Only One Shepherd Promises Restoration and Redemption…and Delivers

Text: Ezekiel 34:11-16

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Ezekiel 34:11-16

Jonah Albrecht

May 4^th, 2025

Ezekiel 34:11-16

Only One Shepherd Promises…

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Amen.

“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. ¹² 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. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ I will feed them with 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. ¹⁵ I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. ¹⁶ 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.

INJ Who came to seek and save the lost as our Good Shepherd, DFR:

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!” This iconic quote from John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address in 1961 was a call to action for the American people. It was meant to instill a sense of pride in the average American and for each person to contribute to the public good and find their civic responsibility. Kennedy’s words challenged Americans to consider their duty to the nation rather than solely focusing on what the government could provide for them. It is a good mantra for Christians to have. Paul reminded the Thessalonian church to refrain from being idle and willingly work; James shows that good works should be the evidence of our faith; and Jesus says that He will point to how we treat other people as the proof that we are His children.

But what we have before us is the total opposite. The prophecy God gives through Ezekiel in chapter 34 is not about what we can do for ourselves, other people, or even for God. It is all about what God can do and does do for each one of us. It is about God becoming our Good Shepherd to do what only He can do – bring us Restoration and Redemption.

Ezekiel’s prophecy came at the perfect time for the Children of Israel – and specifically, the nation of Judah. Just a few years into what would be a 70 year exile from their homeland, they needed every bit of comfort they could possibly receive. Verse 12 talks about a shepherd seeking out his flock that has been scattered. Every single Jew in Babylon would look at that and say, “Hey, that’s us! We are a flock that has been scattered.”

It wasn’t overnight that the people were scattered. It was the result of hundreds of years of failure on the part of God’s shepherds, namely the kings of Israel and Judah. You might remember that Israel didn’t always have kings. They were ruled by God through mediators like Moses and the judges. But the people grew tired of that and desired to be like the nations around them and have a human king. The LORD warned them of what having a king would do to them as a nation, but they didn’t care. It doesn’t take much Bible History knowledge to know how that worked out for the people. Only 3 kings ruled over the united kingdom, and, when the nations split, Israel had zero kings who obeyed the word of the LORD and Judah only had a handful. These kings were responsible for the well-being of the people; both physically, and, along with the priests, spiritually. In this, they failed.

God says, through Ezekiel, about these kings: “Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.” They failed the people; and the people, like sheep wandered away from God.

That is when God says, “Enough is enough.” No longer will His people be lost without a shepherd. No more will they be scattered amongst the nations; their weakness and oppression shall end. I, I Myself will be their Shepherd, God says. “My people will not be chained down by the failures of mankind; I will seek My sheep; I will find them; I will shepherd them.” I counted up all the times the first person is used in these verses, 16 times the LORD declares His intention, His willingness, His need to be THE Shepherd of the sheep. And sheep need a shepherd, don’t they?

Sheep’s wool is covered with something called lanolin. It is a natural oil that repels water and protects the wool. But lanolin is quite sticky and everything sticks to it – almost like they are a walking glue stick. Every time sheep lay down, their wool picks up dust, mud, cockleburs, twigs, you name it and it will probably stick to their coats. Everything sticks to the sheep.

The children of Israel were covered in lanolin. Not a natural oil, but the nature of sin. Everything bad stuck to them and was recorded forever. Their rebellion, their foolishness, their pride and sinfulness. Their so-called shepherds did nothing for them; if anything, they made everything worse. We are covered in the same sinful lanolin? The bad things we do; the bad things we think about ourselves or that other people say about us; it all sticks, doesn’t it?

I am a wreck as a son or daughter; I’ve messed up as a father or mother and I can’t face my family because of it. I am all alone – there is no presence of God or Christ in my life. I am a complete mess. I am unhappy, forgotten. And I try everything I can to remove these things from sticking to me, but I can’t. How miserable it is to be a sheep! To be a sinner who is like a white wall and life just flings its mud and muck all over me. And what can other sheep do for me? They are just as dirty and wretched as I.

