https://assets-cdn2.dropwave.io/086174f0-efbe-400f-a3e9-b91549a26ab7/media/Misericordias Domini_ Second Sunday after Easter AD 2026.mp3

++ JESU JUVA ++

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christians, To the Paschal Victim, offer your thankful praises! The Lamb the sheep has ransomed: Christ, who only is sinless, Reconciling sinners to the Father. Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous: The Prince of life, who died, Reigns immortal. Now let our joy rise full and free; Christ our comfort true will be (LSB 460). Alleluia! Christ is risen! The great Shepherd of the Sheep, our Lord Jesus, is risen from the grave (c.f. Hebrews 13:20).

[What makes a shepherd good]

The world likes to imagine Jesus as the Good Shepherd whose only virtue is tenderness. He is quiet and peaceful. He never corrects the sheep, never rebukes them. He is a friend to everyone. He never opposes or fights the wolves. In most depictions of the Good Shepherd, Jesus doesn’t do anything. He’s just there with the sheep, looking calm and peaceful.

It is a tender and beautiful and comforting image. We want to rest in our Lord’s peace. We want to rejoice in the peace He has given us with God. But if you know anything about being a shepherd, these pictures give us an incomplete image. There’s far more to being a shepherd than this. Jesus being the Good Shepherd isn’t about being sentimental or cute. It’s a serious and costly duty. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep (John 10:11).

Listen to how David describes his duty as a shepherd in 1 Samuel 17:

David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear” (1 Samuel 17:34-36a).

The shepherd doesn’t just laze around all day with fuzzy sheep and serenade them with his harp. Being a shepherd means being able to engage in great violence. If a lion or bear steals a lamb, the shepherd goes after it. He reclaims the lamb from the mouth of the beast. When it turns to strike the shepherd, he grabs it by the beard, and beats it to death. Only a strong man could be a shepherd.

This is what you should think of when you hear that Jesus is your Good Shepherd. Because He loves his sheep, He will protect them no matter what. He will destroy the wolf no matter the personal cost. His sheep are His life. Like the shepherd in Luke 15 chasing after the one lost sheep, He will pursue His lost sheep until he finds it. He doesn’t worry about how long it takes, or what injuries He might receive in the process, or how much it costs Him. He will pay the price.

[Wolves are real, and they really want you dead]

Jesus knows that wolves are real. He knows how quickly and easily they can harm or destroy one of His beloved sheep, so He Himself will stand between the wolf and the sheep. He will punch evil in the face and cut off its head. Because He loves His sheep, He has no mercy toward the things that would harm them.

Our upside-down world believes that wolves are fake, and if you just wouldn’t call out anything as wrong, then we could all live like everything is safe. If you wouldn’t go and point out evil, then we can believe it doesn’t exist. Then it’s not a problem, we have no enemy, and everything is fine.

The world says that wolves are the Church’s fault. That if we Christian sheep wouldn’t call out things as wrong and the evil, then the wolves would never attack. You see, it’s you Christians who cause division by pointing out evil and falsehood and ugliness. If you wouldn’t make such a big deal about it — If you wouldn’t notice the evil and uncover it and draw attention to it — then it wouldn’t be a problem! Even more, the world says that the wolves only act this way because you call them wolves.

But the world is wrong. Everything in this world is not fine. You have real enemies. The wolves want you dead. The wolves want you for dinner. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8). The wolf catches the sheep and scatters them (John 10:12).

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, doesn’t want you dead. He doesn’t want you destroyed by the wolves. He wants you kept safe. So Jesus divides between wolves and sheep. He says that wolves belong outside the sheepfold; sheep belong inside it. The sheep follow him, for they know his voice (John 10:4). You hear and know the Shepherd’s voice. You know the content of His Words. You hear Him because you know His Words. You are able to discern truth from falsehood. You discern His voice from the voice of the wolf. Because Jesus distinguishes between wolf and sheep, you do the same.

[God’s Gift of Under-Shepherds]

Jesus shepherds you. He searches for His sheep and seeks them out (Ezekiel 34:11). He feeds His flock. He seeks what is lost; He brings back what was driven away; He binds up the broken; He strengthens the sick (Ezekiel 34:15-16).

Yet Jesus does not shepherd His flock from heaven or only by His written Word. Jesus shepherds you — He does all these good things for you through earthly means, and through those He places in authority. In the church, He sends pastors. In the home, He gives fathers. In the state, He appoints rulers. All these are gifts from the Good Shepherd for the care and protection of His sheep.