Summary and conclusion
10 Summary and conclusion
John 10:16 contains part of an important and common metaphor in Scripture: the shepherd metaphor. This metaphor is already present in the book of Genesis and shows clear development throughout the Old and New Testaments. It then reaches a climax in the aforementioned text.
In the early Christian period the image of the shepherd and the flock plays an important role.
For that reason, this dissertation examines in detail the question of what interpretation the early Christian exegetes of the first five centuries assigned to John 10:16 and what perspectives are illuminated in the exegesis of this pericope. The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze early Christian exegesis of John 10:16.
The Ancient Near East
The first part of the study uses leading studies to chart the development of the shepherd metaphor.
These studies show that the shepherd metaphor is also present in extra-Biblical source material.
As early as 3000 B.C., the shepherd metaphor is used in Mesopotamia, where pastoralism and kingship are closely linked and where kings allow themselves to be called “the true shepherd”.
In addition to applications to national leadership, the shepherd metaphor is applied to thinking about divinity. Here, gods are seen as shepherds, and the care and protection of the people are typified by shepherding tasks and attributes.
In ancient Egypt, the shepherding metaphor is also used and also goes through an important development. From the second half of the third millennium BC, it can be seen that the shepherd metaphor is applied to gods, identifying the god-shepherd as the giver and protector of life. As the application of the metaphor develops further in a direction that includes the pharaoh and the people, the shepherd metaphor contributes to the way in which the relationship between the pharaoh and the Egyptian people evolves. The image of the pharaoh as an aloof despot changes to the idea that leadership equals care and love for the people. By the time of the New Kingdom (approx. 1550-1077 BCE), the application of the shepherd metaphor even takes on a cosmopolitan-universal character, with characterizations such as “the good shepherd of mankind”.
On the basis of the works of Homer, Plato and Philo of Alexandria, this dissertation also examines the development of the shepherd metaphor at the time of the different epochs of the Hellenistic period (800 BC - 50 AD). As was true during the aforementioned periods in Mesopotamia and Egypt, the shepherd metaphor is also abundantly visible in this period and provided with positive connotations. For example, in The Odyssey, King Agamemnon is referred to as a “shepherd of the people” and Plato sees the philosophers as earthly representatives of a divine shepherd. The shepherd metaphor is applied to both divine and human persons where the care of the people, as the flock, is central. In the works of Philo of Alexandria, the extra-Biblical development of
the shepherd metaphor experiences a provisional climax when he adds an individual-theological dimension in addition to the existing applications: God’s shepherdly mercy extends to a person’s soul.
Because of this extra-Biblical development of the shepherd metaphor in Genesis, contemporary exegesis incorporates this knowledge into its analysis of the reception of this metaphor in its primary context. The metaphor is abundant, develops and gains wider application in the Hellenistic era in comparison to the context of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Because of the influence of Greek thought on early Christian exegetes and their environment, the Hellenistic influence is seen as an important additional stimulus for the adaptation of the pastoral metaphor within the Christian church of the first five centuries.
The Old Testament
The next part of this study focuses on the presence and development of the shepherd metaphor in the Old Testament. Because the environment depicted in Genesis -like that of Mesopotamia and Egypt-can be characterized as a pastoral society, it is plausible that the first recipients of the Old Testament message understood the shepherd metaphor given that it was close to their own life experience.
The shepherd metaphor appears in all Old Testament subdivisions. As in Israel’s Umwelt, the shepherd metaphor in the Old Testament is accompanied by positive connotations. The God of Israel, Who makes Himself known as the Shepherd to the people He leads, feeds, protects, seeks out, heals, knows and judges, is central to this. Compared to the applications of the shepherd metaphor in Israel’s Umwelt, the roles of YHWH described in the Old Testament are unique in certain respects. This uniqueness becomes most apparent in the descriptions that reveal Him to be the Shepherd Who Himself seeks His sheep and that His presence guarantees everlasting protection.
