Sermon - Misericordias Domini 2024 - John 10:11-16

Good Shepherd, Catacomb of Priscilla, Italy, Rome, 3rd Century

Jesus is the Great I AM

1. God revealed Himself in the Old Testament as I am who I am, or YHWH.

2. God in the New Testament revealed Himself more fully through Jesus finishing the sentence I am…

3. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the only human of the I Am statements.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Who does God say that He is? We say that God is Triune, and He is, because that is how He has revealed Himself to us in the scriptures. He is one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But in the Old Testament the personal name of God is recorded as four consonants, in our alphabet it’s YHWH, which is usually pronounced like Yahweh. Although from what we’re aware the pious practice was to not even say God’s name, which is still retained in our English Bibles where we have the word LORD in capital letters. Whenever you see the word LORD in capitals in the Bible it’s actually the Divine Name, YHWH. 

But what does that mean? Four untranslated Hebrew letters doesn’t mean a whole lot to us. There are a few ideas about what it means, but ultimately we don’t know. Moses didn’t even know. So when Moses asked God what His name is, God told Moses: “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” So God’s answer to who He is and what His name is, is: I AM WHO I AM. But that’s not really much of an answer! In fact, “I am…” is only the beginning of an answer, it’s not even a complete sentence. It’s kind of like a cliffhanger, and it leaves you wondering what the answer may be.

That’s intentional. The identity of God wasn’t to be fully revealed to us until Jesus became man. Even then, after Jesus was born and began His ministry, His identity was frequently in question. The question is asked numerous times about Jesus by different groups of people: who are you? But the answer wasn’t understood and believed until after Jesus had been crucified and risen. Because unless you have the full picture of Jesus you can’t answer the question. This is perhaps why our text is appointed for this Sunday after Easter, because only after reflecting on Jesus as the crucified and risen Lord can we know who Jesus is.

Today we heard Jesus finish the sentence. In the Old Testament God said I AM… and left us hanging. But now in the New Testament God finished the sentence “I am… the Good Shepherd.” Only in the person of Jesus do we see who God is; Jesus finishes the sentence. The Gospel of John includes seven I AM statements of Jesus. He says: I am… the bread of life; the light of the world; the door of the sheep; the resurrection and the life; the way, the truth, and the life; the true vine; and today we heard I am the Good Shepherd. Jesus is the great I AM.

These I AM statements of Jesus are significant firstly because in so speaking these words Jesus is declaring Himself to be God. The God whose name the Israelites didn’t even want to say aloud, is who Jesus is declaring Himself to be. The God whose identity was unclear for thousands of years is now made clear in the person of Jesus. These I AM statements of Jesus reveal God to us and give us a deeper understanding of who God is and how God interacts in our lives.

Most of the I AM statements are non-human things: bread, light, door, resurrection and life, way and truth, vine. These things do reveal God’s character and heart towards us, though. They especially show us that God is relatable to us and desires to be known by us as One who gives us all good things. These characteristics of Jesus are evident through His life and His ministry, but He clearly lays them out for us so that there would be no mistaking who He is. 

But one of the I AM statements sticks out to us because it is human: I am the Good Shepherd. This is perhaps one of many people’s favorite images of Christ. In fact there are many pictures of Jesus as a shepherd, maybe carrying a lamb on his shoulder, or walking or sitting with sheep. The oldest known depiction of Jesus is as a shepherd. So, what does this image of Jesus as a shepherd show us about Him?

For one thing, He’s not like most shepherds! Typically a shepherd raises sheep not for the sake of the sheep, but in order to provide for himself and his family. The goal is that the sheep would produce a product that the shepherd can use or sell, be it wool, leather, meat, or milk. It doesn’t really matter if the shepherd likes the sheep or not, because ultimately the shepherd is only taking care of sheep in order to get something out of them.

But Jesus says that He is the Good Shepherd! The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. A hired hand sees a wolf coming and runs away, because ultimately it’s not his flock and he ain’t risking his life for someone else’s sheep; he doesn’t care about the sheep at all. The shepherd on the other hand is going to risk his skin to save the flock, because he cares about his sheep and ultimately he needs them to provide for him. But at the end of the day, the shepherd is only going to fight for the sheep, he’s not going to die for them because what good are the sheep if you’re dead! But Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep, because they are what He loves. 

The Good Shepherd has bled and died for His sheep. He was stripped naked, beaten, and nailed to the cross. The proverbial wolf devoured the Good Shepherd, so that we might be spared. Like Peter explained: “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” Who is God? He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for us, who was punished for our sins in our place. We were straying sheep and we deserve to be left to the wolves, we deserve to suffer hell for our sins, and yet Jesus laid down His own life so that we may be brought into His fold.

Even after dying and rising for us He is still our Good Shepherd. “You were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” “I will feed them with good pasture… There they shall lie down in good grazing land… I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fast and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.” Jesus is still our Good Shepherd and He continues to shepherd us throughout our lives.

If He is the shepherd, then that makes us His sheep. What do sheep do? The sheep know the Good Shepherd. The sheep listen to the Good Shepherd’s voice. The sheep are in the flock. The sheep do not listen to the hired hand or to the wolf. It might seem simple and easy, but it’s not. The hired hand often looks like a shepherd, sounds like a shepherd, and maybe the sheep even like him, but in the end he only runs away when the wolf comes, he’s not willing to fight the wolf. The hired hands are pastors or pastor-like people who won’t fight against false teaching. The wolves are hard to recognize too, since they often dress up in sheep’s clothing. The undiscerning sheep accept the wolf since they think it’s a sheep, and in the end are eaten. The only way to live as a sheep therefore is to listen to your Good Shepherd’s voice. Accept no substitutes or something similar, because only the one voice of Jesus will lead you into His one flock.

Who is God? Well you know Him when you see Jesus. And as Jesus said, “I AM the Good Shepherd.” Do not fear the howling wolves, do not listen to the hired hands, just listen to your Good Shepherd’s voice. See that He has bled and died for you, and has taken up His life again. The Good Shepherd lives and He shepherds us!

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!