Matthew 9:36. “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”
This verse gives us a glimpse into the heart of Jesus.
Have you ever been “moved with compassion”? I had to look up the word, because I think it’s important. The Greek word is a doozy: splagchnizomai. It’s at moments like these that I’m glad I’m writing and not speaking. I wouldn’t want to have to pronounce that! What it means is to have the bowels yearn, to feel sympathy or pity.
This kind of deep compassion actually stirs a visceral reaction in the one who feels it. The emotion is physical, causing a feeling of distress in the gut. You can’t fake that. You either feel it or you don’t.
Jesus did. He looked on His people, Israel, as sheep with no shepherd, scattered, hungry, fainting, worn out, and cast away. Sheep need a shepherd. Without one, they tend to disperse and go their own way, becoming lost, tangling with brush or predators, going hungry because they’ve strayed from the good pasture into one that is rocky and bare.
Jesus was the Shepherd. How it must have pained Him to be right there for His sheep, and yet to go unrecognized as the Shepherd. How deep do you think that rejection went into His heart? How sad do you think He was, knowing what His sheep would endure for generations before the fullness of time would come and Israel would be restored?
Ezekiel 34: 1- 2. “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds: Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?”
Such a clear condemnation of selfish, lazy shepherds, who have little concern for the flock. There is nothing more sad, in our own day, than to see a flock scatter to the winds for lack of a shepherd.
Linda's Bible Study 
Oh, I could talk about this for hours.
In fact, I probably HAVE talked about this for hours.
Two passages should strike fear into the hirelings who try to act like shepherds over the flock of God.
Continuing in Ezekiel:
“3 You eat the choice meat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the best of the herd; but you don’t feed the sheep! 4 You don’t strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bandage the broken, bring back the outcasts or seek the lost; on the contrary, you tyrannize them with crushing force. 5 So they were scattered, without a shepherd, and became food for every wild animal — they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered around aimlessly on every mountain and hill; yes, my sheep were scattered all over the land, with no one to search for them or look after them.
7 “‘Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Adonai: 8 “As I live,” Adonai Elohim swears, “because my sheep have become prey, my sheep have become food for every wild animal, since there was no shepherd, since my shepherds didn’t look for my sheep, and instead my shepherds fed themselves but not my sheep,” 9 therefore, shepherds, hear the word of Adonai! 10 Adonai Elohim says, “I am against the shepherds. I demand that they hand my sheep back to me. I will not allow them to feed the sheep, and they won’t feed themselves either. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths; they will be food for them no longer.”
11 “‘For here is what Adonai Elohim says: “I am taking over! I will search for my sheep and look after them, myself. 12 Just as a shepherd looks after his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. 13 I will bring them back from those peoples, gather them from those countries and return them to their own land. Then I will let them feed on the mountains of Isra’el, by the streams and in all the livable places of the land. 14 I will have them feed in good pastures; their grazing ground will be on the high mountains of Isra’el. They will rest in good grazing grounds and feed in rich pastures on Isra’el’s mountains. 15 Yes, I will pasture my sheep; and I will let them rest” says Adonai Elohim. 16 “I will seek the lost, bring back the outcasts, bandage the broken, and strengthen the sick. But the fat and the strong I will destroy — I will feed them with judgment.”
17 “‘As for you, my flock,’ Adonai Elohim says this: ‘I will judge between sheep and other sheep, between rams and billy-goats. 18 Wasn’t it enough for you to feed on the best pasture and drink from the clearest water? Did you have to trample the rest of the pasture and foul the remaining water with your feet? 19 So now my sheep eat what you have trampled with your feet and drink water fouled by your feet.’ 20 Therefore here is what Adonai Elohim says to them: ‘I will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep. 21 Because you push them with your flanks and shoulders and butt all the weak ones with your horns, till you scatter them in every direction; 22 therefore I will save my flock; they will no longer be prey; and I will judge between sheep and other sheep.”
Then there’s the sister passage in Jeremiah 23:
“‘Oh no! The shepherds are destroying and scattering the sheep in my pasture!’ says Adonai. 2 Therefore this is what Adonai, the God of Isra’el, says against the shepherds who shepherd my people: ‘You have scattered my flock, driven them away and not taken care of them. So I will ‘take care of’ you because of your evil deeds,’ says Adonai. 3 ‘I myself will gather what remains of my flock from all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their homes, and they will be fruitful and increase their numbers. 4 I will appoint shepherds over them who will shepherd them; then they will no longer be afraid or disgraced; and none will be missing,’ says Adonai.”
I am angered by the behavior of “pastors” these days. They are far too interested in their own personal empire. They care more for their man-made rules than they care for people. They have elevated their personal preferences and taught them as doctrine, forsaking the fundamentals of the Faith. Oh, they will preach the occasional sermon that is doctrinally sound, but their actions put the lie to their words, so much so that I have a hard time to keep from laughing out loud during the sermon.
Jeremiah 23:2 is one of the most fearsome verses in the entire Bible. It should be a point of daily or weekly meditation during the final year in every seminary.
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You have no idea how tempted I was to post the whole passage. Decided not to because I don’t want people to be discouraged by too long a post. So thanks. These passages really speak to so many congregations today whose shepherd is no true shepherd at all.
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These puny little men are really ticking off Almighty God. And they seem completely oblivious to that reality.
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More like they think they’re doing Him a favor.
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