Title: “Ezekiel and the True Shepherd” Text: Ezekiel 34:1-16, 23-24

We are continuing in our series of sermons on “Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament,” -and we are currently in that portion of the Old Testament known as “the Prophets.”

On Easter Sunday, on that road to Emmaus, as Jesus was walking along with those two disciples, -it says that “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

That verse from the Gospel of Luke has been our theme verse for this whole year’s series of sermons. -We’re looking to discover what passages from Moses and all the Prophets might Jesus have turned to that Easter Sunday -to explain to his disciples what his life, death, and resurrection were all about.

Well, we are in the Prophets now, and turn with me again to the prophet Ezekiel, this week in chapter 34. -I am going to read verses 1-16, and then 23-24.

In this passage God is speaking through his prophet particularly to the leaders of Israel. -Listen to the Word of the Lord. ------So can you hear how God is grieving here about the condition of His people back in the days of Ezekiel. -This is back in about 600BC.

God is grieving over the condition of His people, -and He is angry with the leaders of Israel, -the Kings and princes, the priests and prophets, -the elders of the people.

And God uses this image of shepherds and sheep, -but He’s talking about people, right?!

-The shepherds are the leaders of Israel, and the sheep are the people of Israel. -And what makes him so angry about the leaders of Israel is that they don’t seem to care about anyone but themselves, -and their own power and their own pocketbooks.

Simply put, God says he wants shepherds who will actually take care of their sheep! -It’s not complicated!

In verse 2 God asks, “Should not a shepherd take care of the flock?”

But he says, “Woe to the shepherds of Israel, because they seem to only know how to take care of themselves!”

And then God goes on to spell it out. -Instead of feeding the flock, Israel’s shepherds have been “feeding ON the flock.” -We would say, ‘They have been fleecing the flock!’ -Taking the wool, and clothing themselves. -Slaughtering the sheep, and eating lamb for dinner.

-But they have failed to provide for the needy among Israel. -They have failed to strengthen the weak, -or have compassion on the sick, or seek the lost.

The leaders don’t seem to have cared what happened to the people, as long as their own needs were met. -They were lining their own coffers. -They were ruling harshly and brutally, God says.

And it wasn’t just the political rulers. -God is also speaking to the spiritual leaders of Israel, too. -He is condemning the priests for not teaching anyone God’s laws. -And for not walking in God’s ways themselves. -And for simply going through the motions of the sacrifices at the temple, without actually caring for the God they were supposedly worshiping.

-And God is condemning the prophets for only telling the king and his officials what they wanted to hear, -and not actually proclaiming the word of the Lord.

So neither the political nor the spiritual leaders of Israel were actually shepherding God’s people. -They were simply out to serve themselves. -It seems that none of them would ever have thought of sacrificing their own needs or desires in order to take care of someone else.

But God says, “That’s what leaders of my people are supposed to be about. -They are actually supposed to care about the people entrusted to their care. -And they are supposed to care about providing for them. -And care about justice for them. -And care about standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

They are supposed to be the kind of shepherds who will search for the lost sheep, -and bring back the strays, and bind up the injured, and strengthen the weak, -and lead them to green pastures and still waters.

And here’s the real clincher about this passage in Ezekiel: -God says quite clearly here, “Since the leaders of Israel will not shepherd my people in the way I have called them to do, -I myself will come and shepherd my people.

In verses 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 God says, “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. I will rescue them from all the places they have been scattered. I will bring them out of the nations and gather them again. I will tend them in a good pasture where they will feed and then lie down. I will bring back the strays, and bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”

Do you hear that? -It is an amazing statement that God tells his people that the day is coming when He is going to come to shepherd His people Himself.

And then in verse 23 God says, “I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them and be their shepherd.”

So wait a minute! God had just made it perfectly clear that He was going to come and be the True Shepherd of His people Himself. -And then in the next breath He says He will place over His people the One True Shepherd, -who will be of the line of David.

So which is it? God Himself, or the long awaited Son of David who will be the true shepherd of Israel?

Well, it’s a conundrum…until Jesus comes along. -And then we discover that the mystery is resolved: -The angel tells Mary at Jesus conception, that what is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit, -and the child to be born of her will be the Son of God. -And he will be great, the Angel says, “and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the LORD God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will rule and reign over the house of David forever.”

-And doesn’t Jesus grow up to very intentionally and purposefully take on the role of the Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep.

Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd, and contrasts his own shepherding with the leaders of Israel, -who he says care nothing for the sheep even in his day.

