Jeremiah 23:1-8
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.”
Sheep cannot care for themselves. They are the most vulnerable breed of animal with no natural defenses. They have no quills like the porcupine. They can't change color like a chameleon. They don’t have fangs like a leopard or wings to carry themselves from danger. They have no claws like a bear or the hard shell like a tortoise. Sheep don’t exactly smell nice, but they don’t even have the pong of skunks. They are sitting ducks … though even ducks have some camouflage. Sheep by themselves are absolutely at risk.
Therefore, can any crime be worse than a shepherd who destroys the very sheep under his protection? It makes our blood boil to hear of some neighborhood thug who forces his way into the house of a helplessly disabled old woman to subject her to robbery, mugging, or even murder. Terrible as that is, at least the hooligan wasn't someone she should have trusted. He wasn't her guardian, her protector.
That is the calling of a shepherd.
Likewise, the abuse of a child is the lowest, most contemptible transgression because a child is powerless. That’s why all three synoptic Gospels record Jesus saying, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matt. 18:6, Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2)
A shepherd has the unconditional custody of such little ones, those dependent ones who have no other cover, no other shelter. Sheep are wholly dependent on the kindness, care, and safety of their custodian, their shepherd. Otherwise, they are completely helpless.
So, to abuse the sheep, to scatter and abandon the sheep is despicable. The false shepherd is, without question, the most dangerous of mortals. He is more malignant than any career criminal, more cruel than a terrorist, and more deadly than an assassin because he slays from within the fold.
He is not the “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” He is the destroyer in shepherd’s clothing. Any “minister” disloyal to the Word of God or who amends God's Word to accommodate tastes, preconceptions, judgment, or popular views causes the most superlative of injuries because he imperils the eternal souls of men. He doesn’t just kill; he robs people of the one blessing by which they can be mended from their wreckage of sin—the pure Word of God.
Alas! False shepherding is terrible also because it is the easiest of scams because the poor, compliant sheep don’t know how to protect themselves. It takes no heart, no truth, no grace, and no effort to tear down. And when the sheep can't fight back—when even the whole flock together could not stand against such maltreatment—the false shepherd exercises compelling power.
But God will not stand for it.
Almighty God pronounces undeniable “Woe” against such “shepherds,” for what they have done (scattered) and for what they have not done (cared for). God will deal with such charlatans personally.
Oh, one may say, I don’t have to worry there. I’m not a pastor or minister. This must apply only to someone called and ordained who is faithless or becomes corrupt. At most it speaks to someone who holds himself or herself (some women suppose themselves religious guides and diviners of wisdom) as self-determined. Since I’m a lay person and not one of them, I don’t have anything over which to lose sleep. The Lord declares this verdict against evil shepherds—not me.
Yes, but do not miss the point. What is so despicable is that the presence of a false shepherd devastates the sheep. It is the sheep at risk. The Lord’s woe against shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of His pasture may not crash upon you, but the ruin of the sheep is already a fait accompli.
The church is not warned against false shepherds (Matt. 18:7, Acts 20:29-30) for nothing.
This is why our Lord personally stepped in as the Shepherd of His flock. Even as God's people were pressed and misled by deceitful or careless prophets and priests, God drove His flock out of the country — for two reasons; to get them away from the even greater danger than a wilderness—the danger of someone corrupting the Word of God—and secondly, to demonstrate the consequence of blindly following anyone who is not truly of Christ.
But so declares the Lord. “I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.” God in Christ moves to search for and retrieve his scattered flock. Is it because of any quality in the sheep? Is it because they are bold or admirable? Hardly. It is because He has named them his own. He calls us, “my people” and “my flock.”
But what kind of shepherds does he then give? Who are these other caring shepherds who will attend to and protect the flock? The answer lies in God's promise of the One whom He will raise up, the One through Whom Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely. The name by which he will be called is “The Lord is our righteousness.”
The true undershepherds of Christ serve as Christ to God's people. They are not their own. They proclaim nothing but the Lord’s righteousness. Their ministrations are not marked with novelty and innovation or their own imagination, ingenuity, or originality. They speak only the Word given them in sacred Scripture—unchanged, undiluted, and unamended. They preach Christ. They deliver Christ in the Holy Sacraments. They forgive in Christ’s Name. They are no different than if Jesus were there Himself … indeed He is there, for their office and service bear Christ’s authority—the authority of the Word of God. These shepherds have also Christ’s singular object, the care, protection, and provision of the sheep whom Jesus Himself rescued by His life, death, and resurrection.
Under them, are the sheep any less dependent? No, they remain so. Can they now care for themselves? No, but that is no concern. They are still sheep, but they need not fear because they are no longer vulnerable. They need not be dismayed. They need never be anxious that even one of their number will be lost. They do not need quills, fangs, claws, shells or camouflage.
The sheep and their shepherds are united in communion with the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. In Him and through Him they receive all that is needed. The shepherds serve with joy, and the sheep receive with joy – for their life and joy is Christ.
