Deo Gloria
Sermon for April 26, 2026
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: John 10:1-10
Theme: Follow Christ, Our True Shepherd!
- He warns us about false shepherds.
- He knows us by name.
- He leads us to pasture.
- He gives us life.
It happened 33 years ago last Sunday—April 19, 1993. Fire broke out at the Branch Dividian compound in Waco, TX. 75 people died in the inferno that followed. The leader of the group was a man by the name of David Koresh. Among other things he claimed to be the Messiah, the Lamb of God as pictured in Revelation ch. 5. He had 19 wives, through whom he fathered at least 10 children. According to former members he had prophesied for himself 60 wives, along with 80 concubines and “virgins without number.” He took advantage of his followers, requiring them to give up all of their possessions and then returning to them only a paltry allowance of 2-5 dollars per week. He personally doled out the food rations, giving extra to his band members and other “mighty warriors” as he called them, while withholding food from the weak or the wavering. He even convinced some of the parents to permit him to have sex with their teenage daughters. The guy was obviously a fake, a false prophet, one who distorted and twisted the truths of God’s Word and used them for his own advantage. Essentially he only cared about himself and his own sinful, selfish desires. He certainly didn’t care about his followers or their souls.
Our text this morning warns us about people like David Koresh. It warns us to watch out for spiritual thieves and robbers, who only come to steal and kill and destroy. At the same time it urges us to follow Christ, our true Shepherd, a Shepherd who truly cares about us and our souls. As our Shepherd, Jesus knows us by name. He leads us out to pasture. And he gives us life–abundant life.
In Jesus’ day the thieves and robbers who were preying on God’s people were the Pharisees. They were the self-appointed religious leaders of the day, the guardians of God’s law, the ultimate authorities on right and wrong. But they were blind guides, because they rejected Jesus. In spite of overwhelming evidence, like the miracle Jesus performed in the previous chapter, healing a man who had been born blind–in spite of such compelling evidence that Jesus was the Christ, the promised Messiah, the Pharisees refused to believe it. They refused to acknowledge that Jesus was even a prophet, much less the promised Savior. And anyone who did acknowledge that Jesus was the Christ they threw out of the synagogue. Instead of leading people to trust in Jesus, they did everything they could to discredit him and oppose his teachings. Instead of lifting the heavy burden of people’s sin and guilt by directing them to the rest and forgiveness Jesus had to offer, they made their burden even heavier by admonishing them for their failures and advising them to try harder next time. Instead of pointing people to Jesus as the way to heaven, they pointed people to the law and to obey the law the way they did. Then they would earn God’s favor. Then they would gain entrance to the eternal mansions of heaven.
They were blind guides, guides who were misleading God’s people, who had substituted their own teachings for God’s teachings. Instead of leading people closer to God, they were actually leading them farther away. And whether it was intentional or unintentional, they were leading people down a path that would result in the destruction of their souls. They were not shepherds for God’s people. They were thieves and robbers. Jesus warned the people about them. “Watch out,” he said. “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves”(Mt 7:15) And here in John ch. 10 he said, “All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers…The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy”(vv.8+10).
That same warning is very much in place today. “Be careful.” “Watch out for false prophets.” Watch out for people like David Koresh. Watch out for people like Jim Jones. Watch out for people like Joseph Smith or Charles Taze Russell. Watch out for people like Sun Myung Moon or L. Ron Hubbard or David Miscavige, the leader of Scientology today. Though outwardly they may appear to be decent, sincere people, some perhaps even with good intentions, they are none the less thieves and robbers. They are false prophets who do not teach the truth of God’s Word. Contrary to what they might say, they will not lead you closer to God, but rather farther away from him. In fact, following them and their teachings will ultimately lead to the destruction of your soul. Stay away from them.
“How can I recognize such people?” you ask. “How can I detect false prophets?” By comparing what they say and what they teach to what God tells us in his Word. If what they say does not agree completely, 100%, with what the Bible says, they are false prophets. Stay away from them. If, for example, they claim to teach the truth of God’s Word but assert that the world came into existence through evolution or that creation and evolution can somehow be combined, they are false prophets. Keep away from them. If they say that the Bible is God’s Word but that some of the stories in it–like the story of Noah and the Flood or the story of the sun standing still–are not necessarily true, they are false prophets. Keep away from them. If they claim to teach the grace of God in Christ but then assert that there is something you still need to do to atone for your sins or to earn God’s favor or to bring yourself to God, they are false prophets, prophets who will mislead you and lead you away from Christ. Don’t listen to them. Keep away from them as well as from anyone who teaches things that are contrary to what Jesus teaches us in his Word.
