Basking in Easter glory, the Church confirms for us the tenderness and compassion of God's heart with our Gospel reading from the Good Shepherd discourse. Having compared himself to the gate of the sheepfold in previous verses, Jesus continues the theme, likening himself not merely to the gate but to the shepherd himself. Whereas a hired hand flees at the sign of danger in an act of self-protection, Jesus vows as Good Shepherd to put himself in harms way, taking the very place of the sheep so that his Father's will may be fulfilled.

Diving deep into our Gospel we'll spend our episode looking closer at:

- The analogy of sheep and shepherd and how it fittingly describes the relationship between God and man [10:22]

- A more precise translation of the title "Good Shepherd" [16:50]

- The true identity of the wolf according to ancient Christian tradition [21:56]

- The allusions to Trinitarian theology contained in our Gospel and the manner in which they point to our Christian vocation and destiny [32:19]

- The Jewish liturgical feast that contextualizes our reading and that points to a cleansing of the corrupt Jerusalem priesthood [44:58]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brown, Raymond E. The Gospel according to John (I–XII): Introduction, Translation, and Notes. Vol. 29. Anchor Yale Bible. New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008.

Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of John: A Commentary, Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012.

Martin, Francis, and William M. Wright IV. The Gospel of John. Edited by Peter S. Williamson and Mary Healy. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015.

REFERENCES

Genesis 31:38-40 - "These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your she-goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. 39 That which was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself; of my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 Thus I was; by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes."

1 Samuel 17:34-35 - "But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth."

Ezekiel 34:1-10 - "The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ho, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the crippled you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the wild beasts. 6 My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. 7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 As I live, says the Lord GOD, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 10 Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them."

Jeremiah 23:1-5 - “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says the LORD. 2 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. 3 Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, says the LORD. 5 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king."

Zechariah 11:15-17 - "Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the implements of a worthless shepherd. 16 For lo, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for the perishing, or seek the wandering, or heal the maimed, or nourish the sound, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17 Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword smite his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded!”

Micah 2:12 - "I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob, I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture"

Numbers 27:15-17 - Moses said to the LORD, 16 “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, 17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep which have no shepherd.”

Hebrews 13:20-21 - Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will.

John 18:7-9 - Again he asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he; so, if you seek me, let these men go.” 9 This was to fulfil the word which he had spoken, “Of those whom thou gavest me I lost not one.”

John 17:12 - While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost.

John 1:29 - "Behold the Lamb of God"

John 12:20-23 - Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Beth-saida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew went with Philip and they told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified."