The Third Sunday of Easter
Easter 3
April 19, 2026
John 10:11-16
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, which tells the story of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. What’s so wonderful about this passage is that Jesus teaches us He is not like a hireling, who doesn’t care about you, His sheep, and abandons you in your troubles or when the enemy attacks; no, instead, He came to save you. And that’s what He did—by laying down His life for you on the cross that first Good Friday, by enduring the attacks and wounds of the wolf, He died for your sins, your struggles, the darknesses that lead you away from His cross and Church.
But maybe you’ve asked yourself, “How is Jesus coming to me today, to save me, to care for me, to bring me back to His cross and Church, back to the gathering of His flock?”
The answer to this question might come after the resurrection, as Jesus spoke to Simon Peter in the Gospel of St. John,
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.” (John 21:15-17)
First, we learn from this passage that Jesus cares for His sheep by sending pastors among them. But secondly, did you notice how Jesus doesn’t tell Peter to feed “your” sheep, no, He says to him, to feed “My” sheep — to feed the sheep of Jesus?
Who are these sheep?
They are you—the ones who bear the Lord’s mark, have been washed in His baptism, sealed with His name, and covered by His blood shed on the cross.
This passage from the Gospel of John, these instructions given to St. Peter, are read at every ordination and installation of a pastor, because the clear instruction to all pastors is to feed the sheep of Jesus, “His sheep.” (Paraphrase from St. Augustine)
Now, how is a pastor to do this?
Well, Harold Senkbeil, a pastor outside of Elm Grove, WI, wrote a book called The Care of Souls, and in that book, he has a chapter called “Sheep-Dogging and Shepherding.”
In this chapter, Senkbeil alludes to the pastor as a sheepdog.
While many of you know what a sheepdog is, for those who don’t, this type of dog has traditionally been used to herd various kinds of livestock. Sheepdogs work closely with farmers or shepherds to move herds or flocks, prevent them from straying, guide them home, and guard and protect them from danger.
Senkbeil says,
Consider this picture of the relationship between a sheepdog and shepherd as a vivid illustration of the bond between a pastor and the Good Shepherd who has enlisted him in service to his sheep. The sheepdog is iconic of a faithful pastor’s work: one ear turned to the voice of the Great Shepherd, the other tuned attentively to the sheep.
With this illustration in mind, Senkbeil urges the reader to ponder these relationships more as he quotes another author:
[The sheepdog] was the docile and faithful agent of another mind. He used his whole intelligence and initiative, but always in obedience to his master’s directive will… The little mountain sheep he had to deal with were exceedingly tiresome, experts in doubling and twisting and going the wrong way as any naughty little boy. Even so, the dog went steadily on with it, his tail never ceased to wag.
The dog’s relation to the shepherd was the center of his life; and because of that, he enjoyed doing his job with the sheep; he did not bother about the trouble, nor get discouraged with the apparent results. The dog had transcended mere dogginess. His actions were dictated by something right beyond himself. He was the agent of the shepherd, working for a scheme which was not his own and the whole of his of which he could not grasp, and it was just that which was the source of so delightedness, the eagerness and also the discipline with which he worked. But he would not have kept that peculiar and intimate relationship unless he had sat down and looked at the shepherd a good deal.
What these words reveal is that the sheepdog will never fully grasp the shepherd’s entire intent, meaning, he doesn’t know why this event leads to the next event. However, the dog acts as an extension of the shepherd, eager and willing to go wherever he is needed, and despite any frustrations, the sheepdog always looks to the shepherd, captivated by His love for him and the sheep.
And this is where it all begins — the sheepdog watching and being captured by the Shepherd. Everything the sheepdog does is directed by the words of the Shepherd.
Similarly, everything the pastor does should be guided by the voice of the Good Shepherd.
So, if you’re sick and in the hospital, the pastor is here to visit you and surround you with the comfort of God’s word.
If you are failing to live the baptismal life and walk in the fruits of the Spirit— “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”—the pastor is there to guide you back onto the difficult path of confession and absolution. (Galatians 5:22-23)
If you have wandered away from the flock, if you fail to keep the confession of faith from your Confirmation, the pastor will go after you, calling, texting, writing, emailing, Facebooking, or whatever form of communication is needed to lead you back to the Good Shepherd and the supper that awaits you here.
It’s what the pastor, the sheepdog, is sent to do, because he receives his direction from the Good Shepherd, from his Lord, Jesus Christ.
And this is why I come into this sanctuary each morning: to get away from the distractions of the pastor’s study, to quietly look to my Savior, to hear His Word, to kneel and pray for you, His sheep, just as the apostles, the first pastors, instructed in the book of Acts as it was written, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4)
Or when I am permitted to come to your home and bedside during your times of trouble, sickness, or approaching death, because the Scriptures instruct the pastor, as St. James wrote,
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (James 5:13-15)
Or if you have strayed, if you have not been found regularly among the flock in the Divine Service; Jesus, the Good Shepherd, sends His sheepdog, His undershepherd, the pastor, after you—to leave the 99 and rescue the one—striving to bring you home to the flock of Jesus as you read in the Gospel of St. Luke. (Luke 15:3-7)
Why is all this done? Because Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.” (John 10:14)
These words are the good news of Good Shepherd Sunday.
Jesus, your Good Shepherd, knows you. He has claimed you in Holy Baptism, and through His Word, He calls out to you. He doesn’t send hirelings among you, who do not care about you and would abandon you in times of trouble, to leave you when you or your children wander away from Him, or remain snug in your beds on a Sunday morning.
No, He sends His pastors, His sheepdogs, to do His will, to care for you, and to ensure you are constantly hearing the voice of Jesus, so you might know Him. So you might look to the cross and see how the Shepherd laid down His life for you, the sheep, enduring the attacks and wounds of the wolf - He died for your sins, your struggles, and the darknesses that lead you away from His Church, from His flock.
Jesus does all of this through His pastors because He loves you, and this is why Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
[Jesus] said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
This is why pastors are sent to you: to do as Jesus has instructed and commanded. So, on the last day, you can join the whole company of heaven in saying, Alleluia! Christ is Risen! +INJ+
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Website: www.goodsheptomah.org
The Shepherd’s Voice Podcast: https://goodsheptomah.podbean.com/
