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True or False Christ as the Good Shepherd Was a Common Theme in Early Christian Art

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Epithet of Jesus

The Skillful Shepherd (Greek: ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, poimḗn ho kalós) is an prototype used in the pericope of John 10:1–21, in which Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34:11–16. The Good Shepherd is likewise discussed in the other gospels, the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Beginning Epistle of Peter and the Book of Revelation.

Biblical references [edit]

In the Gospel of John, Jesus states "I am the good shepherd" in two verses, John ten:eleven and 10:14.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays downward his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and non a shepherd, who doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them. The hired paw flees because he is a hired hand, and doesn't care for the sheep. I am the skilful shepherd. I know my ain, and I'm known by my own; fifty-fifty every bit the Begetter knows me, and I know the Male parent. I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are non of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become 1 flock with 1 shepherd. Therefore the Begetter loves me, because I lay downward my life, that I may have it again. No one takes information technology away from me, merely I lay information technology downwardly by myself. I have ability to lay information technology down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Begetter.

This passage is i of several sections of John's Gospel which generate division amongst Jews.[John 10:19–21]

Jesus Christ is also compared to a shepherd in Matthew ii:6, Matthew 9:36, Matthew 25:32, Matthew 26:31, Marking half dozen:34, Mark 14:27, John x:2, Hebrews 13:20, i Peter 2:25, 1 Peter v:4, and Revelation 7:17.

Parable or metaphor? [edit]

Several authors such every bit Tinto, Barbara Reid, Arland Hultgren or Donald Griggs comment that "parables are noticeably absent from the Gospel of John".[two] [3] [4] According to the Catholic Encyclopedia article on Parables:[five] "At that place are no parables in St. John'southward Gospel" and according to the Encyclopædia Britannica article on Gospel of St. John:[half dozen] "Hither Jesus' teaching contains no parables and merely three allegories, the Synoptists nowadays it every bit parabolic through and through."

Early Christian art [edit]

The image of the Skilful Shepherd is the most common of the symbolic representations of Christ establish in early on Christian art in the Catacombs of Rome, before Christian imagery could be made explicit. The course of the paradigm showing a young human conveying a lamb around his neck was direct borrowed from the much older pagan kriophoros (run into below) and in the case of portable statuettes similar the near famous i now in the Pio Cristiano Museum, Vatican City (right), it is impossible to say whether the image was originally created with the intention of having a Christian significance. The image continued to exist used in the centuries afterwards Christianity was legalized in 313. Initially, information technology was probably non understood every bit a portrait of Jesus, but a symbol like others used in Early on Christian art,[7] and in some cases may also have represented the Shepherd of Hermas, a pop Christian literary piece of work of the second century.[8] [9] However, by about the 5th century, the figure more often took on the appearance of the conventional depiction of Christ, as information technology had adult by this time, and was given a halo and rich robes,[x] as on the apse mosaic in the church of Santi Cosma e Damiano in Rome, or at Ravenna (right). Images of the Good Shepherd oft include a sheep on his shoulders, as in the Lukan version of the Parable of the Lost Sheep.[11]

In Mandaeism [edit]

The image of the Adept Shepherd is also used in the Mandaean Book of John. Chapters 11–12 of the Mandaean Volume of John are about "a shepherd who loves his sheep" who leads them on to the World of Calorie-free.[12]

Pagan symbolism [edit]

In aboriginal Greek cult, kriophoros or criophorus (Κριοφόρος), the "ram-bearer" is a figure that commemorates the solemn cede of a ram. It becomes an epithet of Hermes: Hermes Kriophoros.

In ii-dimensional fine art, Hermes Kriophoros transformed into the Christ carrying a lamb and walking among his sheep: "Thus we find philosophers belongings scrolls or a Hermes Kriophoros which can exist turned into Christ giving the Law (Traditio Legis) and the Adept Shepherd respectively".[xiii] The Proficient Shepherd is a common motif from the Catacombs of Rome (Gardner, 10, fig 54) and in sarcophagus reliefs, where Christian and heathen symbolism are often combined, making secure identifications difficult. This is defined as syncretism, a blending of images from different cultures and religions.

Gallery [edit]

  • Christ equally the Skillful Shepherd, unknown artist from Lower Bavaria, 1750

  • 19th century by High german Artist Bernard Plockhorst

  • Emblem of the Catechism of the Cosmic Church

  • Oratorio de la Santa Cueva. Cádiz, España

See likewise [edit]

  • Depictions of Jesus
  • I am (biblical term)
  • Lamb of God
  • Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament
  • Parable of the Lost Sheep
  • The Sheep and Goats
  • Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

References [edit]

Citations [edit]

  1. ^ Grabar 1980:The figure (...) is an allegory of Christ every bit the shepherd
  2. ^ Reid 2001, p. 3.
  3. ^ Hultgren 2000, p. 2.
  4. ^ Griggs 2003, p. 52.
  5. ^ Barry 1911.
  6. ^ von Hügel 1911, pp. 452–458.
  7. ^ Syndicus 1962, pp. 21–23.
  8. ^ Jensen 2002.
  9. ^ Jensen 2000, pp. 37–41.
  10. ^ Syndicus 1962, pp. 130–131.
  11. ^ Lowrie 2007, p. 69.
  12. ^ Haberl, Charles and McGrath, James (2020). The Mandaean Book of John: critical edition, translation, and commentary. Berlin: De Gruyter. ISBN978-3-11-048651-3. OCLC 1129155601.
  13. ^ Murray & Murray 1996, p. 475.

Sources [edit]

  • Barry, William (1911). "Parables". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Cosmic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  • Grabar, André (1980). Christian Iconography: A Study of Its Origins. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
  • Griggs, Donald L. (2003). The Bible from Scratch: The New Testament for Beginners. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN978-0-664-22577-3.
  • Hultgren, Arland J. (2000). The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN978-0-8028-6077-4.
  • Jensen, Robin Margaret (2000). Understanding Early Christian Art. Psychology Press. ISBN978-0-415-20454-5.
  • Jensen, Robin Grand. (October 2002). "The Two Faces of Jesus". Bible Review. Vol. 17, no. 8.
  • Lowrie, Walter (March 2007). Art in the Early on Church. Read Books. ISBN978-1-4067-5291-5.
  • Murray, Peter; Murray, Linda (1996). The Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture. Oxford University Printing. ISBN978-0-19-866165-8.
  • Reid, Barbara E. (2001). Parables for Preachers: The Gospel of Matthew : Year A. Liturgical Press. ISBN978-0-8146-2550-vii.
  • Syndicus, Eduard (1962). Early Christian Art. Burns & Oates.
  • von Hügel, Friedrich (1911). "John, Gospel of St". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 452–458.

Further reading [edit]

  • Gershon, Livia. "Early Christian Band Found in Third-Century Shipwreck Off of Israel". Smithsonian Magazine.

External links [edit]

  • Holman Bible Dictionary – "Shepherd" for other biblical references.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Shepherd

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