The Sheep Know the Shepherd
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
JOHN 10:11
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The Sheep Know the Shepherd
If you know this Shepherd, you can defend yourself against the devil and death, saying: "Sadly, I have not kept God's Commandments, but I crawl under the wings of this dear hen (my dear Lord Christ [Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34]) and believe that He is my dear Shepherd, Bishop, and Mediator before God, who covers and defends me with His innocence and gives me His righteousness. Whatever I have not kept, He has kept; what is more, whatever I have sinned, He has paid for with His blood," etc. He died and rose again not for Himself but for me, since He says here that He gives His life not for Himself but for His sheep (John 10:11), that is, as St. Peter says, "The righteous died for the unrighteous" (1 Peter 3:18), etc. So, then, you are secure, and the devil along with his hell must leave you alone, for he certainly cannot get anything from Christ, who has already overcome him. He defends and keeps you, if you believe in Him as His lamb.
From the Church Postil, sermon for Easter 2 on John 10:11-16 (Luther's Works 77:185)
JOHN 10:11
+
The Sheep Know the Shepherd
If you know this Shepherd, you can defend yourself against the devil and death, saying: "Sadly, I have not kept God's Commandments, but I crawl under the wings of this dear hen (my dear Lord Christ [Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34]) and believe that He is my dear Shepherd, Bishop, and Mediator before God, who covers and defends me with His innocence and gives me His righteousness. Whatever I have not kept, He has kept; what is more, whatever I have sinned, He has paid for with His blood," etc. He died and rose again not for Himself but for me, since He says here that He gives His life not for Himself but for His sheep (John 10:11), that is, as St. Peter says, "The righteous died for the unrighteous" (1 Peter 3:18), etc. So, then, you are secure, and the devil along with his hell must leave you alone, for he certainly cannot get anything from Christ, who has already overcome him. He defends and keeps you, if you believe in Him as His lamb.
From the Church Postil, sermon for Easter 2 on John 10:11-16 (Luther's Works 77:185)
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