Ezekiel 34 John 10: 1-35 Analysis

The Bible. There are many different versions, countless interpretations and conflicting ideologies in a single passage. This can be daunting for a person who has never truly opened much less analyzed a passage from the bible. However, the complexity of the passages can be boiled down to a few resonating themes and overall beliefs, if a person takes the time and has the patience to do so. This paper will dive into an analysis of Ezekiel 34 and John 10:1-21 as it comes from a person who has never truly read the bible.
Historically, the book of Ezekiel took place during 593-573 B.C. with Ezekiel 34 taking place approximately during 585 B.C, just before the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C . During this time Israel was experiencing political
The word shepherd is heavily used in this chapter and is commonly referenced to mean king or ruler. Man is represented as sheep/ cattle in this passage in need of guidance/ shepherding, man scatters and is left to be prey as seen in verses 5 and 6.This is symbolic of the exiles in Israel. Repetition is heavily used in Ezekiel to emphasize the importance of the verses as well as serve as the parallel to what is occurring in society. A unique characteristic in Ezekiel is the use of the term prince instead of king when referring to the future government under the house of David. The use of the word prince indicates a different form of government. Prince David will rule with the word and by the order of God, unlike the previous kings who were decided by a separate order of non-religious lineage (Zimmerli 218). Possibly the most poignant verse of Ezekiel 34 is verse 31 why states “ You are My flock, My people, and I am your God”, simply identifying ownership and full control thus solidifying Yahweh’s relationship with his
As we learned in Bruner’s commentary “…Preachers, teachers, and leaders” were otherwayers because they “[robbed] man and women their only way to wholeness”, which was through Jesus(607) . By robbing man of their one true salvation they were in effect killing and destroying them as Jesus’ people. Jesus proclaims himself as the gate to salvation in verse 9 and reiterates that he is the Good Shepherd in verse 11. With Jesus outright saying what he is and leaving minimal room for interpretation error his audience is able to give credibility to what he is saying. A key element to the chapter is the use of repetition, when Jesus repeats ‘ Most assuredly I say to you’ and ‘I am the Good Shepherd’ emphasizes the importance of what Jesus is about to say as well as bring conviction and honesty to his discourse. Without the use of these powerful phrases the public would vehemently reject Jesus instead of begin to question their beliefs. Beginning in John 10:14-15 there is a change in the connotation of the vocabulary, instead if being associated with the characteristic of work and family its is associated with friendship and intimacy (Bruner 624) .By doing this Jesus is working on building a relationship with his people instead of just being a governing power. He wants to let them know that he is one with them and they belong and are within