A Christological Reading of the Shepherd Motif for Pastoral Theology with Special Reference to Ezekiel 34.

The metaphor of shepherd is often used to provide a biblical understanding of the functions and role of the pastor. The image of the shepherd is a powerful metaphor for God’s care for His people, and can be quite useful in pastoral care as an example of the character and nature of the compassionate and just God who intimately cares for His people. Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34 contribute significantly to this motif. However, caution must be taken as to not simply correlate the work of God described in these passages to the role and function of the pastor in the twenty-first century. The primary concern of the shepherd metaphor is not a prescription of pastoral functions, but description of God Himself as revealed in the incarnation of Christ as the ‘Good Shepherd ’ (Jn. 10:11); the ‘one Shepherd ’ (Jn. 10:16; Ezek. 34:23; 37:24); the ‘great Shepherd ’ (Heb. 13:20). The metaphor of shepherd in the Old Testament is generally an anthropomorphic representation of Yahweh. Seward Hiltner, who was influential in constructing a theology of pastoral care, explains his own method in terms of observing the actions of pastoral practitioners. Hiltner placed significance on the empirical description of a ‘pastoral event ’ (Patton 1986, 129) or the ‘data of ministry ’ (Lapsley 1969, 44). He saw the process of pastoral theology bein