Instead of following them, follow Christ, our true Shepherd. In the Old Testament, God foretold that he would send a Shepherd, a Shepherd who would genuinely care for his sheep, who would gather together those who had been scattered, who would protect them from harm, who would lead them into the green pastures of his Word. He says it this way in Ezekiel, ch. 34:
This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. (vv. 11-14)
Jesus was that shepherd. As the Son of God, he came to gather God’s lost and scattered people. He came to rescue them from their enemies. He even went so far as to lay down his life to protect them from the devil. And he nourished their souls by teaching them the refreshing truths of God’s Word. Yes, unlike the many thieves and robbers they had all around them, Jesus was their good Shepherd.
He is ours as well. As our true Shepherd, Jesus knows us all by name. Jesus makes that point himself in the first of these two parables. In v. 3 he says, “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” That’s the way it was back in Jesus’ day. Shepherds knew their sheep. They knew them all by name. “There was Speckles and there was Fluffy. There was Patch and there was Blacky–better keep your eye on him. He can be a little bucky sometimes.” The same is true of our Shepherd. He knows each and every one of us by name. You and I are not just numbers on a massive spread sheet or tiny blips on a gigantic computer screen. Jesus knows each of us personally, intimately. He was there the day we were born, the day we drew our very first breath. He was also there the day we were born again through the waters of Holy Baptism and brought into his family. He was there the first day you went to school and the day you graduated from college. He was there the day you got married, the day you had your first child, the day you lost your job and the day you had your heart attack. And he will be there the day you draw you final breath as well. Yes, our Shepherd knows us well. He knows us all by name.
He also leads us out to pasture. Back in Jesus’ day shepherding sheep was a little bit different than it is today. Back then they didn’t have large, fenced-in grazing areas for sheep like you often see out west. Back then a shepherd had to lead his sheep to food and water. Each day he had to take them out of the sheep pen and help them find suitable land for grazing and adequate water for drinking. Without a shepherd the sheep would be in a world of hurt, because they wouldn’t know where to look, and many would undoubtedly starve.
But not Jesus’ sheep. Our Shepherd cares for our souls by seeing to it that they are adequately fed. He leads us into the green pastures of his Word, where he nourishes and refreshes our souls. Through Word and Sacrament he fortifies and strengthens our faith and keeps it strong.
Of course, we can starve ourselves. We can deprive ourselves of the spiritual nourishment our Savior has to offer by not taking the time to hear and read his Word, or by not coming to receive his Sacrament; but how foolish. How foolish it would be of us to deprive our faith of the food it needs and to put our souls in that kind of danger! Take the time to hear and read and study God’s Word. Make it a daily part of your life. Come to the Lord’s table regularly and often and let your Shepherd nourish your soul.
Finally, as our true Shepherd, Jesus gives us life. Many people today think that there are many ways to life, many doors to heaven. Essentially, they believe that one religion is as good as another, that basically they all teach the same thing, and that it really doesn’t matter which one you follow because they all lead to heaven. But that is just another one of Satan’s lies. There are not many different ways or many different doors to heaven. There is only one. Jesus makes that clear in the second of our parables. “I am the gate,” Jesus said, “whoever enters through me will be saved”(v. 9). Let me reread those words, because I think these days they bear repeating: “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” You see, you can’t get to heaven through Mohammed or Allah. You can’t get to heaven through Buddha or Krishna. You can’t get to heaven by trying to earn Jehovah’s favor so he will remember you and bring you back as part of the new earth. There is only one way. There is only one door. There is only one gate: through Jesus Christ. Jesus gives us life–eternal life.
But the price was by no means cheap. In order to give us life, our Shepherd Jesus, had to give up his, which he did. Willingly he laid down his life in order to protect his sheep from their enemy the devil. By his death and resurrection Jesus defeated the devil. By his death and resurrection Jesus ransomed our souls from death. And now instead of death he gives us life–eternal life to all his sheep, all those who trust in him as their Savior.
What a difference that makes! What a tremendous difference that makes in my outlook on life. My life is not meaningless. My life has a purpose. My life has a goal. I have a reason for being here and I know where I’m going. Each day I have an opportunity, an opportunity to express my gratitude to my loving Lord in thankful living. Each night I can go to bed with the comfort and assurance that my Shepherd is watching over me, protecting me from harm and danger. Each time I sin, I know I can go to my Savior and find forgiveness. Each time I hurt inside, I know I can go to my Shepherd and find comfort and strength. No, I may not have all the money and toys and material possessions the world says I need to have in order to be happy, but that doesn’t matter, because I have life, abundant life, eternal life, from Jesus Christ, my Shepherd.
One of the first hymns I ever learned is still one of my favorite hymns today. It’s a rather simple song, a song about a shepherd, a shepherd who truly cares about his sheep. By the grace of God that shepherd is my shepherd and he’s yours. And, friends, we could do nothing better than to follow him.
I am Jesus’ little lamb; Ever glad at heart I am,
For my Shepherd gently guides me, Knows my needs and well provides me,
Loves me ev’ry day the same, Even calls me by my name.