St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

St. Andrew's exists to proclaim the Gospel and to share the love of God in our church and in our community

Posted by on

April 25, 2021

April 25, 2021, “Lambs, Goats, and the Shepherd” Exodus 12: 3, 21b-23, Leviticus 16: 6-10, Psalm 23, John 10: 11-18 Last week we heard, in Jesus’ own words, how the entire Old Testament; the entire “Law and the Prophets”, is fulfilled in Jesus’ life, death, rising, and coming again. That not only is Jesus revealed in the Gospels and the Epistles (the letters between the early church leaders that make up the rest of the New Testament), but that He is in-fact revealed on every page in Scripture. In order to demonstrate this point, and to consider Jesus’ lesson and parable this morning, I would like to invite us to look back on some very important readings and images from the Old Testament: First, the Lamb, described in Exodus, and Second, the Scapegoat of Leviticus Today I would like us to consider how this Lamb and this Scapegoat, fulfilled and more by Jesus’ Shepherd help us to truly understand who Jesus is in our lives today. To begin, we need to go back in the Old Testament, far back in-fact to the second book of the Bible, there we heard the description of the Passover Lamb. But before we get to the lamb, we need to take a moment and either remember (or discover for the first time) what is happening in the book of Exodus. At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Moses, who became God’s messenger, not only to Israel but to the Pharoah of Egypt who kept them in slavery. In order to convince the Pharoah to let Israel out of bondage, Moses tells Pharoah that God will deliver 10 plagues until he agrees to let them go. At the point this morning’s reading starts, Pharoah has endured nine plagues and now it is time for the final one: the death of all the firstborn sons in Egypt. Now, because the Israelite firstborns are still in Egypt, and God wants to spare their lives, God speaks to Moses and gives him instructions to tell the Israelites so that the Lord will “pass over” their houses. “…Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; [but] when he sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter the house to strike you down.” Now, that may be a lot to take in, especially if you are new to the story, but let me make it simple: Long, long ago in Egypt, God’s people Israel were instructed to make a sign with lamb’s blood in order to avoid the final destruction God intended for Egypt in order to free His people Many centuries later, our Lord, Jesus Christ, was called the “Lamb of God.” Why? Well, if we think about it, what part do the lambs play in the story? They are killed, so that their blood can become a symbol that will save the people in the houses. That in fact, the “blood of the lamb” makes the “Passover” protection of Israel’s children possible. When Jesus went to the cross, his own blood was poured out for others, for us, in order to “protect” us from sin and death, and to show us how we can seek shelter in Him. Not just for some people, somewhere, but for all who come to Him. Jesus died for us, Jesus bled for us, in order to cover us with His sacrifice, that is why He is the “Lamb of God.” Anyone who plays the part of the Passover lamb is important, especially to those they are saving, but Jesus is not the only one to play this part. In our own time, we have people who are playing the part of the Passover lamb everyday: those doctors, nurses, and frontline workers who have sacrificed their own health and their own lives in order to save the lives of others. As of this weekend, one organization counts 49 doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and care home employees in Canada alone who have given their lives in the fight against Covid-19. These people have played the part of the Passover lamb for us, dying in order to keep others safe. Jesus’ action as the Passover Lamb, Jesus’ identity as the “Lamb of God,” it is an important part of what He did, who He is, but it is not the whole story. Turning ahead in our Old Testament to Leviticus, we find another symbol, the goat, or more familiar to us, the “scapegoat” Normally today, the word “scapegoat” is used to describe those who “take the fall” in political or sports losses. “We can’t blame the whole team so let’s just blame the goaltender” for instance. Fair or not, it is a common practice in our world. The scapegoat in Leviticus, however, has actually a very particular and important meaning. The part of Leviticus we heard this morning takes place after the sons of Aaron (Israel’s high priest) died. As Aaron is preparing to bury his sons, to atone for their sins, and to carry on himself as Israel’s High Priest, God gives instructions to him through Moses: Fist, Aaron is to offer a bull as a sacrifice, a sin offering, then Aaron is to take two goats, to sacrifice one and to use another as a scapegoat The scapegoat, God explains through Moses, shall not be killed but it shall be presented alive to God, to atone for the sins of Aaron’s sons, and to wander away into the wilderness. In those days, if you were travelling in the wilderness and happened to see a goat, fat and healthy, wandering alone, you would go a long way out of your way to avoid crossing its path. Why? Because a scapegoat, a goat who was chosen to be the atonement for someone’s sins was a dangerous thing to come near, it was destined to be attached with a person or a community’s sins and to take these far, far away from them. Again, we can understand how Jesus, in His story, plays the part of not only the Passover lamb, but also the scapegoat, and, again, He is not alone. Returning to our modern-day example of Covid-19, we see not only Passover Lambs, those dying in sacrifice for others, we have people who play the part of the scapegoat; largely politicians: mayors, premiers, Prime Ministers, Presidents, there are many examples of individuals that have been singled out in order that they can carry the blame and the sin of the whole community, and just like that lone scapegoat in the wilderness, many of us would take a long walk in order to avoid being associated with some of them. And again, Our Lord Jesus Christ plays this role for us just as He does the Lamb. On the evening when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, mere hours before he was judged and executed on the cross, the Roman guards came and took Him away, and as they did so they questioned his disciples. And rather than stand with Jesus, their Lord, rather than show courage and faithfulness to Christ, every one of them went their own way, as if ignoring and avoiding the scapegoat who was about to die for the sins of all… Likewise, early on the morning of Good Friday, before the rooster crowed three times, Jesus’ closest disciple and friend (Peter) denied Jesus three times as others asked him whether he knew Jesus of Nazareth… But it wasn’t only Jesus’ willingness to take on scorn, and sin that made Him the scapegoat… it was also His willingness, and His ability to atone for our sins… to go to the cross for us, to die for us, so that we would be made clean… Jesus’ part of acting as the scapegoat is, again, an important part what He did, who He is for us, but it is not the whole. So now that we have heard a short history and explanation of the Passover Lamb and the Scapegoat, what are we to make about Jesus’ teaching regarding the shepherd? Well, friends, just for a moment, let’s pause and place ourselves in the shoes of the people who were gathered to hear this parable. Jesus’ audiences, as He taught in the public places of Judah, were, for the most part, made up of Jews of Judah; that is to say, these people worshipped at the Temple, they made sacrifices and gave offerings there, they knew the stories of the Law and the Prophets, they knew the story of Aaron’s scapegoat and they knew and celebrated the Passover feast each year in honor of what God had done for His people in Egypt. These were the stories and the images that dominated their lives and their imaginations. And here came a stranger teaching about sheep and shepherds, evoking these images, and pointing to Himself as the “Good Shepherd.” Just like ourselves, we who are only too familiar with the images and stories of Covid-19, we who have seen too many Passover lambs give their lives for others, and who have become weary of the scapegoating and politics of this time, we are curious about what this teacher, this “Good Shepherd” has to say. As Jesus speaks, to his original audience and to ourselves, He says words that are familiar but slightly out of place. “The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” ‘Wait, I thought the sheep, the lambs, lay down theirs for the people?’ “The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away…” ‘Well this makes sense, but who then is this man in our lives?’ “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.” ‘There He goes again, mixing Himself up with the lamb…’ “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.” ‘What strangeness is He speaking now? No one can lay down their life and pick it up again at will. The dead are dead and the alive are alive!’ John tells us that Jesus’ original audience was so confused, so divided by what He said that some yelled out at Him from the crowd: “He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?” Why indeed? The best treatment I have found on this question, about why we should trust Jesus (when even those who knew the God of Israel struggle to comprehend His message) comes to us from the 19th Century Scottish preacher John Duncan. Duncan put the problem this way to his Presbyterian congregation two hundred years ago: When we hear Jesus speak in this way one of three things is possible… Either Jesus of Nazareth is a liar who set out to deceive us… Or, He was Himself deluded or mad… Or, He was God’s Only Son. As followers of Jesus, our task is to learn how to trust God’s Son, to learn how to hear His word and believe the Good News, not by letting go of our critical minds or our ability to think for ourselves, but in a process where we are able to more and more accept the simple truth that God, the Son, the Good Shepherd, loves us and wants to care for us for no other reason than this is who the Good Shepherd is. Jesus Christ, The Good Shepherd, sometimes acts like the Passover Lamb (dying to protect us), but He is not merely the Passover lamb; the Good Shepherd sometimes acts like the Scapegoat (bearing our sins and carrying them away from us), but He is not merely the Scapegoat. The Good Shepherd, Jesus of Nazareth, God’s only Son is the one and only Good Shepherd. He is the one who knows us and loves us. He is the one who protects us when the wolves of life come to take us away. He is the one who stands firm when the hired men of this world have already dropped their staffs and gone running. And perhaps this is the best way to understand Jesus’ unique love for us. Even though God’s people had access to the Passover Lamb, even though God’s people had access to the Scapegoat, they did not yet have the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd, the one come to tend the sheep of the pasture, to protect the sheep, to open wide the gate so that sheep not previously of this fold could gain His protection and His love, this Good Shepherd is uniquely Christ. Not only did Christ die for us, not only did He atone for our sins, but He went (and He goes) the step further of standing fast when the hired hand runs away. Friends, hired hands will always come and go. And it usually goes that today’s hired hand; today’s protector and hero, the one with all of the right ideas and knows just what to do, is tomorrow’s scapegoat. The reason for this, as Christ Himself, teaches us, is that the hired hand runs away because he does not care for the sheep. The hired hand is more interested in fame, or money, or acclaim, and not so much interested in the difficult jobs, the sacrifice, and the atoning, and steadfastness that comes with being the Good Shepherd. Friends, the truth of life, the truth of life not only for people who know the Good Shepherd but for everyone, is that there are dangers out there, there are things we need protecting from. Sometimes we need a Passover Lamb, just as we tragically needed those doctors and those nurses and those hospital staff to commit to protecting their neighbours. Sometimes we need the Scapegoat, sometimes we need someone to take on our blame and our ridicule and our sin and to remove it far away from us. Sometimes, as the parable goes, the wolves of life (sin and death) do come for us and we are left alone and vulnerable when the hired hand drops his staff and runs away. Sometimes the danger does come close and all we can do is run and hide and call for help, and hope that we will be saved. That is why, this day and always, the Good News is that we have THE Good Shepherd. We have the Good Shepherd who knows us, the Good Shepherd who loves us, the Good Shepherd who will not only die for us, not only take on our sins and be ridiculed for us, but one who will not stray when the wolves come. And as difficult as it may be to believe, the love of the Good Shepherd is so great (so vast, so deep) that even when we do fall prey to the wolves. Even when death closes its jaws on us and it is too late to run away, the Good Shepherd stays with us. The Good Shepherd has in-fact already gone through this death before us and defeated it, so that we do not have anything to fear, even at the end of life. This is the Good News. The Good News of the Good Shepherd. The true Lamb of God. The One and the Only Jesus Christ. Amen.