Good Shepherd Sunday
1 Peter 2:19-25
April 26, 2026
Who do you emulate? What people do you hold in our lives as models whom you follow? Is it a famous athlete, perhaps a Hollywood actor? Or maybe it’s a politician though I would be hard-pressed to find any politicians worthy of emulating these days. Or could it be that famous musician queued up on your phone right now that you’ll start listening to as soon as you leave church?
Careful, however, who you choose. Because for every supposed “role model” in life there lies behind the scenes a poor, miserable sinner; someone who will let you down if push comes to shove who, on the surface may seem flawless – that is until that scandal, that adulterous relationship, that alcohol or drug addiction comes to light.
Peter’s letter to the dispersion, a continuation of last week’s reading, speaks of another role model, a better role model. This is the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and He is more than someone we should seek to emulate. Jesus is our Savior who gave His life for we, the people of His pasture, the unruly, stubborn, dirty sheep of His pasture that we are.
Remember the old WWJD bracelets from back in the late 20th and early 21st? All the Christians were wearing them. They came in multiple colors; they had patterns. Some people would wear like five or six of them at once. And every one of them had “WWJD” on them: “What would Jesus do?”
The trouble with those bracelets, and why they came to their demise for the most part (for they do show up here and there even today) was because of a false teaching they asserted.
They were all about imitating Christ, doing what Jesus did, and asserting that salvation was about conforming oneself to Christ. They were meant to moralize people. Now, this is not to say that conforming to Christ and following His example isn’t important. Sometimes we Lutherans are accused of “cheap grace” because we spend so much time talking about God’s grace and mercy for sinners, forgiveness of sins, and the free gift of salvation, and not enough time talking about sanctification, right living, repentance, and holiness. And, to be sure, this may happen when a Lutheran goes too far and reduces everything in Scripture down to the Gospel message and cuts away the law message. This is why I like to say that without the Law there’s no need for the Gospel, and without the Gospel there’s no need for the Law. Either way we’d be in trouble.
Being moral, good, virtuous, neighbor-serving people means nothing if good works come before faith. Holy living, being moral people is secondary to Jesus, God’s gift to us given by His death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus being God’s gift; Jesus work on the cross is primary and the example He sets is secondary. We must keep it this way or we do not have the Christian religion. The bracelets should have acronymed, “WDJD,” or “what DID Jesus do,” that would have been much better.
And we have to keep this straight when it comes to church. We don’t come to church, and we don’t bring our kids to church, so that they and we learn to be moral people. We come to church, and we bring our kids to church, so that they learn to be faithful people, people who rely and hope and hold on to Jesus, to confess their sins and cling to His promises of salvation and eternal life. The moral living stuff, the virtuous stuff, yeah, it’s there too, but not as the main message. The main message, the main work of the church is Jesus, salvation by God’s grace through faith, and then we can live as His redeemed and regenerated people in this sinful world by following His example.
We cannot take our Lord’s example and, as a chisel to wood, separate His example from His cross. For what makes Jesus our true and only Good Shepherd is how He stood before the wolf, protecting we, the sheep, and allowed Himself to be bruised for us. He took the pain, the suffering, the sting of death, not on account of His sin – for He knew no sin – but because we knew nothing BUT sin.
And because He has suffered unjustly on account of our sins, now we learn to suffer unjustly because of the sin of others. We do not so much suffer because of what we have done because Christ has suffered on our behalf. But in this life, a life lived in a broken world full of broken people and broken promises, we suffer as our Lord suffered, often at the hands of others.
Doing good could lead to martyrdom. Every apostle, with maybe the exception of John, was martyred for confessing the faith. They weren’t criminals; they weren’t adulterers or thieves or slanderers. They were preachers of the good news. And the number of martyrs over the centuries, millions – all for confessing Christ.
I don’t know if you keep up with the religious news of the world or not, but in Finland – where my people come from – one of the members of parliament named Dr. Paivi Rasanen, a Lutheran Christian, along with her Lutheran bishop, Juhana Pohjola, were both found guilty for “War crimes and crimes against humanity” because they voiced their orthodox, Christian and biblical views on marriage. She and her bishop, because of what Scripture says about homosexuality and LGBT-related issues, were condemned by the government of Finland, not for doing any bodily harm or lying or stealing or any such thing, but for speaking the truth. Literally, the Bible and the Lutheran Church of Finland has been found guilty by the Finnish parliament and condemned. That’s the world, you see, going after the people of God.
But she and the bishop, they are bearing their crosses. They’re suffering for the faith. What advice would you give them? Would you tell them to back off, to be more tolerant, to hide their true beliefs so they don’t have to suffer? I can tell you that such is often what happens in our modern, need to tolerate everyone and everything world and even Christians, for the sake of tolerance and not stirring the pot, are more than willing to put up with and say nothing against some of the most evil and sickly things ever done by the world.
