April 13, 2008

Second Sunday of Easter

1 Samuel 17:34-37

Grace and peace be to you from our Shepherd, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Dear fellow redeemed,

On Good Shepherd Sunday I’d like to start by telling you how Jesus Christ our Savior is not like a shepherd. Human shepherds depend on their sheep to provide them with a living. If the sheep don’t survive, then the shepherd doesn’t survive. This basic fact of shepherding is mostly lost on us, since our shepherds can fall back on subsidies and welfare. And for those who are even more removed from the economic realities of shepherding, well, we are totally oblivious about the interdependence between the shepherd and his flock. A fancy expert might call it a symbiotic relationship—for example, future King David, when he was younger, tended his father’s flock. David depended on the sheep to support his family; the sheep depended on David to keep them safe from danger.

In this way Jesus our Shepherd is nothing like the shepherds of this world, including the shepherd boy David. Jesus Christ does not need a flock and He doesn’t need to worry about the sheep. The reason I’m telling you this is so that the fact that Jesus is our Good Shepherd becomes even more stunning. He didn’t need to put His life on the cross for us, but He did. The Shepherd didn’t have to, but He did rescue His sheep.

The Shepherd rescues His sheep. As we bask in the triumph that was won for us by our Savior, it certainly is a good time to talk about how Jesus is our Good Shepherd. We’ll examine the life of the shepherd David as a picture of the Good Shepherd. God often raises up sinners like you and me to serve His purpose. One of the most humble servants of God was David.

Not too long before this incident between David and Goliath, God had rejected Saul as the King of Israel. Due to Saul’s stubborn unbelief, the triune God has seen fit to anoint a new king to replace King Saul.

So the Lord sent His prophet Samuel to the town called House of Bread. (In Hebrew House of Bread is Bethlehem and it was the town of Boaz, the husband of Ruth the Moabitess. Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed, Obed has a son named Jesse, and Jesse has eight sons, the youngest of whom was David.)

Only one chapter before the fight between David and Goliath, the prophet took oil and poured it on the shepherd boy’s head. Samuel anointed David to be king. (Remember that this did not happen overnight. This took David years from the time he was anointed until the time he was actually ruling all of Israel. He wouldn’t be acknowledged to be King of Israel until 2 Samuel 5.) So this time lag explains why in the very next chapter David wasn’t sitting on a throne, but instead still living the life of a lowly brother, bring supplies and food to his three oldest brothers who were soldiers on the line.

For weeks in the Valley of Elah the giant Goliath went out and taunted the Israelites every day. He cursed them and the one true God. The Israelite soldiers were afraid. The Philistines thought this was all very amusing. David had neither reaction: instead he stepped up. He asked:

What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? (1 Samuel 17:26)

Now by rights this was not David’s fight. He was a boy—he was not expected to fight full-grown men, let alone nine-foot giants. David could have gone home without any disgrace. All he got for his questions was ridicule from his own side!

David confronted evil no matter what the cost. He was able to do this because of the Good Shepherd who rescues His sheep:

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” (1 Samuel 17:34-37)

In the same way Jesus intervened in a fight that wasn’t His problem. He didn’t have to get involved but He did. He didn’t have to rescue the sheep, but He did. And in His fight to save us, He didn’t merely pull out few pieces from the lion’s mouth. That’s what normally happens to the sheep who get snatched away by the lions and bears (see Amos 3:12). Not Jesus though. When He rescues, He saves the whole person, body and soul. All this from God’s Son when it wasn’t even His problem. David fighting Goliath is a reflection of that love.

Yet how often don’t we refuse to get involved in fights that are our own? Yes, we are to fight the good fight when we see sin around us. But we often run away from struggling with our sin. In other words it is easy to feel good about a fight where we can retreat if things get to personal. But when sin is personal, it’s tempting to take the path of least resistance.

When fighting sin in ourselves, it is so easy to pass the back. That’s what Saul did: instead of fighting Goliath, he put a price on God’s glory, something that is priceless. When Goliath insulted God, God’s armies melted away with cowardice. Neither Saul nor anyone else wanted the reward their king was offering. Everyone just kept passing the buck.

Passing the back is easy; it’s also hard to accept when someone else accidently points out your refusal to fight. That’s what David did. He mentioned that the emperor had no clothing, when he asked what was going to be done about this blasphemer Goliath. David naturally assumed that good strong Israelite men were pushing each other out of the way to get to the front of the line to defend the name of the God of Israel by fighting the giant. When David asked his good questions, it exposed those who had little trust in God’s shepherding hand and were willing to take a pass. David’s own brother Eliab accused David of being a big shot. How often don’t we accuse others of sinning when they have lovingly rebuked our sin, whether it was intentional or accidental?

This is us. We don’t like talking about sin. We certainly don’t enjoy discussing our own sins. It’s rude to talk about a sin that is a little close to home. Talking about sin in general, well, that’s okay. We’re Christians, we have to talk about sin sometime. We’re Lutherans, aren’t we supposed feel bad? Well, God doesn’t tell us to feel bad. He tells us that we are worthless sinners who deserve nothing but hell. How does that make you feel? Bad doesn’t quite capture it, does it?

Because of the Holy Spirit’s work in David’s heart, that young shepherd boy didn’t care about money or rewards. He didn’t care about fame or glory for himself. All he cared about was the glory of the Lord. And he was convinced that no matter what would happen, His Shepherd would rescue him.

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

Amen.

Pastor Luke Boehringer

Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church

Owosso, Michigan