If you are not familiar with Ezekiel 34, I encourage you to take the time to read this striking passage in the light of Jesus’ ministry and the world-wide religious and political climate today.
Below are two verses that serve as an appetizer, designed to make you hungry for the whole chapter.
Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: To the shepherds thus says the Lord God: Woe, you 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 fatted calves, but you do not feed the sheep” (Ezekiel 34:2-3).
Shepherds are leaders in business, politics, and religion. They are entrusted with the care of the people they are tasked to serve. Whether in Ezekiel’s or Jesus’ day, the shepherds were guilty of self-serving and self-dealing behavior.
One example of their actions came after Jesus healed a demonized man who was mute.
After they had gone away, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed and said, Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.
But the Pharisees were saying, By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons” (Matthew 9:32-34).
When people can’t win an argument by facts, logic, or reasoning, they often resort to an old trick: attacking the character of the speaker. There is no logic or factual basis behind the claim of the Pharisees. However, that didn’t stop them from claiming that Jesus was in league with the ruler of the demons.
As the Pharisees refused to recognize God’s purposes through the words and deeds of His Son, they showed the world their similarity to the self-serving shepherds of Ezekiel’s day. As we follow the Pharisees through the Gospels, we discover they may not have been hungry for food, but they were certainly driven by greed and a lust for power.
Shepherds Will Fail, but God Will Not
In Ezekiel’s prophecy, God tells the shepherds that He is against them. He tells the sheep that He will assume the role of shepherd and care for them.
“I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them. For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep and will sort them out” (Ezekiel 34:10-11).
When Jesus walked the dusty roads of Galilee, it was mostly populated by peasants who lived a subsistence kind of existence. Life was so difficult that they literally had to choose between feeding their families and paying taxes.
The political and religious shepherds levied taxes on them to construct cities where they would never live, and to institute temple practices that would never benefit them. As Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved deeply in His heart.
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 ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:36-38).
Jesus is the ultimate shepherd and has done the heavy lifting for all of us. Jesus alone could say, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
In the next chapter (Matthew 10), we learn that the disciples are to be shepherds. At the end of Matthew, all of Jesus’ followers are called to take up the shepherd’s role. We are to make disciples, immerse people in the life of the Trinity, and teach people what Jesus has taught us (Matthew 28:19-20).
As followers of Jesus, we are to be shepherds with two distinctive traits:
(1) We are not to resemble the shepherds who feed themselves and take advantage of the flock. We are to resemble the Good Shepherd and live like Him in self-giving love.
(2) We are to pray for more shepherds, because the need is so great.
YouTube Discussion
Once again, I had video difficulties and had to re-record the video for today. Tomorrow, Bruce Kirby and Rudy Ross will join me for a discussion of the Bible passage. Unfortunately, I will be the only speaker today.
Real Voices 