If this is you, or someone you know; there is news for you. Good news; in fact, it is the best news in the world. There is a Shepherd who can and does something about the dirt that sticks to us. There is a Shepherd who remains clean, who is patient, who cares enough to remove the filth from your coat. It is the Shepherd we met in our Gospel lesson this morning – John 10. John 10 is the fulfillment of Ezekiel 34. God said that He will do all those things for His sheep; well, when does He do it? In John chapter 10. Let’s learn more about this Shepherd.

This Shepherd is Good. He says so twice in John 10, “I am the Good Shepherd.” Just how good is this Shepherd? When I wander away, Jesus leaves the 99 and comes searching for me. When I get confused by the voices of demons and false doctrine, Jesus calls to me and I know His voice. When I become overburdened by all the dirt and sinfulness that sticks to me; Jesus loves me and forgives me. He gathers me into His arms so that I’m not wandering to my own destruction, but He keeps me safe and secure. Your Good Shepherd restores you when no one else can.

This Shepherd is giving. Jesus lays down His life for the sheep. Four times He emphasizes this in John 10. “I lay down my life for the sheep.” At the beginning of His ministry, John the Baptist twice pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus is the Shepherd who sacrifices Himself to save His sheep. He did that by becoming a lamb Himself. He became like you and me.

The Shepherd became a lamb. John says in chapter 1 of his Gospel that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Isaiah prophesied in chapter 53 that He, Jesus, was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shearer is silent so He opened not His mouth. Jesus became a slaughtered lamb for you. Jesus became a lamb to take on every ugly, sticky sin that clings to us. Every “I have failed my family; I’m no good; I am a sorry excuse for a Christian.” And God laid on Him – that unblemished lamb – that iniquity of us all. God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us. Jesus did as your shepherd what no other shepherd could do for you – no other sheep could do for you. He took every single one of your sins upon Himself and removed them from you forever.

In 1987 Northwest flight 255 took off from the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Shortly after takeoff it crashed, killing 154 members on board the airplane and two others not in the plane. The sole survivor was a 4-year-old girl named Cecilia. When the first responders got there, the fact that she survived made them think she was in a car that had gotten hit by the airplane, but they found her name listed on the passenger list. A few days later, they figured out what had happened to Cecilia. Her mother wrapped her in her arms to shield Cecilia from the force of the crash. In doing so, Cecilia’s mother gave up her life.

Jesus has done the same thing for us. Jesus has wrapped His arms around us with His divine mercy; to shield us from the force of the crash – the crash being the Father’s divine wrath and punishment for our sins. We know just how powerful that crash was. And what was said when all of God’s wrath was poured out? “It is a work in progress? There’s more to be done?” No! John 19:30 Jesus words were, “It is finished.” Salvation is done. There is nothing to add, there is nothing more for us to do, it is finished.

Jesus, your Shepherd is Gracious. ¹⁵ I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. ¹⁶ 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.

God’s grace was not limited to His people that were in exile in Babylon. He delivered them from their distress, but it wasn’t because of their faithfulness to Him. It was because of His own faithfulness. Now, His grace is extended to you. Whether you are among the lost, not yet having been part of God’s flock, the peace of God’s redeeming forgiveness is calling your name. If you are one who has strayed from God’s pasture– Jesus’ love seeks you out to restore you to the righteousness only He can provide. Injured or weak in the faith? Uncertain about your future? You are the one that the Shepherd wraps tightly in His arms and carries you safely home.

To better understand these last two verses of Ezekiel 34, we can draw one more time from John 10. This time from verse 16. 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. You are the sheep that must be brought in to the fold; I am that sheep. You and I weren’t sitting there listening to Jesus’ discourse on the Good Shepherd, but you and I are the ones hearing this gracious voice that calls out to every weary soul and says: “I will be your Shepherd.”

We began the sermon with a quote from John F. Kennedy calling to the nation to take responsibility for the country’s success. Jesus your Shepherd calls out to you, but it isn’t a call to action. He says, “I will feed you with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be your grazing land.” The work is done. You are a sheep of God’s pasture. As His sheep, you are branded as His own with four of the best words in the Hebrew Old Testament. ‎יְהוָ֥ה רֹ֜עִ֗י לֹ֣א אֶחְסָֽר  These four words are 9 in English. The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. Amen.