In this book, Wayne Baxter explores and unpacks the Shepherd Christology in the Gospel of Matthew. By examining Matthew's shepherd motif against the backdrop of the metaphor's appropriation in the biblical tradition, in the writings of Second Temple Judaism, and in the New Testament, Baxter's analysis reveals important convergences and divergences between Matthew and these three groups of authors. One the one hand, the Evangelist's shepherd motif closely echoes that of the Jewish Scriptures; on the other hand, at points Matthew's motif aligns with the trope's usage by Christ-believers over and against its deployment by Second Temple Jewish authors. Sometimes he agrees with the Second Temple writers over and against Christ-believers, and at other times he stands alone, deviating from both Second Temple Jews and Christ-believers. Baxter argues that the reason for these convergences and divergences is Matthew's high Shepherd Christology: In Jesus the messianic Shepherd, YHWH has personally returned in a dramatic way to shepherd his people, Israel.
Wayne Baxter is associate professor of New Testament and Greek at Heritage College and Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
1 Introduction Part One: The Shepherd Metaphor in Texts Related to Matthew 2 The Shepherd Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible: Of Rulers and Ruling 3 The Shepherd Metaphor in Second Temple Jewish Texts: Of Rulers and Ruling (Still) 4 The Shepherd Metaphor in the New Testament: Jesus and His Understudies Part Two: The Shepherd Metaphor in the Gospel of Matthew 5 The Shepherd as the Sign of YHWH's Fidelity to his Royal Promises 6 The Shepherd as YHWH's Royal Agent of Mercy and Compassion 7 The Shepherd as the Eschatological Judge 8 The Shepherd as Atoning Sacrifice, Resurrected Gatherer, and Rejected King Part Three: The Shepherd Metaphor: Comparisons and Considerations 9 Matthew Versus the Others 10 Matthew's Shepherd Christology: How High is High? 11 Conclusion
Wayne Baxter offers up a superb study of Matthean Christology by expounding the meaning of the shepherd imagery used to describe Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. Baxter shows with careful argumentation how that shepherd imagery, far from being innocuous, is freighted with immense Christological convictions so that Jesus shepherds Israel, his disciples, and the church in a way more fitting for one who represents and even embodies the God of Israel. -- Michael F. Bird, Ridley College
