Hope: The Good Shepherd (Jeremiah 23:1-8)
Advent 2023 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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It is not safe to die
It is not safe to die
Sir Francis Newport, the head of an English infidel club, said to those gathered around his dying bed, “You need not tell me there is no God for I know there is one, and that I am in His angry presence! You need not tell me there is no hell, for I already feel my soul slipping into its fires! Wretches, cease your idle talk about there being hope for me! I know I am lost forever.”
Sir Francis Newport lacked the confidence he had to live as the president of the English Infidel Club upon his death bed. When his hour had come, God began to reveal to him his eternity, and it was horrifying. He was so sure of it, he felt hopeless and lost forever. Newport is not alone in his experience.
I recently read an article where a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga, spoke of hearing of near death experiences from his patients. Dr. Maurice Rawlings reported his findings to Omni Magazine. He said,
“Nearly fifty percent of the 300 people that he has interviewed have reported lakes of fire, devil-like figures and other sights reflecting the darkness of hell. Rawlings says that these people later change their story because they don't want to admit where they've been, not even to their families.
"Just listening to these patients has changed my whole life," claims Dr. Rawlings.
"There is a life after death, and if I don't know where I'm going, it's not safe to die." Dr. Maurice Rawlings
"There is a life after death, and if I don't know where I'm going, it's not safe to die." Dr. Maurice Rawlings
Fyodor Dostoyevsky says,
Hell is hopelessness. It is no accident that above the entrance to Dante’s hell is the inscription: “Leave behind all hope, you who enter here.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
God sent a Righteous Good Shepherd who gives us His hope by gathering us together and securing our eternity.
God sent a Righteous Good Shepherd who gives us His hope by gathering us together and securing our eternity.
This promise is seen clearly all throughout the the book of Jeremiah. The book of Jeremiah is made up of a collection of his sermons, essays, and poetry, as well as, stories about Jeremiah collected by Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch (Jeremiah 36). One commentator called the book of Jeremiah
“An Anthology of the Messenger of God’s Judgment and Grace.”
“An Anthology of the Messenger of God’s Judgment and Grace.”
Jeremiah was a priest who lived in Jerusalem in the last years of Judah’s kingdom. He was called by God to confront Israel’s departure from the Torah.
Jeremiah describes Israel as an adulterous prostitute whose idolatry is likened to infidelity. She has gone astray forsaking the Torah and breaking God’s covenant. Her idolatry is so ingrained in society and culture that Israel has set up temples and alters to false gods all throughout the land, where they even sacrificed their children.
This is not surprising considering their lack of love for God manifested itself in a lack of love for their neighbor. Judah was sick with injustice for the widow, the orphan, and the immigrant living among God’s people. Forsaking God’s ways created a culture of death.
In Chapter 7, Jeremiah gives his temple sermon where the prophet confronts Israel’s idolatry by showing their inconstant worship. While they are in the temple they appear to worship Yahweh. However, outside the temple they worship false gods. It reminds you of Isaiah's indictment against Israel when he says
“This people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me...” Isaiah 29:13
Their culture of death provoked God’s judgement and he promised that he will destroy his own temple by sending an enemy from the north; whom you learn later in the book is Babylon.
How in the wold did things get this bad? Where were the mouth pieces of God who reminded his people of his ways? Where was Israel’s guardians of the law, the priests who were supposed to hold the people accountable and offer sacrifices pleasing to the Lord; those who atone for their sin? Where were the kings who were to never let the word of God leave their side and were to rule in His righteousness and justice? Jeremiah says they were all gone. Everyone of them were corrupt.
Wicked Shepherds Destroy and Scatter (Jeremiah 23:1-2)
Wicked Shepherds Destroy and Scatter (Jeremiah 23:1-2)
Shepherd was a standard term for a king or leader in the ancient world. God confronts his shepherds in Jeremiah for their lack of Pious leadership. Life was somewhat decent under King Josiah because he brought reform and lead Israel in God’s ways. Once he died, things again, took a tun for the worse. Jehoiakim was installed as king. C. Von Orelli says of , Jehoiakim (609–598 BC), “He favored the heathen worship, and oppressed the people through his love of luxury and by the erection of grand structures (Jer 22:13 ff). In addition, his politics were treacherous.” It was under Jehoiakim that Jeremiah preached his temple sermon in chapter 7. The temple priests at that time wanted to kill Jeremiah because he confronted their wicked leadership. By God’s grace, the king settled for putting him in jail. Why would leaders of God’s people, his shepherds, put a His prophet in jail who spoke His word? Jeremiah explains why. They've all turned away from the Lord. Their hearts are harden and cannot hear his voice. They stopped seeking Him.
He says of the religious leaders:
8 The priests quit asking, “Where is the Lord?” The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the rulers rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.
