From: 1 Peter 2b:20-25
Duties Towards Masters—Christ’s Example
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Commentary:
18-25. The sacred writer now addresses all domestic servants (the Greek word
means all who work in household tasks). He exhorts them to obey their masters,
even if they are harsh (verse 18), because God is pleased if they put up with un-
fairness for His sake (verses 19-20); in doing so they are imitating the example
of Jesus (verses 21-25). St. Paul, when addressing slaves in his letters (cf. Ephe-
sians 5:5-9; Colossians 3:22-24), never encourages them to rebel. Christian tea-
ching on social issues is not based on class struggle but on fraternal love: love
eventually does away with all discrimination, for all men have created in the im-
age of God and are equal in His sight. This peaceable policy gradually made for
the suppression of slavery, and it will also lead to the solution of all social prob-
lems (cf. “Gaudium Et Spes”, 29).
The fact that St. Peter addresses only servants and does not go on to say any-
thing to masters (as St. Paul usually does: cf. Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:
23ff) has led some commentators to suggest that most of the Christians addres-
sed in this letter must have been people of humble condition.
21-25. This passage is a beautiful hymn to Christ on the cross. Christ’s suffe-
rings, which fulfill the prophecies about the Servant of Yahweh contained in the
Book of Isaiah (52:13-53:12), have not been in vain, for they have a redemptive
value. He has taken our sins upon Himself and brought them with Him on the
cross, offering Himself as an atoning sacrifice. This means that we are free of
our sins (”dead to sin”) and can live “to righteousness”, that is, can live for holi-
ness with the help of grace.
The example of the suffering of Christ is always a necessary reference point for
Christians: however great the trials they experience, they will never be as great
or as unjust as those of our Lord. Reflecting on Christ’s suffering led St. Bernard
to comment: “I have come to see that true wisdom lies in meditating on these
things [...]. Some have provided me with wholesome, if bitter, drink, and I have
used others as gentle and soothing unction. This gives me strength in adversity
and helps me to be humble in prosperity; it allows me to walk with a sure step
on the royal road of salvation, through the good things and the evil things of this
present life, free from the dangers which threaten to right and left” (”Sermons on
the Song of Songs”, 43, 4).
25. The messianic prophecy about the Servant of Yahweh includes the image
of the scattered flock (cf. Isaiah 53:6), to which Jesus alludes in His allegory of
the Good Shepherd (cf. John 10:11-16). St. Peter, to whom our Lord had given
charge of His flock (cf. John 21:15-19), would have had a special liking for ima-
gery connected with shepherding.
Jesus Christ is “the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls” and “the chief Shep-
herd” (1 Peter 5:4). The etymology of the Greek word—”episcopos” (guardian) —
means “overseer”; the word was used in civic life to designate those who were
responsible for seeing that the law was kept. In the Dead Sea manuscripts the
Hebrew equivalent (”mebaqqer”) is used to designate the religious leaders of
the schismatic community of Qumran. Whatever might be the origin of the term,
in the New Testament the word “episcopos” (bishop) is often used to mean the
pastor of the Church (cf., e.g., Acts 20:28; see the note on 1 Peter 5:1-4). Here
St. Peter applies to Christ the words the prophet Ezekiel places on the lips of
God: “I will seek out My sheep and I will rescue them from all places where they
have been scattered” (Ezekiel 34:12). Our Lord founded the Church as a sheep-
fold “whose sheep, although watched over by human shepherds, are neverthe-
less at all times led and brought to pasture by Christ Himself, the Good Shep-
herd and prince of shepherds (cf. John 10:11; 1 Peter 5:4), who gave His life for
His sheep (cf. John 10:11-16)” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 6).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: John 10:1-10
The Good Shepherd
[7] So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the
sheep. [8] All who came before Me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did
not heed them. [9] I am the door; if any one enters by Me, he will be saved, and
will go in and out and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
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Commentary:
1-18. The image of the Good Shepherd recalls a favorite theme of Old Testament
prophetic literature: the chosen people is the flock, and Yahweh is their shepherd
(cf. Psalm 23). Kings and priests are also described as shepherds or pastors.
