The Good Shepherd, the Sheep,
and the Under-Shepherds
Open your Bible and see how alive it is with sheep and good shepherd imagery.
Many of us will hear the following Scripture read by our Pastors on Good Friday, All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him, and none of us will like it. Who wants to be told that they have gone astray? Not you, not me. What child wants to be corrected or admonished by a parent? It is uncomfortable in the least. Yet, this is part of the loving vocation of parenting, and this is precisely what the Law of God does. It mirrors back to us our sins in graphic detail. It declares to us the deadly result of not walking according to God’s ways. It shows us how completely and utterly we have turned away from the clear voice of the Good Shepherd, as expressed in His own Holy Word.
Thanks be to God that all of our iniquity has fallen on Christ Jesus, our Good Shepherd. For sheep for whom the Law has awakened to see we have gone astray, this is our hope and stay; Christ Jesus crucified and risen for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus declares to us: I Am the Good Shepherd; and the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. I Am the Good Shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep John 10.
In this good news, our Pastors are the under-shepherds of Christ Jesus in His work of good shepherding back to the flock. They have been entrusted with the care of His sheep, guiding with the Law at times and declaring to us the Gospel continually. Our prayer is that Jesus would continue to send us good under-shepherds who have a deep love for His sheep. May our congregations continually support their Pastors. May the sheep see what a gift their congregation is, a joint endeavor of people and Pastor concerned for the entire body of Christ in this world.
And may our under-shepherds have the tenacity of a sheepdog guarding the sheep, willing to correct and admonish as they reach out to those who have strayed and gone their own way. But may our under-shepherds also have Christ's loving compassionate heart, concerned for each and every sheep as God's loved child.
As we labor together, sheep and under-shepherds, in His kingdom, may the words of St. Paul guide us all: Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned as it were, with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each person Col. 4:6. And in our work, may we rejoice with St. John who declared: and the blood of Jesus His Son, cleanses us from all sin. And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God I John 1:7, 4:14-15.
As you thank God for His Good Shepherd this coming Easter season, may you daily pray for the growing flock that is the Church in this world, the under-shepherds whom Christ Jesus as placed in our midst, the vital destroying work of the Law, and the resurrecting declaration of the Gospel among us.
Rev. Dr. Dean Rothchild, Assistant to the IDE District President
