Easter 4 Acts 20:28-32
April 26, 2015
One day the risen Savior met some of his disciples on shores of the Sea of Galilee. After showing them again that he was alive, he took Peter aside. Before any of the other disciples, Peter was the one who “got it”. He was the first to confess that Jesus was God’s Son. He knew that only Jesus had the words of eternal life. And he was the first to realize how far Jesus’ forgiveness could reach – even down to a foolish, cowardly denier like him. But Jesus didn’t take him aside to focus on Peter’s failures. His heart and mind were on his lambs and his sheep – his precious flock of believers – whom he was now entrusting to the care of his disciples. He wanted Peter to know that he was still one of them. “Feed my lambs, Peter. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep.” In just a short time they would not see Jesus again until they joined him in heaven.
Years later the Apostle Paul was on his way back to Jerusalem from his third and last missionary journey. He was on a tight schedule – Pentecost was only a few weeks away – but there was one stop he just had to make. When the cargo ship he was on docked at the seacoast city of Miletus (in what today is northern Turkey), he sent word to the elders of the church Ephesus, about 50 miles to the south, to come. When they arrived he told them that this was the last time they’d see each other – soon he would be arrested and imprisoned for his faith in Jesus - but their ministries would continue. “Be shepherds of the flock of God, which he purchased with his own blood,” he urged them, echoing Jesus’ words, “Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep.”
Today a seminary graduate is ordained as the new pastor in a congregation. After years of studying God’s Word and a year or two of “on the job training”, he’s ready and eager to be their shepherd. And as he is being installed he, too, hears the echo of Jesus’ words, “Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep.”
What do Peter and the disciples, the Ephesian elders, and a seminary graduate all have in common? They are how Jesus, the GoodShepherd, cares for you, his flock, his Church. “He gave some to be pastors,” Paul later wrote to the Ephesians from prison (Ephesians 4:11). Jesus cares for you….
1.Through your pastor (shepherd)
When children are little they have all kinds of ideas of what they want to be when they grow up. “I’m going to be a race car driver; fireman; policeman; nurse; doctor.” Why? Because that’s what they’re interested in – or maybe it just sounds exciting. But why would anyone want to be a pastor when they grow up? What’s exciting or interesting about that?
Actually, no one would ever want to be a pastor any more than anyone naturally wants to believe in Jesus. But when the Holy Spirit gives you and me faith in Jesus, he changes the way we think about everything. Jesus becomes the most important person in our lives. It’s no longer about us but about Jesus. We want to learn what he tells us in the Bible. We want our faith in him to grow stronger and we want to thank him by living according to his will. We can’t wait to be with him in heaven. And we want everyone to know about him.
So a pastor is just like any other Christian. Faith works in all of our hearts to serve Jesus. A man who wants to be a pastor just wants to serve by taking care of Jesus’ flock and keeping them close to Jesus. If Jesus wants him to be a pastor he will receive a call to serve a certain congregation, and the Holy Spirit is behind it all. As Paul told the elders in Ephesus, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”
Wow. God bought you with his own blood! Can there be anything more precious? You belong to God! What an honor and privilege it is to serve such important people! No wonder the pastor’s first responsibility is to “keep watch over himself” – his life, teaching. He is an “overseer” – watching over someone else’s sheep as one who must give an account! So before he can lead others, he must be led by the Good Shepherd himself.Jesus cares for you through your pastor, someone who faces all the same weaknesses and temptations you do. At the same time he has Jesus’ authority and speaks for him. “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me.” Your pastor watches over your souls and seeks to protect you from anything that would harm your faith. When he warns you about false teaching, don’t think he’s over-reacting and ignore his concern. The Good Shepherd is caring for you. When your pastor calls you to repentance, he isn’t looking down on you or judging your heart, but showing your Good Shepherd’s concern for your faith. When he encourages you to worship, he isn’t trying to be a pest in your busy life – he’s showing the priority Jesus has for your soul. When your pastor calls and his number shows up on your caller ID, answer it. Jesus is caring for you through your shepherd. “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a1 joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.” Hebrews 13:17
But isn’t it dangerous to give such an important responsibility to sinful men? It would be if Jesus left pastors to figure it out on their own. But Paul committed the Ephesian elders “to God and to the word of his grace.”
2.With his Word
In Luther’s day things were terrible in the churches. Most pastors had never read the Bible. They didn’t even know the Bible themselves, so they couldn’t teach it to anyone else. In one church the pastor’s sermon was about brewing beer! This is what made Luther write his small and large catechisms to help pastors and parents teach the basics of God’s Word to their congregations and children.
This is why we work so hard to train our pastors and teachers well. We want them to really know God’s Word so they can help their congregations know it well, too. When you’re learning a lesson from the Bible in Sunday School or catechism and you’re given memory work to do, the Good Shepherd is putting his Word in your heart.
When you are invited to Bible study, the Good Shepherd is caring for you. He has much to tell us, and we have so much to learn. And your pastor is growing and learning right along with you as he shares what the Good Shepherd has taught him from his Word.
In his sacristy Martin Luther had a prayer that has been used by pastors over the years. In it Lutherprayed:
“Lord God, you have made me a pastor in your church. You see how unfit I am to undertake this great and difficult office, and if it were not for your help, I would have ruined it all long ago. Therefore I cry to you for aid. I offer my mouth and my heart to your service. I desire to teach the people. And for myself, I would learn evermore and diligently meditate on your Word. Use me as your instrument, but never forsake me, for if I am left alone, I shall easily bring it all to destruction. Amen.”
Throughout all of Paul’s letters one thing he repeats again and again is, “Pray for me.” Since your pastor’s work of teaching and sharing God’s Word is so important – because this is how the Good Shepherd cares for you – do the same. Pray for your pastor. Amen.