16th Sunday after Pentecost, 2010
Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier
Ezekiel 34:11-24
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
There is a television show called Animal Cops. In this series, camera crews follow investigators who are investigating cases of animal cruelty in cities such as Houston, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. The teams arrive at locations that are abandoned properties or small spaces that are overpopulated with animals. These trained professionals are looking out for the welfare of these animals. They are fighting for justice on behalf of mistreated cats, dogs, horses, hawks, tigers, chickens, and even some sheep. Their job consists of seizing the sick and rescuing the abused. These confiscated animals are brought to a SPCA shelter for rehabilitation. The goal of the shelter is to return wildlife to the wild and find someone to adopt the domesticated for continued care.
In Ezekiel chapter thirty-four, we hear of a case of animal cruelty. But, God does not need to send an investigative team. He already knows about the cruelty, the neglect, and the abuse. Even though the shepherds think that they are doing their deeds in the dark, all things are done in front of God. He knows. Thus, he doesn’t send an investigator and a camera crew; instead, He sends the prophet Ezekiel who gives to us a written account.
The first ten verses of the chapter open with the word of God spoken against the shepherds that is the rulers and leaders of the people of God. These shepherds were feeding themselves and not the sheep that is God’s people. They failed to strengthen the weak. They neglected to heal the sick. They did not bind up the injured. They abandoned the strays. They refused to seek out the lost. Because these sheep lacked shepherds, they were scattered. In verse ten, the LORD declares, “No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.” (Ezekiel 34:10, ESV)
Today’s Old Testament text opens at this point in chapter thirty-four. These shepherds have failed. Thus, the LORD Himself will be the Shepherd and fight off the wolves. Verses eleven and twelve state, “For thus says the LORD God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.” (Ezekiel 34:11-12, ESV) And again in verse fifteen, the LORD declares, “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD." (Ezekiel 34:15, ESV) Where the earthly shepherds were unsuccessful, the LORD will succeed. They fed themselves. The LORD will feed His sheep. They scattered the sheep. The LORD will gather them into the Promised Land. They neglected the sheep. The LORD will bind the injured and strengthen the weak. They abandoned the sheep. The LORD will rescue them. They lost the sheep. The LORD will find them. He will seek and search for the strays.
Now before we assume that it is only the shepherds that were bad, we must continue to hear the word against the sheep. The sheep were not perfect either. Starting at verse seventeen of today’s text, Ezekiel writes, “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats.” (Ezekiel 34:17, ESV) Here is a word against the sheep. He goes on to say, “Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?” (Ezekiel 34:18, ESV) And again in verse twenty-one, “Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad,” (Ezekiel 34:21, ESV) These sheep did not act like the LORD’s sheep. No, they acted as if they were lost, by themselves, and concerned only with themselves. This is not about being the victims and complaining that their lot in life is the fault of someone else namely the bad shepherds. As sheep, they are helpless, but this is no excuse to go around only helping themselves. We are these sheep.
Now this is not like the television show. The people of Israel had been scattered just like Moses warned them. They were not living in an abandoned property they had abandoned the promises and were scattered to another property. They had gone wild, but the LORD will not return them to the wild. No, the LORD will be their Shepherd. He will restore their souls. He will make them to lie down in green pastures and lead them by the still waters. He will bring them home to their land where they belong. They will dwell in fellowship with their Shepherd. There is no need to look for someone qualified to adopt them. They will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. These were the promises given to the sheep as they lived in exile.
These words come to the church in our day teaching shepherds to shepherd the sheep of God speaking the voice of God. These words teach us as sheep to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and be His sheep. We are to regard each other as those who belong to the LORD. We are to love one another. If we go around filling our bellies with the green pastures and have no regard for the other sheep, we break the fifth commandment. We are not to drink of the clean water and muddy the water for the next person having no regard for others.
We are not to bully each other like a goat. We are not to push and shove others out of the way thinking only of ourselves. We are not to supposed to act like lions, tigers, or bears. In doing so, sheep scatter sheep driving them out of the church and into the wastelands. The LORD will be the judge. He knows what is done in secret. He will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. He know about those who over indulge themselves at the expense of others who are starved. The church is not a junkyard in which dog eats dog and only the strong survive. The church is a shelter in which our souls and many others are restored. As the Good Shepherd has loved us we are learning to love others.
Throughout the history of the world, there has only been one perfect shepherd and one perfect lamb. He was promised by the Holy Spirit in the written text of the Old Testament. Today’s text ends with this wonderful promise of the Messiah, “And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.” (Ezekiel 34:23-24, ESV) Where the earthly kings and priests had failed, the Messiah would succeed. He would not be like them. He will be a servant. He will serve the LORD. He will restore what was lost and He will usher in the eternal kingdom.
He will be the Shepherd. There will be one Shepherd and one people. Here we see the paradox. The LORD will be the promised Shepherd while at the same time the Messiah will be the promised Shepherd. There will be only one Shepherd. Here we are taught about the Holy Incarnation. God will become man. Jesus is both truly God and truly man. Jesus is the LORD. There will be One Shepherd and One Flock. He will rescue His sheep by giving up His life. Zechariah chapter thirteen declares, “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.” (Zechariah 13:7, ESV) Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. He alone protects the sheep to the put of sacrificing Himself.
Throughout the history of the world, there has only been one perfect lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes the sin of the world away. The prophet Isaiah declared, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter…” (Isaiah 53:7, ESV) Jesus alone completely listened to the voice of the Father and did not go astray.
Jesus is the fulfillment of these promises. At the crucifixion, the disciples of Jesus scattered. But, after the resurrection, He began to gather His sheep again. The apostles were sent out to gather lost sheep of the house of Israel and then to make sheep of all nations. These sheep would hear the Shepherd voice and follow Him. He will raise them on the last day to which they will enter paradise. He came to seek and to save the lost. He heals the sick. He strengthens the weak. He feeds the sheep. He gathers the scattered.
We are the gathered sheep. We are listening for our Shepherd’s voice. He feeds us with His word. We are learning to believe that we are His sheep. As His sheep, we are learning to believe that we are helpless, but not hopeless. The LORD Jesus is the One who helps us and gives us hope. We are learning to believe that as sheep we are lost by nature, but found in Christ. The LORD Jesus is our Good Shepherd who has come to seek us out when we stray. We are learning to believe that because the LORD Jesus is our Shepherd, we shall not want. We need not push others out of the way to get what we want. He is the one who restores our souls. He leads us in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. He is the one that grants us goodness and mercy all the days of our lives. Each day, in which we listen to His voice, we learn how Good our Shepherd is. Amen.
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