The use of the shepherding metaphor is not frequent in the early period of the genesis of Scripture, although it does emerge strongly in the description of benchmarks in Israel’s history. In the study, texts are used to show how the shepherd metaphor develops and becomes more and more concrete during the period of the patriarchs, at the time of the exodus, during the road to kingship and in the period surrounding the exile. Whereas in the Pentateuch the shepherd metaphor seems to be applied almost naturally to YHWH, the (post)exilic prophets in particular have also applied the image to a human and divine person from the Davidic lineage. This shows that the shepherd metaphor is directly related to the Messianic expectation as it develops within the Old Testament.
The use of the metaphor is particularly present in the book of Psalms and in the books of the Prophets. In the prophecies of Isaiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah the development finds a provisional
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climax and the shepherd metaphor is dominated by the promised Good Shepherd, Who is also King, Who comes from the lineage of David and Whose work has a universal scope.
The New Testament
In the New Testament, the pastoral metaphor develops further. Old Testament images and promises are further developed in the New Testament and applied in three different ways. First, this study illustrates how the application of God as Shepherd, just as in the Old Testament, is also present in various places in the New Testament. Second, it shows that the shepherd metaphor is applied to God’s servants. They are to follow Christ’s example and serve the flock over which one is set as a shepherd. Finally, most numerous are the applications of the pastoral metaphor to Christ Jesus, in Whom the metaphor reaches a climax. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament descriptions of the Godly Shepherd, as well as of the promised future Shepherd and coming Son of David. This study wants to show that the use of the shepherding metaphor in the New Testament is clearly concentrated around the benchmarks in New Testament salvation history.
As early as the description of His birth, it is emphasized that Jesus Christ is the promised Son of David, Who will pasture His people like a Shepherd. That Christ is the foretold Shepherd is expressed in various ways during His walk on earth. He goes about seeking and saving the lost through the preaching of the Word and the healing of the sick. In a special way this thought is confirmed in the descriptions surrounding Christ’s death and resurrection in which He fulfills all Old Testament types as the Shepherd Who goes before His people in the New Testament equivalent of the exodus by rising from the dead. It is also Christ Who in the eschaton will judge the nations as a Shepherd, as foretold in the Old Testament.
John 10
Within contemporary exegesis, John 10 is designated as a provisional high point of the developing shepherd metaphor in the New Testament. At the same time, the text of the “Shepherd’s Speech”
from John 10 necessitates that the preceding chapter also be involved. Reading the history of the blind man (John 9) in the light of Christ’s revelation as Good Shepherd (John 10) reveals an important perspective. Indeed, in chapter 9, Christ already shows Himself to be the Promised Shepherd in His dealings with the man born blind. From the development of the shepherd metaphor in the Old Testament, it is notable that Christ’s action in John 9 bears several similarities to various shepherding traits named in the Old Testament: Christ as the promised Shepherd seeks “the lost” (Ez. 34:11, 16, cf. Jn. 9:35), heals “the sick” (Ez. 34:16, cf. Jn. 9:7), and knows His sheep (Hosea 13:5-6, cf. Jn. 9:37-38). Similarly, the end of Jn 9, in which Christ says he has come “to judgment” in this world, is consistent with the Old Testament image of the Promised Shepherd (Ezek 34:20-22, cf. Jn 9:39). In this way, the history of John 9 demonstrates Christ’s Shepherdship as revealed in John 10.
The miracle He performs on the man born blind leads to a fierce conversation with the Pharisees.
They neither want to see nor acknowledge Christ’s shepherding role. Christ is accused by them of breaking the Sabbath commandment. In the ensuing “shepherd’s speech” in John 10, Christ reveals Himself as the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises about the Promised Shepherd.
With a multitude of Old Testament references, Christ testifies that it is He (‘I am’) Who has been sent by His Father as the Shepherd to call and lead His sheep which He has received from the Father. He is not hired, but sent by His Father. Christ’s intimate relationship with His Father is the source of His love for His sheep. That love is so great that He does what can be expected of a shepherd: He lays down His life for His sheep. This study reveals that Christ makes this clear to the Pharisees in no less than seven different ways in verses 1-5.
