A Shepherd Restoring Paradise

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A Shepherd Restoring Paradise

Herb Montgomery | May 9, 2025

If you’d like to listen to this week’s article in podcast version click on the image below:

Our reading this week is from the gospel of John:

Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. 

It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:22-30)

The context of our reading is the Gate and Shepherd image from John 10. Let’s take a moment to understand that context:

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” (John 10:1-18)

In this chapter, Jesus was not just a gateway, but also the only gateway through which to enter. This was a fitting image for the Johannine community given their proto-gnostic beliefs. It was also meaningful for them to describe Jesus as a shepherd. They used the shepherd imagery like other communities of Jesus-followers (see Matthew 11:28-30). What I appreciate about John’s use is the connection Jesus makes to life and life in its fullest expression. “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” St. Irenaeus, a great second-century theologian, is noted for the phrase, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive!” The late Gustavo Gutiérrez is also remembered for connecting injustice and poverty with death. In his teachings on the gospel’s preferential option for the poor, Gutiérrez often referred to poverty as an early and unjust death. He reportedly said, “To be poor is to be familiar with death. It is very easy to see these things when we are working with poor persons. They speak with familiarity about death, the deaths of children or other persons because it is so frequent. Certainly, death is one aspect of human life, but I am speaking of early and unjust death. Poverty means physical death due to hunger, diseases and other factors. The poor are familiar with these other aspects of death.”

In fact, the economic injustice of poverty is not alone in its connection to death. All injustice falls somewhere on death’s spectrum. To say that Jesus came to show us the path of life so that we might have life and have it to the full also must mean that this same path points toward the way of love and justice. 

I appreciate John’s use of the shepherd imagery in connection with Jesus. Where John’s gospel’s uses the shepherd imagery in a more mystical way, with Jesus leading us into knowledge of the way (gnosis), the synoptics’ use of this imagery is more tangible and tied to how this imagery was used in the Hebrew prophetic justice tradition. In Ezekiel for example, this imagery is used to critique those in positions of power who should have taken care of those they were responsible for. Instead, these same leaders were “slaughtering the flock” for their own consumption.

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.” (Ezekiel 34:2-6)

The good shepherd imagery in the synoptic gospels is referencing verses like these in Ezekiel. In Mark, Matthew, and Luke, likening Jesus to a shepherd meant he would gather those who had been scattered by the injustice of the Temple rulers who were complicit with Rome’s exploitation of the masses. 

In Ezekiel we read the promised hope of restoration:

“As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness . . . I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice . . . I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd.” (Ezekiel 34:12, 14, 23)

The early Jesus community held this imagery dear. Jesus, to them, was a shepherd who would restore the flock “with justice” as Ezekiel states. Perhaps the author of our reading this week contemplated this passage in Ezekiel. Regardless, shepherd imagery wasn’t used to describe whisking people away to a distant heaven but to describe restoring justice here “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). It was about restoring paradise, with Earth as an abundant pastureland tended over by a caring and just shepherd. 

What does the image of Jesus as shepherd mean for us today? What does it mean for us to be about working to shape our world into a just, safe, compassionate home for everyone, even those who are not like ourselves? As we read last week, we are called to care for those we share our world with, just as a shepherd cares for their sheep. As followers of Jesus, shepherds under the “Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4), we are to do the same work the Shepherd worked at: restoring paradise. Though this is ancient imagery, today it points to the holy work of seeking distributive justice for everyone, a justice that ensures each of us has what we all need to thrive and that all, regardless of our differences, would have “life and have it to the full.”

In the insightful and well-documented research of their book Saving Paradise, Rebecca Parker and Rita Nakashima Brock remind us of how Christians used this imagery before the church became obsessed with apocalyptic destruction and imperial power. They write: “The prophet linked the work of the shepherd to God’s care for the people. [Ezekiel] said the good shepherd fed people with justice, made a covenant of peace, helped them flourish, and protected them.” (Parker & Brock, Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire, Kindle location 623)

May shepherding in this way be our work today too.

Discussion Group Questions

1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s podcast episode with your discussion group.

2. What does the pastoral imagery of Jesus as shepherd putting our world to right mean to you this week? Share and discuss with your group.

3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone? 

Thanks for checking in with us, today.

I want to say a special thank you to all of our supporters out there. And if you would like to join them in supporting Renewed Heart Ministries’ work you can do so by going to renewedheartministries.com and clicking donate. 

My latest book Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political and Economic Teachings of the Gospels is available now on Amazon in paperback, Kindle and also on Audible in audio book format.

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You can watch our YouTube show each week called “Just Talking”. Each week, Todd Leonard and I take a moment to talk about the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend. We’ll be talking about each reading in the context of love, inclusion, and social justice. Our hope is that our talking will be just talking (as in justice) and that during our brief conversations each week you’ll be inspired to also do more than just talking. If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out, you might like it. You can find JustTalking each week on YouTube at youtube.com/@herbandtoddjusttalking.

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Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.

I love each of you dearly,

I’ll see you next week.

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New Episode of “Just Talking” Now Online!

Lectionary Readings in the context of Love, Inclusion, & Social Justice

New Episodes each week!

This week:

Season 3, Episode 11: John 10.22-30. Lectionary C, Easter 4

Each week, we’ll discuss the gospel lectionary reading for the upcoming weekend in the context of love, inclusion, and justice. We hope that our talking will be “just” talking (as in justice) and that we’ll be inspired to do more than “just talking” during our brief conversations each week. 

If you teach from the lectionary each week, or if you’re just looking for some thoughts on the Jesus story from a more progressive perspective within the context of social justice, check it out.

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New Episode of The Social Jesus Podcast

A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice. 

This week:

Season 2 Episode 19: A Shepherd Restoring Paradise

John 10:22-30

The good shepherd imagery in the synoptic gospels is referencing verses like these in Ezekiel where the leaders were censured for becoming an oligarchy that fed themselves off of the sheep rather than caring for them. In Mark, Matthew, and Luke, likening Jesus to a shepherd meant he would gather those who had been scattered by the injustice of the Temple rulers who were complicit with Rome’s exploitation of the masses.  The early Jesus community held this imagery dear. Jesus, to them, was a shepherd who would restore the flock “with justice.” The shepherd imagery wasn’t used to describe whisking people away to a distant heaven but to describe restoring justice here “on earth as it is in heaven.” It was about restoring paradise, with Earth as an abundant pastureland tended over by a caring and just shepherd. Today, we are to do the same work the Shepherd worked at: restoring paradise. Though this is ancient imagery, today it points to the holy work of seeking distributive justice for everyone, a justice that ensures each of us has what we all need to thrive and that all, regardless of our differences, would have “life and have it to the full.”

Available on all major podcast carriers and at:

https://the-social-jesus-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/a-shepherd-restoring-paradise

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Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels.

 

by Herb Montgomery

Available now on Amazon!

In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity.

Finding Jesus is not just a scholarly exploration; it is a call to action. It challenges readers to reevaluate their understanding of Christianity’s role in public life and to consider how the radical teachings of the gospels can inspire a renewed commitment to justice, equality, and compassion. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the social implications of Christian faith and a blueprint for building a more just and inclusive society.

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