Text: Psalm 23; Revelation 7:9-17

In the Name of (+) Jesus. Amen.

So who are they? Those John saw. That great multitude clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. Who did he see?

He saw his friends. By this time, all his fellow apostles had been martyred. Peter, Thomas, his brother James. Yet there they were, standing before the throne, alive and well and made new.

He saw prophets. Prophets who had been sawn in two, skinned alive, stoned, beheaded. Yet there they were, clothed in white robes, alive and well and made new.

He saw Christians who had been consumed by beasts and burned at the stake. Yet there they were, holding palm branches in their hands, maybe just as they had that Sunday Jesus entered Jerusalem. Alive and well and made new.

And he saw more. Those he did not know. Those of every skin color, hair color, country, and language. Male and female, old and young. All honored guests. All made new.

Who are these? Sir, you know, John said. And of all you know! These are the Good Shepherd’s sheep, and what John saw is the Good Shepherd’s sheepfold! These are those who went not just into the valley of the shadow of death, but went through it with their Good Shepherd. With Jesus. Sinners all, but those who washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The Lamb once slain, but now alive and on the throne of God, making All Things New.

Now who do you see? There, in that great multitude, that mighty host arrayed in white? Maybe like John, you have a friend there, too, whose life ended far too soon. Or a grandparent, your father or mother, brother or sister. Maybe it was a drug overdose, cancer, or a drunk driver that had taken their life. Yet there they are. Cared for. Alive and well and made new.

They were taken from this world but their life did not end. For the trials and great tribulations of this world cannot snatch us from Jesus’ hand, or stop Him from being the Good Shepherd. For all who drink deeply of the quiet waters of the Gospel, those fed by the Body and Blood of the Lamb at His table, those washed in the blood of the Jesus at the Font, dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

And that - and here’s the good news! - includes you.

Oh, I know who you are! I know the OLD you came out just before coming to a conference entitled All Things New! It’s true, isn’t it? I know. You rolled your eyes at your parents, got mad at them, said something you now regret. You had a blow-out with your friend, hurtful words hurled both ways. That sin you said never again about . . . yeah, you did it again. And that sin . . . you know the one . . . that just keeps coming back . . . the temptation so strong, and you so weak . . . You look in the mirror and see OLD, not NEW! All Things New? If only . . .

But when the Good Shepherd looks at you, that’s not what He sees! You are baptized, and so your sins - all of them! - have been washed away by the blood of the Lamb. You heard the voice of your Shepherd who said to you, I forgive you all your sins, and so all your old, all your sins, have been separated from you as far as the East is from the West. You eat and drink the Body and Blood of the Lamb whose Body and Blood bore those sins on the cross and paid for them all. They are tetelestai; finished. Paid for in full. So you are a new creation, as Paul said. The old has gone, the new has come. All this by grace, certainly, absolutely! And by faith, for you can’t see, you don’t feel, that reality . . . yet. But it is true, and sure. We believe the sure and certain words and promises of Jesus. And by faith, we receive.

And so one day you will take your place in that great multitude that no one could number. From earthly sheepfold to heavenly sheepfold, but the same Shepherd.

And with such faith, the faith of the prophets, apostles, and martyrs, the faith by which we are made new, you are new, and can live new even now. A life of repenting, a life of forgiving, a life of serving, a life of loving. Not so that you will be in that great multitude, but because you already are. Because your Good Shepherd has set you free! Free from the old to live the new. Free to live a new life of confidence and joy.

Behold, a host arrayed in white! That’s what we sang today, that’s what John saw, and I can relate. Because even though you’re all wearing gray and green, that’s what I’m doing right now!

In the Name of (+) Jesus. Amen.