Listen to the Shepherd’s voice and follow to life and joy.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Fourth Sunday of Easter, year C
Text: John 10:22-30; Acts 9:36-43
Beloved in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Why did the Christians at Joppa send for Peter?
At this point in Acts, Peter was becoming known for being able to heal. But Tabitha was dead.
When Peter came, Luke doesn’t say they asked for anything. Peter went upstairs to pray for her, met many of her friends who were mourning. They showed Peter all the clothes she had made for them, talked about what a wonderful person she was. Nothing was said about raising her.
Now, Luke says that this resurrection became known throughout that city, and “many believed in the Lord” because of it. But if you’re only trusting in Jesus as the Messiah because of Tabitha’s resurrection, that could be a problem.
The Judeans also have a problem of knowing how to trust Jesus.
How long will you keep us in suspense? they ask. Tell us plainly, are you the Messiah?
At this point in John’s Gospel, Jesus has healed, fed thousands, taught many, and become known in the north, in Galilee. But now he’s in Jerusalem, at the Temple. And the Judeans want their own answers. As we heard in Adult Forum last week, there likely was some urban snobbery among the Judeans about rubes from up north in Galilee. So they wanted to know for themselves.
But one chapter earlier, in Jerusalem, Jesus healed a blind man and it caused a stir. A Pharisaic investigation was launched, people were questioned, the man himself was grilled, it was big. They certainly knew of this.
And so Jesus says that words aren’t going to help; he’s already told them who he is and they didn’t trust that. So, he says, look at what I’m doing. You’ve seen for yourself.
But it’s not enough. So, what do they need to trust Jesus? John says he wrote his Gospel so that you, too, could trust that Jesus is the Messiah, God’s Son, and, so trusting, have life in his name. So, their question is also your question: what do you need to trust?
No matter what Luke says, don’t expect Tabitha’s experience.
Sure, lots in the city came to faith because of what Peter did. But Jesus only raised three people from the dead. Later in Acts, Paul will raise someone. Peter never had raised anyone before, and never did again as far as we’re told. It was rare even then. And 2,000 years later, Tabitha is dead now; she’s not walking among us. And all her lovely friends met their deaths without an apostle handy to divert the funeral.
The problem with believing in Christ because of Tabitha’s story is that it’s likely never to happen to you or me. If God thinks such resurrections, or even eye-opening miracles, are what you need to trust Christ, why are they so rare? And if they’re not what God thinks you need, what is?
Jesus tells you today: I’ve shown you all you need.
If you want me as your Shepherd, listen to my voice. Follow me. Then you’ll know. Nothing prevents the people of Jerusalem from becoming Jesus’ sheep except their unwillingness to listen to his voice and follow. And nothing prevents you. You’ve seen what you need to see.
You’ve seen that God in Christ loves you beyond and through your sin and offers you unconditional forgiveness, a life cleansed from guilt and shame. So you don’t need to fear what you’ve been, only boldly be who you are in Christ.
You’ve seen at the cross and empty tomb that God’s love cannot be stopped by death. That not only will you have life in Christ after you die, but countless believers before you have told you that resurrection life is possible now, abundant, rich, fulfilled life following in the way of the cross, the way of Christ. So you have a path right before you, ready for you to walk without fear, to being a kinder, more loving, vulnerable, embodiment of God’s love, and a bringer of God’s healing to this world.
You’ve been fed here at Christ’s forgiveness table, guided here by God’s Word, blessed here by God’s people, and given strength and support.
And you’ve seen that the risen Christ has promised to be with you, so you can ask for your faith to be strengthened, for God’s Spirit to fill you, so you can trust in your Shepherd, even without all the evidence we always seem to want.
And that’s the true joy of Tabitha’s story.
Tabitha was a follower of Christ who changed her world with her love and generosity. She lived in a community that also loved in Christ’s name, made a difference, cared for their neighbors. They had life in Christ that helped them face their fears and live with boldness and courage.
They heard the voice of their Shepherd and followed. And rejoiced in the life of love they had, a life that was all they could think about when their sister died. Peter raising her was an unexpected extra. The joy there is the life of a community of faith that served others and made a difference in the world.
My sheep hear my voice and they follow me, Jesus said.
And nothing can snatch any of my sheep from my hand, nothing.
That’s all you need to know to trust in your Good Shepherd. The One who gives you abundant life here, even in a world of death and fear. Who fills you with the Spirit to transform you and your life into a loving grace and gift for the world. Who holds you always, no matter what, in this life and even through and past the death that awaits us all.
Follow that Voice you know so well, step by step, day by day. Listen, and let the Spirit change you. And in that following you will find joy. And so will everyone who knows you.
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen