“The Lamb Is Our Shepherd”

Revelation 7:9-17

Jin Kim, pastor of a multicultural congregation near Minneapolis, has stated that a minister with the heart of a pastor can lead any church. Pastor simply means shepherd. All through Scripture there are references to sheep and shepherds. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. God’s people are the sheep of his pasture. Please note that the word pasture is derived from the same root as pastor. Jesus explicitly refers to himself as the Good Shepherd. And then there’s the Parable of the lost sheep that features a shepherd searching for a lost sheep, the shepherd, of course, being God himself. Thus having the heart of a pastor – of a shepherd - is equated with having a Christ like heart.

Sheep and shepherds: the Bible contains many references to them. For instance, near the end of John’s Gospel there is recorded a conversation between Peter and the risen Jesus. Three times Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” Three times Peter affirms his love of Jesus. After each affirmation Jesus says to him, in order, “Feed my lambs… Tend my sheep… Feed my sheep.” The Good Shepherd Jesus would soon turn his flock over to the disciples. As his responses to Peter show, he wanted to make sure that his sheep were fed on the Word and given pastoral care.

It is in today’s Gospel reading from John that Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd: the One whose voice is recognized by the sheep, the One who is willing to lay down his life for them.

In one of the best known biblical texts, the 23^rd Psalm, the Lord God is described as a faithful, loving shepherd who leads his flock in the right ways, makes sure that they are well fed and watered, and protects them in the deepest, darkest situations of their lives. This shepherd language is echoed in Isaiah 49: “They [the people of God being returned from exile] shall feed along the ways, on all the bare heights will be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water guide them.”

In Revelation 7 John the Elder uses very similar words to describe Jesus’ treatment of those who have been martyred in his name. “They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.”

The Lamb who was slain is the Good Shepherd who has laid down his life for his sheep. Those who have died martyrs deaths are his sheep, his blessed, redeemed, faithful flock. Those who have shed their own blood for Jesus’ sake will wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb. “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Thus ends this particular heavenly vision of John the Elder, a vision in which angels and other members of the heavenly host once again sing hymns of praise and adoration to God and the Lamb. They are joined by a great multitude of the martyred saints: of all races, nations, and tribes. These saints are wearing the aforementioned white robes, symbolic of their purity and righteousness, waving palm branches symbolic of their victory.

To those First Century Christians in Asia who were suffering through the intense ordeal – the tribulation – of persecution John’s vision was a reminder that beyond their present suffering there would be victory. That victory would belong to the righteous ones, the faithful followers of Jesus. Even if their faithfulness led to martyrdom they would still be victorious. Sin, death, and evil cannot destroy them. The mighty Roman Empire, symbolized as the great Babylon, cannot eternally obliterate the Body of Christ. The abundant life given by the Good Shepherd cannot be ended, not even by death. The light of Christ that shines in the darkness cannot be extinguished. The Good Shepherd – the very Lamb who was slain - will take care of his sheep.

One of the books I used while leading a recent study of the Beatitudes was entitled The Upside Down Kingdom. From whence did such a title originate? From the reality that in God’s Kingdom all human assumptions about how victory is defined are turned on their heads. In God’s Kingdom the conventional wisdoms of earth are shown to be pipe dreams and falsehoods.

Messiahs can be crucified, descend into hell even, and yet be triumphantly raised. A Lamb, symbol of meekness and helplessness, can be victorious, even one who has been slain – especially one who has been slain. Empires can be opposed not with terrible weapons and mighty armies, but with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Evil powers and principalities can be defended against simply by donning the whole armor of God: the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of witness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and that mighty sword that is the Word of God.

Jesus defied all human assumptions and pieces of conventional wisdom. His Messiahship was modeled after the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. He refused to be crowned as king on earthly terms. He did not lead an armed revolt against Rome. He wasn’t a military hero. He did not seek the support of the populace. He wasn’t some political whiz kid. He claimed no territory other than that of the human heart. Instead he preached, taught, and modeled the will of God as he reached out to the lost, healed the hurting, befriended the friendless, and spoke of gentleness, forgiveness, and sacrifice. Ultimately he was the Good Shepherd who lay down his life for the sheep that you and I are.

The Revelation of John is a tough book to preach, teach, or even understand. It is filled with strange visions, horrible beasts, and terrible descriptions of suffering. And why shouldn’t it be? Those to whom it was originally addressed were living through a horrible time. Their days were marked by terror, instability, and insecurity. John never denied any of that.

The lectionary readings from Revelation between Easter and Pentecost ignore the horrible beasts and terrible descriptions of suffering. The suffering is implicit. One cannot deal with the fact of martyrdom without acknowledging the suffering of the martyrs. But the focus is on heavenly visions of worship and praise centered around the throne of God and the Lamb who was slain. They focus on the central theme of Revelation: Jesus wins. They are in essence a sneak peek at the coming victory party in heaven.

Too many interpreters of Revelation have focused on all the dark, terrible stuff while trying to identify the Beast, explain the significance of 666, and set a date for the Second Coming. There are preachers in America publicly hoping for a war between Israel and its enemies because such a war will, in their understanding – or misunderstanding – trigger Armageddon and signal the Second Coming of Christ. They will, of course, in accordance with their interpretation - or misinterpretation - of Revelation, be raptured away before all the bad stuff happens. There are others who use Revelation to literally scare the hell out of people, and thus bring them to Jesus – not the most highly recommended form of evangelism.

This preacher has a very different view of Revelation. This preacher focuses on the greatest truth of Revelation: Jesus wins. And those who are faithful win with him. Not by waging war, buying political influence, or triggering Armageddon. In the words of Bill Moyers, when Jesus comes again he will not be a gun toting, flag waving, hate mongering Messiah. He will be the Lamb who was slain, the Suffering Servant who lay down his life for his sheep. Victorious, yes! The King of Kings and Lord of Lords, yes! But also the Good Shepherd come to rescue his sheep.

The focus of this season’s Epistle readings from Revelation, especially in today’s lesson, is on the Lamb who was slain in his role as shepherd. The message to those beleaguered Christians in long ago Asia Minor is a message of hope that reinforces the basic Christian belief that, if we faithfully die with Christ, we will be triumphantly raised with Christ. There will in the end be peace, redemption, victory, and eternal life. Any message beyond that is window dressing.

Let’s hear again that message as it is recorded in today’s text: “For this reason they [the martyrs] are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor the scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Thus says the Word of God: Amen.