Intro: If you have never, ever heard one word about Jesus or the Bible before, and you are a visitor with us today, I join the rest of this congregation in thanking God that you now have had the opportunity to hear the Gospel message that Jesus is your Savior from sin and death, that He has forgiven you of all your sins by dying on the cross! ... But for those of you here today who have had any background at all in God's Word, even the tiniest memory from Sunday School when you were young, I will venture to say that you have surely heard, and maybe are even a little familiar with, the 23rd Psalm. This is one of the most well-known chapters in the Bible! It is so often used at bedsides, funerals, and any times in the lives of people when they need to be comforted. This Psalm gives an amazing comfort to those who are burdened with the struggle of their sinful, earthly lives. It compares the comfort that our Savior gives us to the comfort that a shepherd gives to his sheep.

I wasn't raised on a farm and I have never been a shepherd. David, who wrote this Psalm, was! So I will quickly admit that David knew a lot more about sheep than I do. And as he was being inspired by the Holy Spirit, David wasn't just using the physical and emotional comfort that a shepherd brings to his sheep to picture the spiritual comfort that our Savior brings to us because it was the first thing that popped into David's mind! Far from it! There are some very good reasons that God, throughout his Bible, pictures Jesus as our Good Shepherd, and us as his sheep!

Like I said, even though I know a few general things about sheep, I have never been a shepherd, and do not know the half of what David, or any shepherd would know about sheep. And even so, Psalm 23 still speaks volumes to me. But I came across some very useful information about sheep in a book by Phillip Keller, who was a shepherd himself, that assured me David knew what he was talking about!

Some of you may already know these things, even though they were new to me, but I think these are some peculiar things about sheep that only a shepherd could know: ... "The strange thing about sheep is that because of their very makeup, it is almost impossible for sheep to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met. First, due to their timidity, they must be free from all fear. Next, because of their sociability, they must be free from friction with others of their kind. Third, they must be free from flies or parasites if they are to relax. Lastly, they will not lie down unless free from hunger. It is only their shepherd who can provide release from all these anxieties! And no doubt, David, a long-time shepherd, would have had these facts in the back of his mind when he penned the 23rd Psalm. Remember? "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures..."

So basically, sheep need every need supplied and every want taken care of for them to be able to really relax, lie down, and rest. For them to Fear no Evil. Are we so different? It is important to know that David is not talking about our physical needs, as he was talking about the physical needs of the sheep. He is talking about our spiritual needs! But their physical needs picture our spiritual needs very well! Our shepherd is the only One who can give us good reasons to Fear no Evil!

First of all, the shepherd protects! Sheep must be free from all fear in order for them to lie down and rest. They are not going to lie down if a pack of wolves or some other predator threatens them! Physically, we're no different. When you're a child, there's no way you are going to sleep at night if you're convinced the "Boogie Man" is in your closet. And if you heard the noises of an intruder in your house at night, I don't think you would want to keep lying in your bed and go back to sleep! So, just like us, sheep need to be free from fear before they will lie down in the grass and allow themselves to be vulnerable. But when their shepherd is with them, whom they trust, and whom they know removes any danger for them to fear, even when they walk through dangerous territory, as the verses of the Psalm describe, they will fear no evil as long as their shepherd is with them!

Appropriation: Sheep need to be free from fear before they will lie down, and so do you! But remember that the point of this Psalm is to picture our spiritual lives! You need to be free from spiritual fear to have real spiritual rest! If you knew that the devil had the power to have his way with you, and lead you down the path to hell at his own whim, because Jesus never defeated him, would you ever feel at rest? Well, would sheep feel at rest if there was a wolf trailing the flock whom they didn't think their shepherd could defeat and protect them from?

All of us have consciences that tell us we are guilty of doing wrong. That we are not perfect. And God's Word backs it up that we fail God's standard of perfection miserably. Besides having been born sinful, I am sure that each one of us can think of at least one way that we have already failed this morning! Now, if you knew that your sins would always be held against you, and that you would have to stand before God on Judgment Day, without the Good Shepherd by your side, and answer for your sins, by yourself, would you ever really be at rest? Would you if you knew that YOU would have to make up for your sins? If you were always wondering how many more good deeds it would take? Would you sleep well at night? Would you ever be able to get into an automobile, knowing that one accident is all it would take to place you before God's throne to try explaining your sins to Him on your own? Would you be able to have any comfort knowing that death awaits you, if Jesus wasn't your shepherd, winning the fight for you over the forces of evil? That would be a horrible fear to try to begin and end each day with! (If we didn't know we had a Shepherd who protects us!)