Jeremiah inveighs against those pastors who had let their sheep go astray and
in God’s name promises new pastors who will graze their flocks properly so that
they will never again be harassed or anxious (cf. 23:1-6; also 2:8; 3:15; 10:21;
Isaiah 40:1-11). Ezekiel reproaches pastors for their misdeeds and sloth, their
greed and neglect of their responsibility: Yahweh will take the flock away from
them and He Himself will look after their sheep: indeed, a unique shepherd will
appear, descended from David, who will graze them and protect them (Ezekiel
34). Jesus presents Himself as this shepherd who looks after His sheep, seeks
out the strays, cures the crippled and carries the weak on His shoulders (cf.
Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:4-7), thereby fulfilling the ancient prophecies.
From earliest times, Christian art found its inspiration in this touching image of
the Good Shepherd, thereby leaving us a representation of Christ’s love for each
of us.
In addition to the title of Good Shepherd, Christ applies to Himself the image of
the door into the sheepfold of the Church. “The Church,” Vatican II teaches, “is
a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway to which is Christ (cf. John 10:1-10).
It is also a flock, of which God foretold that He Himself would be the shepherd
(cf. Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:11ff.), and whose sheep, although watched over by
human shepherds, are nevertheless at all times led and brought to pasture by
Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd and Prince of shepherds (cf. John 10:11; 1
Peter 5:4), who gave His life for His sheep (cf. John 10:11-15)” (”Lumen Gentium”,
6).
1-2. The flock can be harmed in a subtle, hidden way, or in a blatant way through
abuse of authority. The history of the Church shows that its enemies have used
both methods: sometimes they enter the flock in a secretive way to harm it from
within; sometimes they attack it from outside, openly and violently. “Who is the
good shepherd? ‘He who enters by the door’ of faithfulness to the Church’s doc-
trine and does not act like the hireling ‘who sees the wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and flees’; whereupon ‘the wolf snatches them and scatters them’” (St. J.
Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 34).
3-5. In those times it was usual at nightfall to bring a number of flocks together
into one sheepfold, where they would be kept for the night with someone acting
as look-out. Then at dawn the shepherds would come back and open the sheep-
fold and each would call his sheep which would gather round and follow him out
of the pen (they were used to his voice because he used to call them to prevent
them from going astray) and he would then lead them to pasture. Our Lord uses
this image—one very familiar to His listeners—to teach them a divine truth: since
there are strange voices around, we need to know the voice of Christ—which is
continually addressing us through the Magisterium of the Church—and to follow
it, if we are to get the nourishment our soul needs. “Christ has given His Church
sureness in doctrine and a fountain of grace in the Sacraments. He has arranged
things so that there will always be people to guide and lead us, to remind us con-
stantly of our way. There is an infinite treasure of knowledge available to us: the
word of God kept safe by the Church, the grace of Christ administered in the
Sacraments and also the witness and example of those who live by our side and
have known how to build with their good lives a road of faithfulness to God” (St. J.
Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 34).
6. Christ develops and interprets the image of the shepherd and the flock, to en-
sure that everyone who is well-disposed can understand His meaning. But the
Jews fail to understand—as happened also when He promised the Eucharist (John
6:41-43) and spoke of the “living water” (John 7:40-43), or when He raised Lazarus
from the dead (John 11:45-46).
7. After describing His future Church through the image of the flock, Christ extends
the simile and calls Himself the “door of the sheep”. The shepherds and the sheep
enter the sheepfold: both must enter through the door, which is Christ. “I”, St. Au-
gustine preached, “seeking to enter in among you, that is, into your heart, preach
Christ: if I were to preach other than that, I should be trying to enter by some other
way. Through Christ I enter in, not to your houses but to your hearts. Through
Him I enter and you have willingly heard me speak of Him. Why? Because you
are Christ’s sheep and you have been purchased with Christ’s blood” (”In Ioann.
Evang.” 47, 2-3).
8. The severe reproach Jesus levels against those who came before Him does not
apply to Moses or the prophets (cf. John 5:39, 45; 8:56; 12:41), nor to the Baptist
(cf. John 5:33), for they proclaimed the future Messiah and prepared the way for
Him. He is referring to the false prophets and deceivers of the people, among them
some teachers of the Law—blind men and blind guides (cf. Matthew 23:16-24) who
block the people’s way to Christ, as happened just a little before when the man
born blind was cured (cf. John 9).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.