Comment on a Lectionary Reading Matthew 9.35-10.8

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Matthew 9:35–10:8

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In this reading we see Jesus sending out His apostles to ‘the lost sheep of the house of Israel’. It is important to see clearly the motivation for this mission: ‘When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.’ The plight of sheep without a shepherd has been a rather significant theme for me. And that is because it has something very important to say to churches today.

You can find the biblical theme of God as shepherd to His people quite easily. There is the familiar Psalm 23 that begins, ‘The LORD is my shepherd’. Psalm 80 sounds that same note: ‘Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock.’ The New Testament picks up on this. Consider what Peter says to some saints. ‘For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.’ (1 Peter 2:25) Jesus takes upon Himself the title of the Good Shepherd in John 10, implying that the previous references in the Psalms and elsewhere were pointing forward to Him. 

But Jesus is not alone in being a shepherd to His people both in the Old Testament and in the New. Others were also called to shepherd the flock of God. Again, from Peter.

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly… 1 Peter 5:1–2

Similarly, there were those in the Jewish days of the Church who were likewise to ‘shepherd the flock of God’. What we find, sadly, is that they had failed. Consider these words of God spoken some centuries before Jesus arrived.

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered… Ezekiel 34:1–5

What we are seeing in the lectionary reading is that those who had been charged by God to shepherd His flock, the first century priests and those with them, were still failing to ‘shepherd the flock of God’. So, what does Jesus do? He sends the twelve to begin to do that work, to be shepherds of God’s flock.

That work is to continue in the Church these days. But instead of priests or apostles doing it, the work is to be done by pastors, a word which actually means shepherds. And that is where my concern comes from. Too many Christians these days are ‘harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.’ They are plagued by so much confusion about what Jesus has to say about life. And false teachers lead many astray. It seems like those words that Ezekiel was to speak to the failing shepherds of his day need to spoken to some who are likewise failing in our days. They need to be called to repent of their sinfulness and to work to imitate Jesus’ model of a good shepherd, someone who knows his sheep and is ready to sacrifice for them. This is necessary if the Church is to be revived to meet the challenging days ahead.