Part II. Our Shepherd Comforts Us!

The Shepherd also comforts! Sheep must also be free from friction with others of their own kind in order for them to rest. We also need to be free from friction with others. I recently traveled in a large city where we relied on the subway to get around. Now, this was a crowded subway, where people would literally pack themselves into the train cars until you could not stuff one more person in! Body to body, it was quite warm, and even hard to breathe. I don't think that my wife and I would have ever been able to rest in that situation, or even feel remotely comfortable! Neither would sheep!

Once again, Psalm 23 is telling us something about our spiritual lives. What kind of spiritual friction do we have with others of our own kind? Well, is it easy to sleep at night if you are fighting with your spouse or your best friend? If you know that you have wronged them, or they have wronged you, and there has been no resolution of forgiveness yet? My conscience would definitely keep me awake! Have you sinned against someone who won't forgive you, and is making you remember your sin? Or maybe someone who is close to you is tempting you to do something wrong. That provides friction in the conscience of any Christian! The only resolution to this Afriction" is the forgiveness our Lord gives us that puts our conscience at ease, and moves us to fight against temptation!

Sheep also need to be free from pests like flies and parasites. And part of a shepherd's job is to help keep their flock away from this annoyance. We don't like mosquitoes and flies anymore than sheep do! But it isn't hard to see how many spiritual pests bring annoyance into our lives. Everywhere you go in the world today, you are surrounded by temptations that "bug" you just like annoying insects! And how often don't they get the best of us? Do you feel at rest when someone is annoying you so much that you lose your temper with them, and have all sorts of vengeful, sinful thoughts toward them? It is hard to think straight when your blood is boiling! Would you be able to be at true spiritual rest with your conscience if Jesus wasn't your Shepherd, who comforts you from these problems?

Part III. Our Shepherd Provides For Us!

Our Shepherd also provides for us! Finally, sheep need to be free from hunger in order to lie down and rest. A good shepherd must bring them to green pastures and quiet waters to nourish them. They can't rest if they're hungry, and neither can you, but I'm not talking about milk and cookies before bed at night! You need to be fed at the green pastures and the still waters of God's Word! You need to be told again and again that Jesus, your Good Shepherd, has taken care of all of your spiritual needs by completely removing the guilt of your sin! Would you have any hope if you didn't know God's gracious Gospel promises? Would you have a strong faith if it wasn't nourished by the wonderful news of Jesus' payment for our sins? Would you have any true rest if Jesus wasn't your shepherd, who brings you to eat and drink his life-giving Word?

NO! Of course we wouldn't have any true spiritual rest if Jesus wasn't our shepherd! We would have every reason to fear evil and the consequences of our sin! But, because Jesus IS our shepherd, we have good reason to fear no evil! Jesus, as a perfect shepherd, has provided us everything we need to restore our soul! To give us true spiritual rest & comfort! Jesus invites you, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." This is just one of the promises that Jesus leads us to in His Word, the green pasture where we may be nourished by the Gospel message, and drink the living water of eternal life. His Word is all-sufficient! We have everything that we could possibly need! All because we have Jesus as our shepherd!

The ideal shepherd has to make all of those conditions just right for his sheep to be at ease. Jesus has made all the conditions just right to put us at ease! He went to battle with our enemy, the Devil, and defeated Him! He gave his life for us, his sheep, so that all the guilt and worry that our sin brings us is no longer a cause for us to fear! The sins you have even committed today have been paid for! We no longer need to fear the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. These enemies have been defeated! This comfort is the same comfort that soothes us in the midst of all the troubles and annoyances this sinful world brings us! And finally, this ideal Shepherd always provides a way to be fed well with His Word and Sacraments, where we see and hear that your sins no longer need to keep you up at night. They have been removed from you! We fear no evil!

With Jesus as our Shepherd, we lack nothing. We will not be in want. Everything is perfectly right now between you and God! Our souls are restored! We are like contented sheep, who are comfortable enough to lie down in the green grass and rest because they know their shepherd is there with them. The most comforting thing that I can think of is knowing that on Judgment Day, when God asks me why He should let me into heaven, my Good Shepherd will still be standing by my side and will help me answer that I have been made righteous by his blood only. That's why I will fear no evil ! Amen.