Dear Christian friends:

The Psalm most people love best is Psalm 23, our text for today. Although everyone loves this beautiful Psalm, many do not understand it correctly. They think it tells about God, our Shepherd, and we, His sheep. The Shepherd in this Psalm is not God, the Father, but Jesus, the Son. The Psalm tells about the wonderful blessings Jesus won for us by His death and resurrection. During the past three Sundays we have preached about Jesus and the new life and hope it brings us. Today, on the basis of this Psalm I will preach about


The first blessing is described in verses 1-2: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures: He leads me beside the still waters." This is a picture of sheep resting after eating. They appear to be satisfied as they lie down beside a quiet pool of fresh water. What spiritual blessing does this picture mean? It means we Christians are resting happily and are satisfied because of Jesus our crucified and risen Savior. One Easter hymn shows this very clearly:

"I am content! My Jesus liveth still,
In Him my heart is pleased.
He has fulfilled the Law of God for me,
God's wrath He has appeased.
Since He in death could perish never,
I also shall not die forever.
I am content! I am content!"
(TLH 196, I Am content!
My Jesus Liveth Still, verse 1)

I am content because Jesus loved me and died on the cross for my sins. God loves me, God forgives me. I am content because Jesus arose from death on Easter morning and that means, I, too, shall awake and arise from death with a new and glorious body and shall live forever in heaven with Jesus and all of God's beautiful people. I am satisfied like the sheep in green pastures, lying down and resting beside the quiet pool of fresh water, "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." The first blessing of Jesus' resurrection is satisfaction. It is contentment in the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep.

The second blessing of Jesus' resurrection we read about in verses 3-4: "He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me."

This is a picture of a shepherd leading his sheep safely. The shepherd has a "staff" that he uses to chase away wild animals or poisonous snakes. He also uses the hooked end of the staff to pull back the straying sheep from cliffs and other dangerous places. What is the spiritual meaning of this picture for us Christians?

It means that we are following our crucified and risen Lord through this wicked world. As you know, most people follow Satan. Their way is the way of pride, boasting, jealousy, anger, hatred, meanness and murder. But our crucified and risen Lord, the Good Shepherd, has given us Christians a new birth and new life through the forgiveness of our sins.

He has called us to awake from spiritual death and arise to follow Him and walk in His good and right ways, walking with humility, loving one another, forgiving those who do wrong against us, helping the poor and needy, praying for our enemies, and giving praise and honor to Him by all we do and say.

Even when we must die, when he leads us "through the valley of the shadow of death" we are not afraid because our risen and living Savior is with us. His shepherd's rod and staff give us comfort. The "rod and staff" mean His words and promises in the Bible. When we are dying Satan tempts us and tries to make us doubt God's love and forgiveness. But we remember Jesus' words and promises in the Bible such as John 3:16, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

We also remember our baptism and we receive the Lord's Supper, Jesus' body and blood, as a seal and guarantee that God loves us and forgives and will bring us to eternal glory, although now we suffer and die.

Jesus the Good Shepherd gives us new life so that we can follow Him in right ways through this sinful and wicked world into eternal life and glory in heaven. This is the second blessing of Jesus' resurrection.

The third and last blessing of Jesus' resurrection is described to us in verse 5: "Thou preparest a table for me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." Here is a picture of a shepherd standing and watching over his sheep while they are eating the green grass and while wild animals such as a wolf, a coyote or a lion hide in the trees and bushes. The sheep eat the rich grass unafraid of the wild animals. They know that their shepherd is watching over them and protecting them from the wild animals.

What is the spiritual meaning of this third picture? It means that we Christians are living in a wicked and sinful world with many enemies nearby. These enemies try to disturb our faith. They tempt us and want to destroy our spiritual life in Christ and lead us to join them in the sinful and wrong ways of this world. But our Good Shepherd, Jesus, protects us from them, He invites us to come into His house and He prepares a fine spiritual banquet for us.

Here He gives us the Bread of Life and the Water of Life, His Word and Sacraments. He anoints our head with His Holy Spirit. In this way He "restores our soul," so we can resist the temptation of our enemies and not fear them. One word of Jesus can defeat them. Martin Luther shows that very beautifully in his famous hymn: "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." In verse three of that hymn we read:

"Though devils all the world should fill,
All eager to devour us;
We tremble not, we fear no ill,
They shall not overpower us.
This world's prince may still
Scowl, fierce as he will,
He can harm us none,
He's judged! The deed is done!
One little word can fill him,"
(TLH 262 verse 3)

Jesus our Good Shepherd prepares a banquet for us where all our enemies can see us feasting and we are not afraid. This is the third and final blessing of Jesus' resurrection.

These are the three blessings of Jesus' resurrection: contentment, new life, and protection from spiritual enemies. Do you have these three blessings? Are you content in Jesus? Or do you complain, complain? Do you have a new and holy life in Jesus or do you live and walk like the unbelievers? Do you come here to His house often to sit at His table? Are you receiving His spiritual food so that the enemies cannot destroy your faith? I hope so! If not, now is the time to change and repent and believe. If you now have these three blessings, rejoice and continue receiving them through the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. Then you can say with David in the last verse of this beautiful Psalm: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Amen.