Jesus the Good Shepherd

Peter’s opening speech in Acts of the Apostles declares to his fellow Jews that God has made Jesus both Lord and Messiah (Christ). In the excitement of the Pentecost celebration, Peter addresses Jews from all over the world who spoke in tongues, a sign of the long-promised Spirit, and understood each other. “Repent and be baptized, every one of you,” he tells them at the feast that commemorated God’s giving them the Teaching that made them his people. Peter bluntly reminds his hearers as well as us of three important but oft-forgotten truths. The first is that his speech harks to our beginnings in ancient Israel, especially the event that formed Israel in the first place, the liberation of the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage and their acceptance of the covenant on Mount Sinai. Peter’s speech is in continuity with the ancient Scriptures of Israel. 

Secondly, Peter’s call to “repent” is not directed only at serious sinners, but at ordinary people who choose their way rather than God’s way. It is often true that resistance to new ways of doing things is more likely to come from the center of a congregation than from its fringes. Open minds allow God to do something new.  

Thirdly, Peter reminds hearers that “the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” We are invited to join with other people, with a community of “repenters.” Peter invites us to join them. The invitation is communal as well as personal. 

The Gospel of John harks back to the prophet Ezekiel’s announcement that the Lord has promised to replace predatory shepherds, shepherding Israel himself. Ezekiel broadens the portrayal of Jesus as Good Shepherd. Jesus adopts for himself the ancient self-designation “I am” familiar from the Old Testament to describe the deeds of the Lord: “And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. (Ezekiel 34:30, emended). In early centuries, Christian art favored Jesus the Good Shepherd. The Gospel today explains why. 

Richard Clifford, S.J., has taught biblical studies for 55 years, most recently at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry, Boston College, and has written many scholarly and popular books and articles.