And Jesus says that the whole purpose of His ministry was to seek and to save the lost. He tells the parable of the Good Shepherd, who leaves the 99 in the sheep pen, to go and search for the one that was lost.

Jesus uses Isaiah 61 for his theme verse, proclaiming that he had been anointed by God to preach good news to the poor, and bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim freedom for the captives, and recovery of sight for the blind, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve.”

Do you hear the echoes of Ezekiel 34 in all of that.

-And when John the Baptist was in languishing prison and wondering if Jesus really was the Anointed One to come. -Jesus told John’s disciples to go back to John and report to him what they had seen of Jesus’ ministry: -The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

Jesus is telling John the Baptist, “Yes I am the One to come. I am the One Ezekiel was talking about. I am the Good Shepherd who is truly taking care of God’s sheep, and leading them to green pastures. Tell John not to doubt, but to believe the good news.”

“I am the Good Shepherd,” Jesus says. “And the Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

In Jesus Christ, God Himself HAD come to be the Shepherd of His people. -He had come Himself in the person of His Son, and that Son was of the line of David, -and in his death he laid down his life for His sheep, -and in his resurrection he was raised to rule on the throne of God’s kingdom forever.

Ezekiel 34 is another of those passages Jesus might have turned to first and foremost as he explained to those two disciples on the road to Emmaus -why the Christ had to suffer before he entered into glory. -He would have told them that the Good Shepherd had to lay down his own life in order to save the sheep.

And what is the response that Jesus would have called those two disciples to on the Road to Emmaus that day?

-And what is the response He calls us to even all these years later?

Let me suggest three responses that all are bound up together:

1. First, Jesus would have called them and now calls us to follow Him as our true Shepherd.

He says, “Come to me all ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am gentle and humble in spirit and you will find rest for your souls.”

The Good Shepherd calls us to follow him, and allow Him to bind up our wounds, and heal our sorrows, and forgive our sins, and strengthen our weaknesses. He says, “Let me be your true Shepherd, and then listen to my voice, and follow me.”

And I would urge that anew upon all of us in response to this text today. -Entrust your life to the Good Shepherd today, -and invite Him to lead you out those doors and back into your life with a renewed sense of His being your Shepherd, and you being His sheep.

2. Secondly, as Jesus’ sheep, He calls us to respond to His caring for us, by learning to care for others in the same way as He has cared for us.

Ezekiel 34 tells us quite directly how God desires his people to care for one another. -And though God is speaking directly to the leaders of Israel, -God’s heart is that all of His people would care for each other. -That all of His people would care about the widow and the orphan, the lame and the lost, the weak and the downtrodden. -God wants all his people to care about justice for the oppressed, and to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

So as Jesus lived this out in his life and ministry, he also said to His disciples, “As the Father sent me, now I am sending you.” -And as I have loved you, now you love one another. -For by this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one anther.”

So as sheep who follow the good Shepherd, we are called to become more like our Shepherd, -to love others as he has loved us, -to forgive others because we ourselves have been forgiven so much, -to accept others because we ourselves have been accepted into His flock, quite apart from any worthiness of our own.

The heart of God for shepherds and sheep, is that we would care for each other.

3. And then thirdly, because this passage in Ezekiel is so directly concerned with the qualities God desires in those who would be called to leadership, -we should respond to this passage by praying for, and looking for these kinds of character qualities in the people we place in positions of leadership in our day.

I am not saying that all of our politicians should be Christians. -Or even that a Christian politician would necessarily be a better leader or politician than a non-Christian. -But I am saying that we should pray for and look for leaders who display these qualities of Ezekiel 34: -Leaders who care about people, and not just about themselves. -Leaders who care about justice, and not just about prosperity, particularly their own personal prosperity. -Leaders who care about the constituents they were entrusted to serve, -and particularly the less fortunate who have less of a voice and less access to the means of power in society.

And this is not just for political leaders, and has nothing to do with one particular political party or another. -Pray for these qualities in Democrats and Republicans. -Pray that our current administration might grow in these qualities.

But look for these characteristics in religious leaders, too. -And business leaders, and educational leaders, -teachers and administrators in our schools, -and leaders in sports, and entertainment, and the arts.

In every realm we can look for and pray for leaders who will care about other people, and not just themselves.

But since none of our leaders will fully measure up in any age, -put your real trust in Jesus Christ. -He is the True Shepherd, and always will be.

So keep Him in His rightful place as the Savior, Shepherd, and Lord of your life, -and follow Him. Follow Him. Follow Him.

Let us pray.