Third Sunday of Easter

“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.”

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 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. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

The Good Shepherd Sunday On this Third Sunday of Easter, we hear the voice of our risen Lord declaring, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11). Unlike hired hands who flee at the first sign of danger, Jesus lays down His life for the sheep. He knows each of us by name, seeks the lost, binds up the wounded, and leads us beside still waters. The prophet Ezekiel promised that God Himself would come to shepherd His scattered people (Ezekiel 34:11-16). That promise is fulfilled in Christ, who was wounded for our transgressions so that by His stripes we are healed (1 Peter 2:24-25). Even when we wander like lost sheep, our Good Shepherd pursues us with mercy and brings us safely home. Today we rejoice that we are not left to fend for ourselves. We belong to the flock of the One who conquered death and now lives to care for us. In Word and Sacrament, He still speaks peace, feeds us with His own body and blood, and leads us in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Come, listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd. He knows you, He loves you, and He will never let you go.