down my life for the sheep." The true Voice of the Good Shepherd is the one that speaks of what He has done for us. The voices around us all speak about what WE should do, what WE must accomplish, what WE owe, how WE have to find our way back if we get lost. But the voice of the Good Shepherd calls us to Himself. To the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. The Good Shepherd who is the Son of God. The Good Shepherd who goes to the cross and dies as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. The Good Shepherd who stands between us and the world and lets Himself be mauled and attacked, so that we are kept safe. It's only that Good Shepherd that is the true Shepherd.
But again, what is His Voice? How do we hear and recognize it? Through the preaching and the holy gifts. The Voice of the Good Shepherd is the one that preaches that the Lamb of God alone takes away the sin of the world by His death and resurrection. The Voice of the Good Shepherd is the one that calls you to the still waters of Holy Baptism to wash away the grime and dirt of your wandering. The Voice of the Good Shepherd is the one that comforts you with the rod and staff of Holy Absolution, pulling you out of the pits and crevices into which you blunder in your sins. The Voice of the Good Shepherd is the one which calls you to the table prepared in the presence of your enemies, a table filled with the feast of the Lamb's own flesh, a cup running over with His own blood. The Voice of the Good Shepherd is the one which declares to you that in these holy gifts, and through these holy means, He lives in you and you in Him and He will carry you through the valley of the shadow of death to raise you up on the Last Day. Hear and learn that voice, dear little lambs! Learn what the Voice of the Good Shepherd promises and directs you to receive. Learn that voice and always prick up your ears to listen for that voice and hear it! For it is that voice that will call you to Jesus and rescue from the wolves!
Any voice which does not declare the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for you, and any voice which does not direct you to the Shepherd's holy gifts in His church—run away from such a voice! Close you ears to such a voice! That's the snarl of the wolf. Though he sounds like this, "I'm your shepherd, little lamb" he really means, "I'm going to eat you little entree!" What does the Good Shepherd say about the wolf? He comes in to snatch and scatter! The devil, that Big Bad Wolf, wants to snatch you up and scatter Christ's church. It's always his aim and goal to drag you away from faith and trust in Jesus alone and to divide and separate the church so that instead of a congregation of those who hear the Shepherd's voice and preaching, everyone instead wanders off and does their own thing. There's nothing worse than sheep all doing their own thing! Instead of peacefully grazing in the pastures of God's Word, the sheep are bumping and fighting with one another. Here then comes St. Peter's warning that we follow Christ's example: receiving insult and injury without giving the same back. The wolf stirs up trouble by getting the sheep to all run away, only thinking of themselves. Sheep aren't particularly good at defending themselves or each other. Just like people. Let the other guy take the blame. Make sure it's your wife's fault or the kids' problem. Little lambs, do you see? When the wolf gets in, the flock is scattered and troubled! It's suddenly every sheep for himself and we are done trying to help one another and treat one another like fellow children of God. Beware that behavior! Beware the desire to run away from those who need you! Instead, prick up your ears and hear the Good Shepherd's voice calling you to Him and to the flock.
Little lambs, pay attention to the Voice of the Good Shepherd! Don't listen to the insult and injury that others give you. Rather, follow in the footsteps of Christ, not trading evil for evil. Instead, focus your hearing and pay attention to the Voice of the Good Shepherd. There is only one Good Shepherd. And He's only got one Voice. And He only calls you to one pasture: His church. What it means is this, little lambs: your Good Shepherd has given you an earthly shepherd. That's me, your pastor. (You know, of course, that the word "pastor" means "shepherd.") And I'm telling you today, don't go running off after other voices. Please, please, hear me. Hear me preach Christ. Turn off the TV preachers and the radio evangelists and get rid of those best-selling "Christian" authors. Those preachers are hirelings. They want your sheep dollars but when the wolf comes and troubles arise, do you think they will be there for you? When is the last time a TV preacher came to the hospital to minister to one of his dying flock? I'm telling you, as an under-shepherd of the Good Shepherd, that there's only one voice to listen to: Christ's. And He's only given you one under-shepherd to preach it to you. If your sins trouble you, then listen to the preaching of Christ and hear His absolution. If you wish to know how to live and what to do about your neighbor, then listen to your pastor lead and guide you with the Word and Voice of the Good Shepherd. When your pastor speaks of false preachers and wrong doctrine and sinful living, don't write it off as some soapbox rant; rather, believe that Christ is shepherding you, guarding and defending you from the wolves that would steal your soul! So listen for that true Voice! Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Your pastor is an under-shepherd. Yet always carefully and closely listen to my preaching and teaching to be sure that I am not giving you wolf-preaching, but the Word of the Good Shepherd that preaches that He laid down His life for you and takes care of you through His Word and gifts.
Sheep are dumb animals. But don't be offended to be called a sheep! Rejoice that as a sheep you have a Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who laid down His life for the sheep. Rejoice that the Father knows the Son and that just so the Good Shepherd knows you. He knows you like to wander. He knows you don't pay attention. He knows you like to fall into pits and mud puddles. He knows that there are wolves out to get you. He knows all this and that is why He is the Good Shepherd. Unlike some hireling that just throws down his staff and runs away, Jesus won't leave you to be the main course for the wolf. He steps in, lays down His life, takes it up again, and calls you with His Voice. The Voice that declares He has laid down His life. The Voice that declares that you are baptized, absolved and fed with the Lamb Himself. The Lamb of God is the Good Shepherd. And the Good Shepherd is YOUR Good Shepherd. You are a sheep who cannot fend for itself. So rejoice that you have Good Shepherd who fends for you, keeps you safe, and will bring you to His eternally green pastures! Baa-men.