JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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Peter understands this passage to be speaking of Christ as the foundation stone of the
"spiritual house," the church.
Even in Matthew 16:18 where Jesus calls Peter "this rock" Jesus takes to Himself a
common title of Jehovah in the Old Testament.
BRIDEGROOM
Jehovah is pictured several times in the Hebrew Scriptures as a "bridegroom," either
implicitly or explicitly:
● "'In that day,' declares the Lord, ‘you will call Me 'My husband'" (Hos 2:16).
● "As a young man marries a maiden, they will never be silent day or night.
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you" (Isa 62:5).
Jesus began early in His ministry to depict Himself as a bridegroom. In a reply to the
Pharisees, Jesus said of Himself:
"How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot,
so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom
will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast" (Mk 2:9).
Again in "The Parable of the Foolish Virgins" Jesus is the bridegroom (Mt 25:1-13). In
that final beautific vision the church is depicted "as a bride adorned for her husband"
(Rev 21:2).
SHEPHERD
The imagery of the shepherd is found everywhere in the Old Testament:
● "The Lord is my shepherd" (Ps 23:1).
● "I Myself will be the shepherd of my sheep" (Ez 34:14).
In the New Testament we see Jesus referring to Himself as a "shepherd":
"I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep."
(Jn 10:17)
Peter calls Jesus "The Shepherd and Guardian of your souls" (1 Pe 2:25) and also "the
chief Shepherd" (5:4). The writer of the book of Hebrews also speaks of Jesus as "the great
shepherd" (Heb 13:20). That this title is unique is clear from St. John:
". . . and there shall be one flock and one shepherd" (Jn 10:16).