This title offers a comparison of the shepherd metaphor in "Matthew's Gospel" with its use in early Jewish, Christian, and Graeco-Roman writings, shedding light on "Matthew's" socio-religious location. Despite being recognized as the most 'Jewish' Gospel, many argue that "Matthew" was penned by someone who sought to distance himself from Judaism. Scholars have used diverse approaches for determining the relationship between Matthew and the variegated Judaism of the first century, but few recognize the important piece that the Evangelist's Christology - in particular the shepherd motif - brings to the puzzle of his socio-religious orientation. Wayne Baxter contends that there are distinctive tendencies in the shepherd metaphor's appropriation by non-Christ-believing Jewish and Graeco-Roman authors as well as Christ-believing authors approximately contemporary with "Matthew", which reflect distinct patterns of thought. By comparing these uses of the shepherd metaphor Baxter unearths clues about the Evangelist's socio-religious orientation.Baxter is able to use this to determines the metaphor's contribution to the overall theological framework of the Gospel, specifically, its Christology, soteriology, and the Evangelist's view of mission. Moreover, he is able to ascertain "Matthew's" socio-religious orientation, and thus, and its implications for the debate surrounding the 'parting of the ways' between Judaism and Christianity. Formerly "the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement", a book series that explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches. "The Early Christianity in Context" series, a part of JSNTS, examines the birth and development of early Christianity up to the end of the third century CE. The series places Christianity in its social, cultural, political and economic context. "European Seminar on Christian Origins" and "Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Supplement" are also part of "JSNTS".