“I Give them Eternal Life”
Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30
In the name of Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd, dear Carol, Marlys, Stanley, Judy, Randy, and your family,
Putting our own thoughts
into words on a day like today can be hard. So, rather than turning inside of ourselves
to find something comforting, we get to turn to Jesus and to His promises. When
Marian was confirmed, she received this verse as her confirmation verse. It is
an incredibly promise from Jesus himself. The promise that Jesus made here came
true for Marian. Today, as we look at this text, let’s see what God promised
and accomplished for her and what He has promised for you.
Jesus says, “my sheep
hear my voice and I know them.” He knows us better than anyone else in all
creation. He is the one who made us and has watched over us every step of the
way. Probably the most amazing part of this verse is that Jesus still wants us
after knowing everything about us.
All of us, including
Marian, have done things, said things, and thought things, that we would rather
other people—and especially God—didn’t know about. We may be able to hide our
sins from everyone else, but we cannot hide them from God. He knows it all.
Our sins separate us
from God. Naturally, we don’t want anything to do with Him. But since He is the
source of life, separation from Him means death. You see, all of us sin, and
all of us will die. And that, dear friends, is why we are here today.
But before sin and
death entered the world, God spoke His Word and there was life. Jesus says here
“my sheep hear my voice.” Jesus’ voice brings brings life. With just His voice,
Jesus healed the sick and forgave sins. His voice brought Lazarus from the grave
when he had been dead for four days.
You see, Jesus’ voice
still brings us life. He is the Good Shepherd who calls His sheep each by name.
But He is also the Good Shepherd because He laid down His life for us on the
cross. We were straying like sheep, but now we have forgiveness in Jesus blood.
We can be sure of this because Jesus not only laid down His life, He took it up
again when He rose from the dead.
Marian heard the voice of Jesus when she was
called in the waters of Holy Baptism. There Jesus promised that all her sins
were forgiven, that she had the Holy Spirit, and that eternal life was hers.
Marian continued to hear His voice as she came to church, went to Bible class,
and read God’s Word.
Another important way Marian listened to Jesus
was through her singing. All her life, from singing with her sister, to singing
in the choir, to singing in the nursing home, singing was something she loved.
Marian picked all of the songs we’re singing
today. These are the words she wanted us to hear, confess, and pray. Look at
the last hymn especially. “The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want” is just a paraphrase
of Psalm 23. While the other hymns she chose aren’t directly quotations of paraphrases
of scripture, they are built on God’s promises to us.
When we sing hymns like these, we are singing
back to God what He has spoken to us. It shows that we trust and take hold of
God’s promises. This is what Jesus has spoken to us! So, what is that good
news? Jesus promises in John 5:25, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is
coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and those who hear will live.” Marian right now gets to listen to Jesus up
close and personal.
But even here, as she listened to Jesus, she followed Jesus. That’s what Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me.” All the years Marian was in the nursing home, she had this picture of Jesus hanging over her bed. It’s a beautiful picture of following Jesus.
When we look at it, we see all those sheep following behind Him. The picture
reminds us of this point. We are those sheep! You need to imagine Marian and
yourself as one of the sheep in this picture. Jesus is leading us! We are
following Him.
What happens when we follow Jesus? In John
8:12 He says “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Even in the darkest time, if you are following
Jesus and listening to His voice, you have Him. Sometimes we may feel like the
sheep that Jesus is caring because we can’t make it on our own. That’s okay. He
promises to carry us through death to everlasting life. He is the light of the
world. Because Marian followed Jesus, this kept her going through some incredibly
dark times: losing her beloved husband, losing a son, a son-in-law, and even a
great-grandson. Even in those dark times there was light because she knew Jesus
gives us everlasting life.
Look at this this way.
Marian spent her life on her family—not getting rich, powerful, or famous. She
could have done that. Here’s the thing about riches, power, and fame: they don’t
last. All those things will go away. We can’t take it with us when we die.
Instead of investing in those things, your mom
and dad invested in you, their children and grandkids and great grandkids and especially
in their faith. By my count, 30 people, or 7% of our congregation here at Holy
Cross is part of Marian’s family. Of course, many more of you went to school here,
were confirmed here, and are part of other congregations somewhere else in the body
of Christ. Marian passed her faith on to you. Here’s the great thing about that
investment: Its lasts. It lasts forever. Riches, power, and fame, all mean
nothing in heaven. But when you help other people follow Jesus and listen to Him,
they get eternal life from Him just like you. You get them forever.
Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and
they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” As if that
weren’t strong enough, Jesus continues, “My Father, who has given them to me,
is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's
hand.” You can be certain that you have eternal life because this is a gift
that God Himself is giving to you. If God is giving it to you, no one else can
take it away.
Eternal life is just that, eternal! It goes on
and on forever. This is a blessing we can’t even fathom because our puny little
brains can’t handle the idea of eternity. But look at it this way: One of the
hardest things about someone passing away right now is that you can’t be with
them. If they had let you, every single one of you in her family would have come
by at some point to say goodbye. It hurts even more because many of you haven’t
been able to be in a room with her for months. Not only are you morning her, but
you’re also morning your chance to say goodbye.
But Jesus’ promise for you and for Marian is
everlasting life! Ninety-six years is a great blessing. But what is that
compared with eternity? All of you who loved Marian and who love Jesus are going
to get eternity together. That time you’ve missed in the past months, you’re
going to get it back. You’re going to get it back and so much more. All those
things you wish you could do with her you’re going to be able to do, and even
more amazing things.
Paul says in the reading we heard from 2
Corinthians 4
“For
this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the
things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the
things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)
Remember that when Jesus comes back God is
going to take our corrupted bodies and change them so they are like His glorious
body. We’re not going to have pain or sadness or sin. Best of all, we won’t be
able to die anymore.
We don’t see it right now, but it’s there. We
confess that it is more real and more lasting than what we see with our eyes
today. Today our eyes see the horrible result of death. But Jesus’ voice tells
us something completely different. Marian has eternal life because Jesus won it
for her with His death and Resurrection.
This promise sustained Marian along her way. God
has this same promise for you. So what should you do? Do what Marian did. Hear
Jesus’ voice because He knows you. Listen to His Words of hope and comfort all
over again. Remember that you have also been baptized into Christ and received
eternal life already. Follow Jesus by continuing to hear His voice and remember
that eternal life is yours. Amen.