He goes on to say about the priests, the prophets, and the kings (shepherds)
21 For the shepherds are stupid: they don’t seek the Lord. Therefore they have not prospered, and their whole flock is scattered.
Through Ezekiel, God speaks against the shepherds of Israel
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them: This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? 3 You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. 5 They were scattered for lack of a shepherd; they became food for all the wild animals when they were scattered. 6 My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.
Jeremiah uses similar language in 23:1-2.
1 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord.
The shepherds of Israel cruel men who ruled with violence and the appetite of their stomach. Forsaking the Lord they became wise in their own eyes (Romans 1:22-27), which Solomon says is evil (Proverbs 3:8). And this was not a once and awhile leadership mistake. This was ingrained in the culture of the church, community, and home. The words for “scattered”and “driven” away are particles that convey an habitual scattering God’s people.
By scattering they drove the people away from God’s ways, His torah, His covenant and into his wrath. They were left unattended, and they enemy made his way into the flock and ravaged them. When God’s people do not have Godly leadership they are prone to wonder away from God. They scatter and begin doing what is right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25).
In Jeremiah’s day, their leadership made the people sick with sin, which scattered them away from God, driving them toward His judgement. That is the message of Jeremiah. God was going to send Babylon to destroy his temple and remove his people from the land just as he promised he would do if his people broke his covenant in Deuteronomy 30:15-20.
I read a story of an American, traveling in Syria, saw three native shepherds bring their flocks to the same brook, and the flocks drank there together. At length one shepherd arose and called “Men-ah, Men-ah” which in Arabic for “follow me.” His sheep came out of the common herd and followed him up the hillside. The next shepherd did the same, and his sheep went away with him, and the man did not even stop to count them.
The traveler said to the remaining shepherd, “Give me your turban and crook, and see if they will not follow me as well as you.” So he put on the shepherd’s dress and called out, “Men-ah! men-ah!” Not a sheep moved. They know not a voice of a stranger. “Will your flock never follow anybody but you?” inquired the gentleman. The Syrian shepherd replied, “Oh, yes; sometimes a sheep gets sick, and then he will follow any one.”
The people of Israel were sick with sin and were prone to follow anyone, from wicked religious leaders to idolatrous Caananite gods. Sin made their heart easily deceived.
We live in a society (not that different from Jeremiah’s society) that preaches sin promises freedom, pleasure, identity, hope. To be truly free, sin says you need to remove all the post and fencing of God’s morality and you will be free. Truth is relative. Morality is fluid. Hedonism is your life manifesto. Carpe Diem is your mantra. Give no thought to tomorrow or eternity. Today is the day of your satisfaction. I’m afraid, friends that much of the Western church is sick with sin. We have religious leaders leading congregations onto the broadway of life that leads to destruction, that offers no hope when your hour comes. And if you walk on that road long enough, your heart becomes deceived into thinking sin is righteousness and your soul is safe from God’s wrath. If Christmas teachers us anything it is God is as serious about his wrath as hie as about his mercy and hope. That child in a manger grows up to be the Savior crucified. He received every bot of God’s wrath in your place, if yo will let him.
Good lord, we need shepherds, elders, who wield the sword of God’s word rightly, powerfully, truthfully, and consistently.
Martin Luther once said,
A preacher must be both soldier and shepherd.
Martin Luther
As a soldier, it is the elders responsibility to protect this house, protect this pulpit, protect the hearts of our people. We must never compromise the truth of God’s inerrant and fully sufficient word. We must never compromise Jesus’s sufficiency as the Savior. We must always defend the incarnation of Jesus, who as the second person of the Trinity was fully God, and as a he put on flesh, he was fully man. We must contend that He lived a perfect righteous life. His death on the cross was sufficient to atone for the sins of the world but only given to those who accept him by faith. We must proclaim with a full heart that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved from God’s wrath, given eternal life with Him forever in His kingdom.
Advent is a season of hope. Its a season of hope because it reminds you and I that God did something very special for his image bearers. On Christmas day He fulfilled a promise that he made long ago. He sent the Good Shepherd into the world to make it safe for us to die. His death atones for our sins and his resurrection secures our eternal life. Now the Good Shepherd is gathering his people together to live with him fro all eternity. God promised this through the mouth of Jeremiah and fulfilled His promise in Jesus.
The Hope of the Good Shepherd
The Hope of the Good Shepherd
In the midst of His judgment, God made promises of hope in Jeremiah’s word to Israel.
3 “I will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands where I have banished them, and I will return them to their grazing land. They will become fruitful and numerous. 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them. They will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any be missing.” This is the Lord’s declaration. 5 “The days are coming” —this is the Lord’s declaration— “when I will raise up a Righteous Branch of David. He will reign wisely as king and administer justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. This is what He will be named: Yahweh Our Righteousness.
