FOLLOWING CHRIST, THE SHEPHERD
I Peter 2:19-25

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this mornings meditation is recorded in Peter’s first Epistle, chapter 2, verses 19 through 25, particularly these words: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” This is our text.
In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends. Under the old system of Scripture readings, before the three year series which our synod uses today, the Fourth Sunday in the Easter season was always know as “GOOD SHEPHERD” Sunday. And the scripture readings, the introit, and the prayer for this day still point to Jesus Christ as the “GOOD SHEPHERD”. Our introit began with the words of Jesus, “I am the Good Shepherd.” And the gospel lesson talks about sheep who recognize the voice of their shepherd and will follow no other person. And likewise, the epistle lesson from 1st Peter, also mentions a shepherd, by telling us we were like sheep going astray, but now we have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. The new system, like the old, on the 4th Sunday in Easter reminds us that Jesus Christ is the “Good Shepherd” and that we should follow him.
Jesus Christ is our Shepherd. He is the one who loves us! He is the one who cares for us! And He is the one who guards over our souls. It is Jesus Christ who loved us so much he gave his life for us and arose again for us, and it is Jesus Christ who now lives and reigns for all eternity, and has promised us a life eternal with him in heaven.
But in our Epistle lesson for today, Jesus is more than just a Shepherd who guides us, and who watches over us. Jesus is someone who has been through what we go through in our everyday lives, and he is someone who has set an example for us to follow. I know we as Lutherans don’t like to talk about Jesus as an example, as if, if we lived like Jesus did, we can be good Christians. He is much more than just a moral example. He is our Savior, our God, our King. But Peter in our text for today says, “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” Peter tells us that we are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior, our Shepherd. There are three areas in which we could speak from our text about following Christ’s example.

First of all, in Holiness. Secondly, in sacrifice. And lastly, in purpose of living.
First of all, Following Christ our Shepherd in holiness. Our text said that Jesus was an example which we should follow and then says, “He committed no sin; and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. Jesus was sinless. He never broke the will of God. If he had sinned then his critics would be correct in saying that he was just a man, and NOT god. But Christ did keep the law perfectly for you and for me. He never lied. He never cursed others when they cursed him. And as he faced death on the cross he did not answer any of the accusations which the chief priests and scribes had set against him. Even as he was dying on the cross, he felt no hatred toward anyone, but instead prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Those are some mighty big footsteps for us to walk in. You and I are sinful human beings. We are not divine God, as Christ is. You and I will never live the perfect life that Christ lived. The LAW reminds us of our shortcomings and how we fail to be perfect. Only in Christ — in the forgiveness which he gives and only in the strength that he gives, can we do the good works which God prepared for us to do. Yes, there are good works for us to do, but it is God himself who gives us the will and the strength to accomplish those works that he has chosen for us to do. Ephesians 2 makes this clear, “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith — and not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast, for we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
But we will never live the perfect life which is the example Christ left for us. That is why the second part of our example which Christ set for us was sacrifice. Christ’s sacrifice was a sacrifice of love. In our text we read, “Christ himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” That was Christ’s great sacrifice for us. He knew that even his own followers could not, and would not follow his example of a perfect life and that because of sin, everyone would still be under the penalty of death for their sins. So he offered his body as a sacrifice, and carried our sins in his body on the tree. Christ made himself a sacrifice for us. He went to the cross alone to bear our pain and our guilt; a death which carried inconceivable agony, inexpressible shame, and dreadful loneliness. Christ became a man who was exiled, thrown out, and abandoned. “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me.” All this was a sacrifice of love, for it was done for us and our sins.
How can we follow such an example? That is impossible. There is nothing we can do to imitate that love. We can never top the love which Christ has shown to us through his death and resurrection. Christ’s death and resurrection was complete, once and for all, for all people. All we can offer to him is what he already owns—our lives! We thank, praise, serve, and obey him — because he loved us so. We want to serve him and our fellow human beings.
But why, what is our reason for life. What is our purpose. Christ gave us an example. Our text tells us that Jesus gave himself for us so that, “we might die to sin and live for righteousness.” The reason for Christ’s life was to free you and me from eternal sin and death. And now that he has set us free from the guilt and the punishment of sin, we have indeed died to sin, so that we can now live for righteousness.
Many people wonder just what life is all about. They live for themselves — a very selfish reason for existing. Their life has no meaning other that just personal gratification of personal wants and desires. That is a shallow, non-fulfilling life style.
But Christ set us an example as he lived for others. By his life, death, and resurrection, we are the children of God. In our Baptism, God claimed us as his very own. And so we live our life for him who died for us. Each day we live is a day we dedicate to His service. Every word we say, every seed we plant, every product we sell, every stitch that we sew, every vegetable we cook, every action we take should be dedicated to his service, for he gave us life and strength and hope. In Short, our whole life and everything we do in it, is not something we do for ourselves, but something that we do for God, for him who died that we might have new life and our freedom from eternal death.
And even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we fear no evil — because our shepherd Jesus Christ has traveled that road before us. He died and rose again — so that we might die and rise again — to be with him in heaven for ever.
What a joy it is to follow a loving shepherd, to walk in his footsteps, and to live in the peace and hope which he gives to each of us through his life, death, and resurrection. Christ is the good shepherd. Let us follow him. Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.