Three of the oldest images of Our Lord
May 13, 2019 13:17:12 GMT
Post by Admin on May 13, 2019 13:17:12 GMT
Three of the oldest images of Jesus portrays him as the “Good Shepherd”
Early Christian art found in the catacombs in Rome shows Jesus carrying a lamb on his shoulders.
Aleteia - May 12, 2019
The image of the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep, is found in the Gospel of John 10:11-18:
I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.
And around the same time, or perhaps a century later, early Christians left another image of Christ as the Good Shepherd, in the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome. Here, Jesus is portrayed with a lamb on his shoulders and two sheep at his sides, representing his flock.