Verses 7-10 are considered an initial interpretation of the paroimia in verses 1-5. In response to the visible misunderstanding of the Pharisees, Christ reveals Himself twice as “the Door”. In verses 11-18 follows the second, additional, revelation as an explanation of the same paroimia. In this section Christ reveals Himself twice through the words “I am the Good Shepherd” (verses 11, 14). Also in this section, the contrast between the Christ as Shepherd and the Pharisees as mercenaries is sharply set forth. In verse 11 Jesus again utters the ‘εγώ εἰμι’ as a direct allusion to YHWH’s name in the Old Testament: ‘εγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός’. Exegetes point out that ‘I am the shepherd, the good one’ is a good translation, making the contrast with the mercenaries clear. These words usher in an important moment in the development of the shepherding metaphor:
Christ designates Himself as the Good Shepherd. He is the promised Shepherd of the sheep to which the Old Testament already testified. The parallelism between verses 10 and 11 shows that Christ’s Shepherdship is most evident in the fact that He gives His life for the sheep. Because He will give His life, the sheep will “have life and have abundance”. In the following verses there is a further revelation of this Shepherd: He not only owns the sheep, but also knows them and is known by the sheep (verse 14, cf. 10:4). This intimacy between Shepherd and sheep was revealed earlier in verse 3c (“he calls his sheep by name”), but is underlined in these words. Verse 15 thus forms the underpinning of verse 14: the mutual knowing of the Shepherd and the sheep flows from the mutual knowing of the Father and the Son. And because Christ’s love for His own flows from the mutual knowing of the Father and the Son, Christ will do that to which He is called as Good Shepherd: “and I lay down My life for the sheep” (verse 15b). This indicates that Christ’s shepherdship is directly related to His suffering and death. Verses 17 and 18 form the conclusion of the shepherd’s speech and are a further elaboration of verse 15b. In these words, Christ’s obedience is drawn out in describing the core of His shepherdship, which is the laying down of His life. Christ, as the Good Shepherd, is obedient to His Father. This is also true in the
“taking again” of His life. The events that are imminent at the time of this speech-His suffering, death, and resurrection-are the Father’s way by which Christ will be revealed in obedience as the Good Shepherd.
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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION HOOFDSTUK 10
John 10:16
Modern exegetes position verse 16 as standing alone within the whole of the pericope. It is in this verse that the development of the shepherd metaphor finds its culmination, both within the whole of Scripture and within the pericope of verses 1-18 in particular. A new dimension is added to the pericope in this verse: the scope of Christ’s Shepherdship. For the fruit of Christ’s self-sacrificing Shepherdship is not limited to sheep from the Jewish fold, but extends to all the nations. For His sheep from the world of nations, the following also applies: ‘they will hear My voice’. They too will be called to Christ’s fold and all His sheep will be led out as one, under the one, true Shepherd.
After Christ has explicitly revealed Himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10: 11-15, a description of His flock follows in verse 16. Here it is clearly brought out that “the sheep” referred to here are Christ’s possession: “I have ... sheep”. They were given to Him by God the Father, as He Himself testifies in John 10:29-30. The Good Shepherd is the Owner Who knows His sheep, and therefore is also known by His sheep (10:14, compare 9:37-38).
John 10:16 makes it clear that the descent of Christ’s sheep is not limited to “this fold,” but that Christ also possesses “other sheep”. Citing, among others, John 10:14 and John 10:1-5, exegetes show that “this fold” is to be understood as the fold of Judaism. Christ has come first and foremost for those sheep which He owns (“Mine,” verse 14) and which come from “this fold. He calls them
“by name” and “leads them out” (verse 3) and they follow the Good Shepherd. However, Christ also possesses “other sheep,” that is, they are not from the Jewish fold. Although not belonging to
“this fold,” but scattered among the Gentiles (see John 11:52 and Isa. 56:7-8), they too are among the “mine” (verse 14) who will believe in Christ. With the addition of this universal perspective, the shepherd’s speech from John 10 takes on a global meaning that is closely aligned with the Old Testament development of the shepherd metaphor.
