The sermon title was chosen well before the sermon was written. it did not really fit the sermon, although I did tie it in a bit at one point in the sermon. I kept reflecting on the difference between Christ the King Sunday, the traditional title for the last Sunday in the liturgical calendar, and Reign of Christ Sunday, which is not the alternate (maybe preferred name).
“Wanted: shepherds”; November 23, 2025; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; Jeremiah 23: 1-6; Luke 23: 33-43
Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. 3 Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall no longer fear or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.
5 The days are surely coming, says 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. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”
Move 1: Jeremiah announces that the shepherds are not getting the job done.
a. When Jeremiah uses the term shepherd, he undoubtedly is referring to the kings who have led Israel.
1. “Shepherd” was one of the “most common images for kingship in the ancient Near East” (New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. V!, 744)
2. We might add that in our time and show countries are governed, we might interpret shepherd to refer to any in positions of leadership or power - kings, presidents, prime ministers, and so on.
3. although the lived experience of the Israelites might have included harsh leadership from their kings,
the ideal king would act like a shepherd:
the shepherd/king who watched over the flock/people
the shepherd/king who protected the flock/people from wolves/their enemies
the shepherd/king who kept the sheep/flock together
the shepherd/king who made sure the sheep/flock get taken care of if they are wounded or hurt
the shepherd/king who brought order and a sense of security to the flock/people.
the shepherd/king who acted with justice and righteousness.
3. the prophet Jeremiah has spent that last few chapters describing how the kings have failed the people and failed God by failing the people.
And now Jeremiah is calling the kings to accountability.
b. Interesting to use shepherd as a metaphor for king.
1. Can you imagine the want ad for king:
Wanted - a king to rule the nation,
to lead us with power so that we might be a great country in the world, able to control ur own destiny.
but also a king who acts like a shepherd
a king who chooses to protect the people rather than finding ways for the people to support and serve the king
a king who see his primary task as caring for the people, rather than enjoying the prestige and power that comes with being king.
a king who acts toward the people with justice and righteousness.
2. Not sure anyone in Jeremiah’s time or our time would apply to be king,
or president,
any any type of applies.
the idea of being in power might be enticing,
but the commitment to caring for the people seems at odds with being king.
being a king who acts like a shepherd might not attract too many people to apply.
Move 2: But Jeremiah announces that there is one who is coming who will be a reversal of the type king they have experienced.
a. God will raise from from David’s lineage a “righteous branch”
1. HIs name shall be “YHWH is our righteousness”
2. In the Hebrew, that name is a wordplay.
3. the last pre-exilic, failed king of Israel was Zedekiah, whose name meant “My righteousness is YHWH.” (Feasting on the Word, Year C, Vol. 4, 319)
4. The king God now will send has a name that is literally a reversal of Zedekiah’s name.”
In other words, instead of the failed kings who start with themselves and are supposed to lead toward Yahweh and fail to do so,
the new king will start with Yahweh!
b. Maybe that is the difference between Jeremiah’s image of a king and a shepherd.
1. A king is first and foremost out for his own self-interest.
the shepherd sees his role as leading God’s people with God as the guide.
2. A king seeks to accumulate power for himself;
A shepherd seeks to lead the people in following God.
3. A king seeks to change the world for his own purposes;
A shepherd seeks to allow the sheep to be changed by God.
c. We know that Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in the coming of Christ,
but I suspect those who first heard the prophet Jeremiah were simply hoping for a future king who would treat them well,
who would be the kind of king who would act like a shepherd and guide the people in ways that were pleasing to God.
who would be a king who made justice and righteousness his priority.
1. I doubt anyone who heard Jeremiah prophesy,
or Jeremiah himself could have imagined the king God would send.
2. The king we know as Jesus Christ.
Move 3: The passage we read from Luke reminds us of what kind of king God actually did send to lead God’s people.
a. There is no mistaking that Jesus has the authority and power of a king or a leader.
1. The crowds have followed him.
he has performed miracles.
he has challenged the ruling authorities.
2. now, as he hangs from the cross the ascription over him proclaims that Jesus is the “King of the Jews.”
Admittedly, that may have been intended as an insult or a statement made in jest,
but it tells the truth.
2. The criminal on the cross next to him announces this truth when he calls on Jesus to save him.
3. Jesus confirms this truth with his response, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
4. Only the king, or leader sent by God to lead the world could convey salvation to the criminal hanging on the cross.
b. But we cannot miss the context of where we see this king:
Hanging from a cross.
Put to death.
Submitting to the powers of the world,
at least in that moment.
1. More a shepherd than a king;
like a shepherd with his wood staff, Jesus comes with a wooden cross to battle the powers of the world.
2. But, the point is made.
3. Jesus, the king of kings, does not act like the earthly kings we know.
c. therein, of course, lies the challenge of leadership for us.
1. How do we lead in ways that reveal the shepherd at work?
2. how do we act with power,
or expect our leaders to act with power that shows forth justice and righteousness?
3. How do we live into the idea that all we do,
even when in leadership roles outside the church,
should reveal God’s presence in our midst?
4. No easy task, but Jeremiah puts us on notice that the expectation is there for us.
conclusion: My car is almost ten years old, which means it still has a CD player.
only car in all the family’s cars that has a CD player (well, I think my youngest daughter still drives the 20 yr old car she learned to drive on, but it’s Cd player no longer works)
this means, I now have been given all the CDs from my kids and others in the family. On any given day, I can listen to Broadway musicals (my CDs) or George Strait (my brother’s hand-me-down CDs), or songs from “high school musical” that were popular when my daughters had CDs.
This week, I was driving along thinking about how Christ the king Sunday is now also called the Reign of Christ Sunday.
I was thinking about how hard it is for us to imagine a king like Christ who dies in the cross,
that seems so not like a king,
so maybe a reign of Christ is a better image.
Anyway, as I’m pondering this thought. the song “King of Anything?” sung by Sara Bareilles comes one from one of daughters’ old CDs.
Maybe you remember the song (If your kids were growing up around 2010, you might)
The song is not about kings acting like shepherds, but the final line of the song caught my attention as she sang:
She sings: “Who died and made you king of anything?”
As we gather here on the last Sunday of the liturgical calendar before starting Advent and the coming of the christ-child, we remember that:
Christ died on a cross,
and that made him king of everything.
a king who acts like a shepherd to protect and save all of us.
A king who calls us to follow
and lead accordingly.
Luke 23: 33-43: 33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus[a] there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [[34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”]][b] And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35 And the people stood by watching, but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah[c] of God, his chosen one!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him,[d] “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding[e] him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah?[f] Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in[g] your kingdom.” 43 He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
