The first-century Jews would have caught the connection between Jesus being raised up on a cloud and what had happened in past events in Jewish history. They would have remembered the stories about Moses and his encounters with God in the desert.

Jesus took on all of our sins. When He was nailed to the cross, our sins were nailed to the cross. Jesus took on and absorbed all the anger and violence that humans are capable of.

The image of Christ, the vine, reminds us that we are loved, sustained, redeemed, and sanctified through the person of Christ and that, cut off from him, we are, quite simply, good for nothing.

A shepherd guides and protects his flock. He cares about the well-being of each one of his sheep. The Good Shepherd notices when one wanders off and is in danger of becoming lost.

God’s divine mercy has triumphed in saving humanity from eternal death. God went into the depths of human misery, all the way to dying on the cross, in order to save us from the same fate.

It is important to believe with all our hearts that Jesus has won the victory and that He has opened the gates of heaven so that God’s faithful may enter and enjoy God’s rest.