A diligent shepherd goes after wandering sheep to restore them to the flock (Luke 15:3–7). In the present case the emphasis lies not on the shepherd seeking and finding the lost sheep but lies on the sheep having “returned.” Yet the emphasis also does not lie on the sheep having found their own way back; rather, it lies on their having been returned. The phrase is in the passive: they have been acted upon so as to be restored to their Shepherd. How? Christ’s suffering on Good Friday pointed these wandering sheep in the right direction so that, instead of straying in the valleys of anger or self-pity or hatred in the face of injustice, they were restored (though still perhaps imprisoned) to their great Example and Leader, Jesus Christ.
25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.