In the remainder of verse 16 the attention remains focused -by the word ‘these’- on those sheep that do not belong to the Jewish fold. The way in which the Good Shepherd brings His sheep is clearly shown: “and they shall hear My voice”. The characteristic of Christ’s sheep is to hear His voice, to be known by the Shepherd and to follow this Shepherd (verse 26-27). That Christ
“must bring” His sheep demonstrates obedience to His Father and at the same time provides the guarantee of the “shall hear” of His voice. The “hearing” of His voice occurs through the worldwide proclamation of the Gospel. John 10:16 thus contains the foundation of the missionary task of going out and teaching, baptizing, and teaching all nations to observe all that Christ commanded (Matt. 28:19).
The last part of John 10:16 sheds light on the result of Christ’s pastoral action: the becoming of
“one flock and one Shepherd.” Contemporary exegesis points to two particular implications. First,
it becomes clear that the unification will not take place within “the fold” of Judaism, but within Christ’s flock. The Good Shepherd calls His own from the Jewish fold and from outside to His own flock, His church. Exegetes make a clear connection between these words of John 10:16 and Old Testament prophecies, including Ezekiel 37. What YHWH promises there regarding the two- and ten-tribe kingdom, Christ promises in John 10:16 regarding His sheep from Jewry and paganism.
In emphasizing unity, John 10:16 anticipates a major theme in the remainder of the New Testament:
the unity between Jew and Gentile, through faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul’s letters make clear, this unity is to take shape here on earth. When Christ spoke the words of John 10:16, these things were still waiting to be fulfilled. First, the Good Shepherd had to die (10:11). Also, Christ’s voice had yet to go out into the whole world, to be heard by His sheep. Until Christ’s flock is complete and finds its fulfillment in the rest of the world, with sheep from “every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue” (Revelation 7:9).
Contemporary exegesis cites two reasons for designating John 10:16 as a climax in the development of the shepherd metaphor. First, because of the explicit presence of the universal perspective in the description of the “other sheep” who “are not of this fold”. Exegetes have shown that already in the Old Testament the shepherd metaphor was accompanied by universal connotations (cf. Isa.
56:8), but that in the further development of the shepherd metaphor this aspect only came to the fore in a limited way. It is precisely the universal perspective that is central in John 10:16. With this the full light falls on the universal scope of Christ’s shepherdship and the Old Testament prophecy in which this aspect already came to the fore is also fulfilled in Christ.
The second reason is linked to the words “one flock and one Shepherd”. The development of the shepherding metaphor in the Old Testament already spoke of the joining of sheep into one flock (cf. Ezek. 37:22, 24a) and emphasized the joining of the two- and ten-tribe kingdoms. However, in light of the universal nature of Jesus’ flock, the unity of the flock takes on an even more profound dimension. John 10:16 thus anticipates the important New Testament question of how believers from the Gentile nations relate to believers from the Jewish people. In this key text in the development of the pastoral metaphor, the answer becomes clear: in Christ the Good Shepherd, Jew and Gentile are one, and will be one.
In the above outline of the development of the shepherd metaphor, an answer has been formulated to the first sub-question. The metaphor is already present in the Ancient Near East and develops strongly within the Old and New Testaments, with John 10:16 as the high point, for reasons previously mentioned.
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The Shepherd Metaphor in The Early Church
Given the importance of the shepherd metaphor in Scripture and the fact that John 10:16 can be designated as the high point of the development of this metaphor, the question arises as to what extent early Christian authors actually gave attention to the shepherd metaphor in their works.
In a brief analysis, this study shows that the Early Church had plenty of interest in the shepherd metaphor and applied it in a variety of ways. In fact, the shepherd metaphor is one of the most common and influential images in the Christian Church of the first centuries.
The application of the shepherd metaphor in the Early Church focuses particularly on God’s servants and how they should relate to God’s congregation, as synonymous with the flock.
