Read a newspaper, and it’s pretty hard not to get frightened. We have plenty of reasons to believe we’re not safe—if we go by what we see. The end times are truly upon us. But "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1). What we don’t see with our eyes, but know to be true with our hearts, is that Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. He who will come to judge, is ruling all things for the benefit of us, his sheep. "You’re Completely Safe in Christ’s Kingdom." We can say that with confidence. The Apostle Paul wrote that "Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." As we look at our text today—a prophecy delivered 600 years before the birth of our King, we want to see that Jesus truly has fulfilled what the prophet spoke.

In Jeremiah’s day, things looked pretty bleak for the few believers who remained. They were troubled by what they saw all around them—loveless people mistreating and abusing the downtrodden and helpless, self-centeredness, jealousy, rage, injustice—even coming from the highest people in government. But most difficult of all for the believers to see and tolerate, was that the very people who should have at least said something—the religious leaders of Israel—were in on it all. They didn’t even worship the true God any more. They were at the forefront of not only condoning, but leading the people into spiritual adultery and sin. The few true believers must have echoed the anguished cries of their spiritual forefathers who wrote in the Psalms: Why have you rejected us forever, O God? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? How long will the enemy mock you, O God? Will the foe revile your name forever? Why do you hold back … your right hand? Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them! (74:1,10-11)

The answer to their many prayers came from God through Jeremiah in our text: Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the Lord. Finally the Lord had had enough. The spiritual leaders of Israel would lose their place. Some of them did when Judah was taken into captivity by Babylon shortly thereafter. But Jeremiah’s prophecy looked forward further than that. God was foretelling a time when he would no longer bind himself in a special way to the physical descendants of Abraham—or to any outward, earthly, nation or organization. Instead, God intended to gather for himself a new flock made up of only those sheep who believed in him. Some of those sheep would be Jews, many others would be Gentiles—but all would be believers who shared the faith of Abraham in the Good Shepherd. This would be a new kind of flock. There wouldn’t be any unbelieving or rebellious sheep. Only believers. And it would be a big flock spread out over all the world. God said in our text: "I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. ⁴ I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the Lord.

That new flock is what we call the Holy Christian Church, or the Communion of Saints. Christ has been gathering his New Testament flock now for 2000 years from all over the globe. We are part of that flock. He has brought us to the lush, green pastures of His Word. Through the centuries he has increased our numbers. And he has given us faithful shepherds who correct us, who warn us away from falsehood, who comfort and encourage us with the Gospel in Word and Sacrament, and who guide us from God’s Word into the way we should go. "Nor will any [of my sheep] be missing," declares the Lord. False shepherd still plague the visible church, but none of Jesus’ sheep follow them because Jesus’ true sheep, those he has chosen from eternity, recognize his true voice in the Gospel. They recognize in the Scripture the Word of God himself and they follow him only.

As members of Jesus’ flock, we have no reason to fear anything. All the promises of God are ours. As Psalm 91 says: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. ⁴ He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. ⁵ You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, ⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. ⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. ⁸ You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. ⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the Lord, who is my refuge— ¹⁰ then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. ¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; ¹² they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. … ¹⁴ "Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. ¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. ¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

In Jesus’ flock, not even death can cause fear, because Jesus’ sheep know his promise. "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." John 11:25-26

"You’re Completely Safe in Christ’s Kingdom." Your king is a gentle Shepherd, who loves and cares for his true saints, those who trust in him alone.

But Jeremiah has one more thing to tell us about Jesus. He is more than a gentle Shepherd King. He is also an Eternal and Righteous King, who came to save the world by his own righteousness and who governs the whole universe by his almighty power. Our text continues: ⁵ "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. ⁶ In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness."

When Jacob, father of the twelve tribes of Israel, was about to die he foretold a descendant of one of his sons, Judah, who would one day come and rule. The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. (Gen 49:10) That was 1,800 BC. Eight hundred years later, God reiterated the same promise to king David, one of Judah’s descendants. "I will raise up your offspring to succeed you…. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son." (2 Sam 7:12-14)

Jesus is that King. Jeremiah calls Him by one of the most intriguing, fantastic names ever given in the Bible: "The Lord Our Righteousness." That name describes how he saved us. He is the immortal, invisible, holy and righteous God himself. But he is our righteousness. He took our sin on himself and gave us his righteousness. Paul explains that verse for us in 2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. Our Gospel lesson made it just as clear. Jesus hung on the cross as a criminal, and yet over his head was placed a sign that proclaimed the real truth: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." What a unique and special king! The thief on the cross saw through his poverty who he really was and asked him, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom." And Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." The King himself was executed for our crimes, so that we his subjects might be vindicated and live. "The Lord Our Righteousness." That’s why Jeremiah says In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety.

We have already escaped any danger. With our sins gone, there is no accusation Satan can bring against us. With God as our King and friend, there is nothing that he will let harm us. Paul wrote in our Epistle lesson: For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1:13-14)

Jesus’ human ancestor David ruled over a Kingdom that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan river and beyond. Jesus rules over a kingdom that has no boundaries. "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Col. 1:16-17). Even the universe obeys his commands.

But in a special, loving way, he reigns over His kingdom proper, namely the Holy Christian Church, the invisible church made up of all believers and only believers. Jeremiah foretold that this King would do "what is just and right in the land" and Paul tells us this is fulfilled in Jesus when he writes "He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." (Col. 1:18)

Yes, it’s certainly true that we don’t always understand how God can make all things work for our good. Just as his true church is invisible, just as he is invisible, so also is his care for us often something we can’t see with our human eyes. But it is true nonetheless. And someday we will be able to see not only him, not only his kingdom, not only who his true believers really are, but we’ll even be able to see how he cared for us and protected us in all things.

For many people the prospect of Jesus truly being King of Kings and Lord of Lords strikes terror in their hearts. For us it’s a comforting reality. He is Lord and King, and we’re already completely safe in His Kingdom. So don’t spend too much time looking at the dreadful headlines in the paper. And don’t spend any time worrying about them. Instead, focus on the everlasting reality that Jesus is King—now and forever—and "You’re Completely Safe in His Kingdom." Amen.