Today is often called Good Shepherd Sunday because our Gospel reading for this morning comes right on the heels of Jesus calling Himself the Good Shepherd to describe His close relationship with His followers.  Now Jesus comes to the Feast of Dedication, which is normally called Hanukkah.  It is a celebration of the rededication of the Temple about 200 years before Jesus, after an evil ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanies set up a statue of Zeus and sacrificed a pig to him on the altar in the temple in Jerusalem.  This was a joyous festival celebrating victory over evil and the suffering that came along with it, and the rededication of the temple for use in worshipping the true God, a type of independence day celebration. This feast took place in winter, perhaps descriptive of the chilly reception Christ was receiving at the hands of the unbelieving Jewish leadership, as well as their dead faith in not recognizing him as the Messiah.

It’s interesting then that during this festival Psalm 30 would be read before the people.  This psalm was likely written by King David to dedicate a piece of land in which he bought and built and altar and offered a sacrifice to God in repentance of him relying on his power over God’s strength. “I will extol you, O Lord for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol (from the grave); you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.”

Think of the Godly wisdom and timing for Jesus to choose this place and celebration to reveal that once more that He is God! At this very festival Israel was celebrating their deliverance from an oppressive king and the pagan practices he tried to force upon the people of God. While Jesus was walking in the Temple during Hanukkah, the Jews demanded that Jesus tell them whether He was the Christ.  Is Jesus the Christ, the One who would ultimately deliver God’s people from all oppression and suffering and evil? He answers very clearly – He has already told them He was, He has already showed them He was, and so now once more He declares in no uncertain terms, equal with God "I and my Father are one!”

The great hope and expectation of the rabbis who taught before Christ was that the Messiah would unite all the Jews, all the Gentiles of the world, into one flock. This is partly what they feared about Jesus. They weren’t so afraid that He was a fraud. They were afraid that He was the real deal, that He was the Messiah, and they didn’t want that. They didn’t want the Gentiles or the end of the temple.  They were like sheep who didn’t want a shepherd.

While Christians today don’t celebrate Hanukkah, we do get together each Sunday to celebrate the deliverance and victory over evil and the suffering that comes along with it.  We come together on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, for this is the day in which Jesus was raised from the dead.  The words of King David in Psalm 30 foreshadow the resurrection of Jesus. We worship on Sunday, each Sunday celebrating a mini-Easter, and we receive the blessings of Jesus’ victory over sin and death and the devil by hearing His Word and receiving His Sacraments.  And this, this is the character of sheep.

Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me.” That’s not a bad definition of a Christian, “Sheep who know the voice of the Good Shepherd.” By hearing the voice of the Shepherd, by heeding when He calls to us.  By His blood, He reconciles sinners to the Father and makes one flock. There’s a great assurance here. We who have been called and gathered into His flock can rest secure that we belong to Jesus Christ and will never perish. All of Jesus works affirm this truth – Christ is our deliverer from sin and death. And no one can snatch us out of His hand.

Though many will try. Jesus warns us of the wolves, and St. Paul warns us to be alert, to pay attention for this reason. No matter how much we’d like to pretend otherwise, we are more like defenseless sheep than we like to admit. Sheep still think that they can go out and make it on their own. And so sheep still wander out of the pasture gate and get lost. Sheep still eat and drink to excess that which is not best for them. Sheep still listen to every half-baked lie and accept it as true and valid. Sheep still need a shepherd to come and save them when they get into trouble because whether we are willing to admit it or not, we are more likely to welcome the wolves in with open arms, as opposed to keeping them far from us. 

Wolves always find a way to trick sheep. Wolves always find a disguise that fools sheep every single time, tempting the sheep to look for grass looks greener but is really just filled with poison.  Wolves always have the lie that you have never heard before and that is too good to not be true. Wolves always know how to make things look better than they really are. And sheep always let their guard down, always turn a blind eye, always have itching ears, always are willing to give wolves just one more chance.

Sheep need a shepherd.  But not just any shepherd will do. Sheep need a shepherd who is good, not only good at his job, not only morally good, but one who is completely and perfectly faithful. Chris is our Good Shepherd because He gives His life for the flock. He overcomes the wolves by filling the wolf’s mouth with His own body and thus saves the sheep from being lost. This Good Shepherd becomes the Lamb who was slain. So that we might be clothed in white, wool like robe of Christ’s righteousness.  White washed in the blood of the Lamb, which leaves no stains but rather takes them all away. This is our Easter hope, this is our future! Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, the Lamb who is our Shepherd.