Examination of patristic sources reveals that this application is strongly embedded within a Christological context. In other words, Christ - as the Good Shepherd - forms the fixed benchmark in early Christian thought regarding the functioning of God’s servants in the church. Christ’s servants are shepherds of the flock, insofar as they are so “in Christ”. The Early Church portrays Christ Himself as the great example for those who are set over the church of Christ. Jesus’ love for His flock is the source and heart of the pastoral responsibility placed on the shoulders of church ministers. Linked to this is the relationship between the shepherd and the flock. Just as a shepherd and a flock are very closely connected, so too are the ministers and the congregation.
The faithful ministry of the Word constitutes one of the most important tasks of nurturing the Christian congregation, but also of protecting it from the attacks of “the wolves” who seek to disperse the flock. Early Christian authors also use the shepherd metaphor in this context to underscore the uniqueness and universality of serving in the church.
The next category of uses of the shepherd metaphor is in light of the identity, development, and future of the church. As reasons for the frequent use of this symbolism, three things are specifically identified: the importance of the shepherd metaphor within the totality of Scripture, the early Christian interest in the biblical book of John in particular, and the influence of Hellenistic culture, which - as seen earlier - is also important in the spread of the shepherd metaphor in the world influenced by Greek thought. These conclusions provide an additional impetus for further research into the use of John 10:16 in the Early Church.
It is evident that patristic exegetes over the centuries used different textual variants of John 10:16.
In this study, a brief analysis has been made of the development in the textual tradition and the corresponding points of interest. From this it can be concluded that although there are some textual differences in the variants, the effect of these differences is too limited to affect exegesis.
There is, however, one exception. This concerns the Vulgate translation, in which ‘fold’ and ‘flock’
are both rendered with the same word: “et alias oves habeo quae non sunt ex hoc ovili et illas oportet me adducere et vocem meam audient et fiet unum ovile unus pastor.” This point of interest will be included in the analysis of fragments where the Vulgate has played a role.
Analysis of the fragments
In order to answer the remaining two subquestions of this dissertation, a collection of early Christian fragments in which John 10:16 plays a role, as complete as possible, has been built. This collection has been compiled with the help of various consulted (digital) indices. The result is an overview of early Christian Joh. 10:16 fragments by patristic authors between the second and fifth centuries, concluding with Augustine. A total of 68 fragments from fourteen early Christian exegetes were examined. Where no accurate Dutch translation of the fragments was available, a new translation has been made. In this way this research offers the reader the possibility to see all of the fragments in Dutch. Besides the Dutch translation, this study also contains the fragments in their original language.
In an analysis of how the Early Church deployed the words of John 10:16, the first thing to note is that it can be categorized in several ways. Of the 38 fragments from the period of Clement of Alexandria - Leo I, there is a more elaborate exegesis in which Joh. 10:16 is provided integrally with a relatively extensive explanation twice. In ten cases Joh. 10:16 is quoted in full, while in the vast majority of the fragments only portions of the scripture are quoted. Something similar applies to the fragments from the seven works of Augustine. Tractatus 47 (PL 35, c. 1735; CCL 36, p. 407) provides an extensive exegesis of John 10:16, as part of the explanation of the Gospel of John. In Tractatus 117 (PL 35, c. 1946-1947; CCL 36, p. 654), a complete quotation of John 10:16 is again present. In the 26 remaining fragments, this Bible is only partially quoted, seventeen of them with the absence of the words “and they will hear My voice.”
Perspectives
Careful analysis of the 68 fragments shows that the Early Christian use of John 10:16 provides an important window into historical developments between the second and fifth centuries AD.
The Early Church made the shepherd metaphor its own and provided it with concrete applications for the Christian community of the time. This becomes particularly clear when examining Early Christian exegesis of John 10:16, which focuses on the theme of “unity” that was very important to the Early Church. The following is a representation of the distinct perspectives that the Early Church attaches to the use of John 10:16, in response to the research question of this study. The order is determined by the degree of presence.