For thus says the Lord God: Look! I myself will search for my sheep and examine them. 12 As a shepherd examines his flock while he himself is among his scattered sheep, so will I examine my sheep. I will deliver them from every place where they were scattered on the day of dark clouds. 13 I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and every inhabited place in the land. 14 In good pastures I will pasture them; on the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down on good grazing ground; in rich pastures they will be pastured on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest—oracle of the Lord God. 16 The lost I will search out, the strays I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will heal; but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them in judgment.
The words of the prophet Ezekiel help us understand that the mercy revealed in Christ is not a new idea, but a long-promised reality. Centuries before the Incarnation, God declared through Ezekiel that He Himself would come to seek His scattered sheep, tend their wounds, and restore them to safety. Some Christian denominations acknowledge this salvific action by celebrating the Sacred Heart of Jesus during the liturgical year—a devotion that highlights the tenderness and strength of Christ’s love. In Christ, this promise is fulfilled not in symbol, but in flesh.
The prophet Ezekiel speaks during one of the darkest periods in Israel’s history—the Babylonian exile. Jerusalem has been destroyed, and many of God’s people are scattered, enslaved, or despondent. In Ezekiel 34, the Lord condemns Israel’s leaders—the “shepherds” who enriched themselves while neglecting the flock—and declares that He Himself will come to shepherd His people. “For thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep” (Ezek. 34:11).
Verse 11 is both a divine promise and a prophetic foreshadowing. While not a direct reference to Jesus by name, the verse anticipates the Incarnation, when God would come in person to seek and save the lost (cf. Lk 19:10). The early Church read this passage Christologically, especially in light of Jesus’ claim: “I am the good shepherd” (Jn 10:11). What God promised to do, Jesus explicitly fulfills.
Verse 13 refers to God bringing His people back from among the nations—a reference to the Jewish Diaspora, which began with the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles and continued for centuries. Yet this verse also has eschatological significance, pointing to the time when God will gather not only Jews, but all people into His fold (cf. Jn 10:16; Rev 7:9). “I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the foreign lands…” (v. 13)
Verse 14 speaks of “rich pastures” and the “mountains of Israel,” a poetic image of divine providence and spiritual nourishment. In the New Testament, this finds its echo in Christ feeding the multitudes (Lk 9:10–17), in His “green pastures” (Ps 23), and most profoundly in the gift of Himself in the Eucharist (His Body and Blood), the true food that sustains the soul, as He said, ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world’ (Jn 6:51)..
Verses 12 and 16—in which God promises to “rescue them from every place where they were scattered” and to “seek the lost… bind up the injured”—directly parallel the language Jesus uses in Luke 15:4, where the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one lost sheep. What was once a prophetic metaphor becomes concrete reality in the life and ministry of Christ. “Thus will I tend my sheep. I will let them lie down, says the Lord God” (v. 15)
This passage is not merely about geopolitical return or earthly leadership—it reveals the heart of God. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the visible fulfillment of God’s promise to be a true Shepherd: one who knows His sheep, suffers for them, heals them, and gathers them into joy (cf. Jn 10:14–16; Rev 7:17).
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is not a late development in Christian thought—it is the fulfillment of God’s ancient promise to shepherd His people Himself, to bind their wounds, and to feed them with life-giving grace. What Ezekiel saw from afar, we now behold in Christ: the heart of a God who seeks, heals, and gathers.
Almighty God, our Shepherd and Redeemer, thank You for seeking us when we were lost and feeding us when we are hungry. Lead us into the shelter of Your Sacred Heart. Heal our wounds, strengthen our souls, and teach us to follow You with trust and gratitude. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
________________________________________
Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Orchard et al. (1953), commentary on Ezekiel 34.
- The Navarre Bible: Major Prophets, Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre (2008).
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. Chiu et al. (2018), commentary on Ezekiel.
- The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, ed. Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy (1990), commentary on Ezekiel 34.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§753, 766, 1439.
- Ezekiel 34:2–16; Psalm 23; John 10:11–16; Luke 15:3–7; Revelation 7:17; John 6:51.
Comments