The Good Shepherd Gathers His People (Jeremiah 23:3)
The Good Shepherd Gathers His People (Jeremiah 23:3)
3 Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.
God says there will come a day where His people will no longer be scattered. To be scattered is to be vulnerable. Satan loves it when God’s people are isolated. He can devour them much better that way. God will put an end to this. He is going to ensure they will be in His presence forever. You get a Great Commission feel in verse three when he says, “I will gather them from all countries.” He is speaking directly to the Jewish people. The principle carries over into the New Testament when the Good Shepherd commissions his disciples to go and reap the harvest that is waiting for them after speaking to the Samaritan woman (John 4:35-36), and the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. God does not scatter his people, he gathers his people, and he sent the Good Shepherd to gather them from the ends of the earth.
The Good Shepherd Provides For His People (Jeremiah 23:4-5)
The Good Shepherd Provides For His People (Jeremiah 23:4-5)
4 I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord. 5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
God also promises to to provide a place for His sheep to live with Him. He will provide shepherds who will feed his flock. He will ensure none of his sheep are missing. Everyone of sheep is accounted for in God’s pasture. His sheep will have nothing to fear or to be discouraged about. God will protect them from their enemies and provide a safe place to rest. God will also provide a Good Shepherd, one who is righteous, and reign as a wise King.
Jesus said to his disciples,
6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
God has provided a way for his sheep to never perish from his pasture. He gathers them from all over the world. He provides eternal life in his righteousness and justice.
The Good Shepherd Leads His Sheep To Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6)
The Good Shepherd Leads His Sheep To Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6)
Jeremiah ends his book with a glimmer of hope. Jehoiakim is long gone from the throne. His son Jehoiachin became king of Judah. He reigned three months before the Chaldeans invaded Judah. He was carried back to Babylon and throne in prison. Jeremiah ends with Merodach, King of Babylon, pardoning Jehoiachin in the first year of his reign. He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin. Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes and he dined regularly in the presence of the King of Babylon for the rest of his life. he was even given an allowance until he died. The glimmer of hope is that Jehoiachin is a descendent of David. Jeremiah ends with God ensuring that the line of David stays intact so that one day he can send the Righteous Branch of David who will reign wisely as King and administer justice and righteousness in the land.
The Righteous Branch will restore righteousness in the land by removing his people’s guilt and giving them His own righteousness.
He will ensure Judah will be saved and God’s people will dwell securely. Jeremiah says the the day is coming when God will send his Messiah, the Christ into the world save his people from his judgement and give them eternal life with him.
Jeremiah gave words of hope to Israel that a day is coming when God will deal once and for all with their unrighteousness and provide a way for them to live securely with him forever where they will flourish. Israel had to wait expectantly for the Messiah to come. That is what Advent means. Advent is about expectant waiting and preparation for the coming of the Christ.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd
Jesus is the Good Shepherd
The birth of Jesus the Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send “The Righteous Branch of David,” “Our Righteousness,” into the world because Jesus is the Righteous Branch of David (Isaiah 11:1-9; Romans 1:1-6; 1 Corinthians 1:30). He is the Messiah, the Anointed One, the promised Savior of the world. Jesus says,
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. 13 This happens because he is a hired man and doesn’t care about the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me, 15 as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 But I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 This is why the Father loves Me, because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father.”
Jesus is no butcher. He does not drive his sheep to the slaughter. He gathers his people and leads them to the cross where he was slaughtered on their behalf. The cross is the place Jesus laid his life down so that you could give him your unrighteousness and he will give you his righteousness. The cross is how you are made righteous and where he provides the way for you to dwell securely in His presence forever. The cross is not just for Israel, but for the nations. Everyone who confesses their sin, repents, and places their faith in Jesus's life, death, resurrection and ascension, will be saved. Furthermore more, your salvation is secure. You can never loose it. Jesus says
37 Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose none of those He has given Me but should raise them up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Christmas is a season of hope for every sinner alive today. God kept his promise to send His Son to save the world. He kept his promsie to send the Righteous branch of David, a Good Shepherd, who will gather his sheep securely into his pasture forever.
If you are sick with unrighteousness and have not brought your sin to God to be forgiven, then today the hope advent can be given to you. The King has come. Come to the King. Receive his forgiveness and righteousness. Remove God’s wrath on you by accepting his free gift of salvation by faith. Confess your sin and repent of it. Ask Jesus into your heart today. Allow him to give you real hope.
If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, then God has placed his judgement on the cross of His Son and in turn given you His Son’s righteousness. You are saved from his wrath. You now have eternal life with him, it is secured, in his pasture, where you will flourish. You have the hope of Christmas.
You have hope because the Good Shepherd gathers you securely in His righteousness for all eternity.
You have hope because the Good Shepherd gathers you securely in His righteousness for all eternity.