Peter speaks God’s Word into such a world as ours and he says that it is a good and gracious thing to suffer for what is right. If you know that someone is living sinfully, following the path of the world, following their own hearts which lead only to judgment and wrath, and you say nothing, what good is that? But, if you, out of love and care for others, speak up, stand up and confess the faith, calling sinners to repentance and to trust the mercies of Christ, and you suffer for it, what joy there is in knowing that you share in the sufferings for which Christ Jesus has lovingly and joyfully suffered for you?
Consider Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. Sure, He set a fine example of endurance when faced with suffering, but more importantly, He suffered, He endured for you. He was insulted, mocked, spat upon; even His own disciples fled when push came to shove. But He came into an evil world full of sinful people, people who said they believed and worshiped Him, and yet they hated Him and rejected Him, this man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief.
And because He did good, because He spoke the truth, because He opened His mouth and confessed the faith, they stripped Him of His dignity and spat upon His face and nailed Him to a cross to die.
We call this His cruciform life. And we who have received the benefits of His cross, free for us but very costly for Him, He calls us – and it’s not just an “if you have time” or “if you feel like it” call, but a command – He calls us to take up our crosses and follow Him.
Not a great sales pitch to bring people into the church, is it? Imagine going to Koch’s and looking at a new snow blower and the employee tells you that the machine will give you trouble, make your life harder and might even lead to a bit of pain and bruising when you use it. Would you still buy the snow blower? Yet, it’s sort of what Jesus says, isn’t it? That the Christian life will bring suffering, cross-bearing, and the fact is that I am not trying to “sell” you Jesus as if He’s some trinket on a shelf at a store.
We will suffer for what we believe because the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh have absolutely no interest in Jesus or forgiveness and in fact the world, the devil and our own flesh despise, hate Jesus and His church. So, they push back hard. And trying to get along with the world to minimize suffering is trying to serve two masters; it’s trying to take the wide path, and it’s not following the example of Jesus. Stay on the narrow path and learn from our Lord how to endure the suffering that comes from bearing your cross. Speak out against the evil and ills and sinful ways of this world or you’ll be devoured by it.
Our kids, our youth, once they’re confirmed, too many of them part ways with the church and are devoured by the world. We say, “Oh they’re just kids and they need to learn..” but no, they are children of God, set apart, holy, and what is holy should not be brushing shoulders with what is unholy or unclean. As parents, you do not let your children dance with the devil and the world. You bring them up so they know without a doubt that such a way of life, such living for a dying world will not lead to good, but that their hope and their assurance is in Jesus and that following Him won’t always be easy…but nothing worthwhile ever is.
Christ is risen; Jesus has triumphed over sin, death, and the devil and any suffering we might face today is nothing compared to the joy and glory that awaits us. Consider the teenager who runs for track and field. The coach pushes him hard and his muscles hurt and his breath is shallow and he doesn’t want to keep going, but he does because that runner’s eyes are focused on winning the race and the immediate discomfort is a trifle compared to the trophy that awaits.
Jesus won the trophy, the crown; He endured to the finish line because His eyes were on His Father and on you and me. He endured so that we could have forgiveness and be delivered from this world of death. The suffering was nothing; it was a joy to suffer on our behalf.
And now, wrapped in Him, we bear our crosses and we learn to suffer with Him. Because at the end of this race is our crown, our reward and a little suffering today for confessing the faith, for standing against the world, for speaking truth amidst the endless lies of Satan and his hordes is the least we can do out of response for what Jesus so willingly and lovingly did for us.
Entrust your lives to the Good Shepherd because He will never leave you and He will always lead you back to the safety and comfort of His holy church where His Word is given for your salvation and learning and His true body and blood are given and shed for your nourishment and strength.
You will not escape suffering in this life by giving all your money to a prosperity preacher who promises health and wealth and an easy life. They lie to you as the wolves always lie. And you will not escape eternal suffering if you deny Christ and embrace this world’s spirit of tolerance and indifference toward sin and unbelief.
But should you suffer for the faith; should you suffer for confessing Christ, for standing against the hordes of devils, against the pull and temptation of worldly living, Jesus is with you, His rod and His staff, they comfort you. And He sets before you this table where the cup of salvation overflows and the bread never goes bad, and what awaits you at the end of this race at the finish line is eternal rest.
Suffer well. You have nothing to lose by standing up, confessing the faith, and pressing forward when Jesus is your rock, your foundation, your sword, your shield, and your Good and forever living Shepherd. Amen.
