Good Shepherd Sunday

( John 10) 1 AMEN, amen I say to you: He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 And when he hath let out his own sheep, he goeth before them: and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. 5 But a stranger they follow not, but fly from him, because they know not the voice of strangers. 6 This proverb Jesus spoke to them. But they understood not what he spoke to them.

7 Jesus therefore said to them again: Amen, amen I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All others, as many as have come, are thieves and robbers: and the sheep heard them not. 9 I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved: and he shall go in, and go out, and shall find pastures. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly.

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. 12 But the hireling, and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and flieth: and the wolf catcheth, and scattereth the sheep: 13 And the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know mine, and mine know me.

A popular subject in art through the history of Christianity, there are a plethora of familiar images of Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  In his sermon today, our pastor made mention of the imagery that is associated with this Bible passage, and it got me to mental-imaging through the rest of the sermon. Don't know that that was a good thing, because I wasn't going to be happy until I could get home and go on a search for paintings and artists.  Here are a few I was able to track down, most with the artist's name and dates included. 

 I especially like the first one here, painted by Alfred Soord in the late 19th century; this is the one Father specifically mentioned, I think.  He also talked about the image of Our Lord, as the Good Shepherd, knocking on the door with no handle on the outside.  I love that theme, and added a couple of those paintings above. The first is  by contemporary artist, Greg Olsen, the second, The Light of the World, was painted by Holman Hunt in 1851, and the third, maybe the most famous rendition, was painted by Warner Sallman in 1942.


Of the Good Shepherd paintings below I like the Dyce painting (the second one) and really like the style of contemporary artist, Greg Olsen, who painted the last selection below -- not specifically a "Good Shepherd painting" that one, but the spirit is the same.  The third, fourth, and sixth paintings are probably the ones I've seen the most over the years, though, and they're in the order of "comfort-food" images for me. 


Do you recognize these?  Which do you like?

The Lost Sheep by Alfred Soord (1868-1915)

The Good Shepherd by William Dyce (1786-1864)

The Good Shepherd by Richard Hook (1914-1975)

The Good Shepherd (Unknown Artist)

The Good Shepherd by Bernard Plockhorst (1825-1907)

The Good Shepherd bySir John MIllais (1829-1896)

The Good Shepherd by Warner Sallman (1892-1968)

The Good Shepherd (Unknown Artist)

The Good Shepherd by Del Parson (1948- )

The Good Shepherd by James Tissot (1836-1902)

Be Not Afraid by Greg Olsen (1958- )

You can find a Jesus the Good Shepherd coloring page here.