Ezekiel 34: Jesus, the Authentic Shepherd – A Reprise
Monday, January 13, 2025
Adapted from a reflection written on January 20, 2008, and explored last September. Today we remind ourselves that Jesus is the one, true, timeless and reliable shepherd.
In the New Testament, the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and John describe the Good Shepherd. We have heard these lines so often that we might be able to recite them from memory.
In Matthew 9 and Mark 6 we read that Jesus sees the people as a shepherd-less flock.
In Matthew 25 and Mark 14, Jesus tells us that the Son of Man will divide his flock as a shepherd does, who knows each sheep well.
In Matthew 26 when Jesus predicts Peter’s denial of him, he uses the metaphor of a shepherd being struck down and the flock scattering.
John in Chapter 10 develops the beautiful imagery of the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep . . . I know my sheep and my sheep know me. The sheep gate, Jesus, admits only the rightful shepherd. The hired hand runs away in fear to abandon the sheep to the attack of the wolf. The Good Shepherd also has sheep in other pens which he must bring into the one fold.
God as shepherd brings us back in peace in the letter to the Hebrews (13:20)
Peter tells us that the Good Shepherd leads the flock to safety, and brings us joy. (2:25 and 5:4).
Finally, in Revelation 7:17 we see Jesus the Lamb as the ultimate shepherd.
All of this is not a coincidence. The continual reminder of God’s presence in our lives as shepherd through Christ and the holy Spirit are meant to be signs to us. In today’s reading from Ezekiel we are reminded that false shepherds abound. They are subtle yet abusive. Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves! They prey on the weak and lord it over the flock. They eat the very sheep they are called to protect. There is also the one, true and constant shepherd who will gather the scattered, who will rid the countryside of ravenous beasts, who will send rain in due season so that the trees might bear fruit.
God asks us these questions through Ezekiel in verse 18: Was it not enough for you to graze on the best pasture, that you had to trample the rest of the pastures with your feet? Was it not enough for you to drink the clearest water, that you had to fowl the remainder with your feet?
We know the answers to these questions once we explore scripture. God will judge the lean and the fat. God, the Ultimate Shepherd, knows each sheep by name. God, the Good Shepherd, carries the ewes and the lambs in God’s arms. God, the Protecting Shepherd, defends the sheep from the wolf. God, the Healing Shepherd, will seek out the lost and the weary. God, the Abiding Shepherd, will gather us home with all of the faithful flock.
Tomorrow, a prayer to the shepherd.
When we compare versions of these verses, we find the shepherd we seek.
Image from: https://www.1st-art-gallery.com/George-Vicat-Cole/The-Young-Shepherd.html
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