Mark 6:34 NLT
[34] “Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.”

How do these thoughts on compassion Jesus’ way impact those of us who function as shepherds of God’s flock? Many of us, though not pastors or leaders in the local church, have a shepherding role in the lives of others…parents of children, teachers in schools…bosses in businesses, and so on.

We need to think beyond just telling them what to do. As children of God, we are all called to follow Jesus, to imitate Him, and to be an example to others.

We are examples of Jesus to others in one of two ways, bad or good.

God had this to say about some shepherds who used their shepherding function to their own advantage…

Ezekiel 34:2-4 NLT
[2] “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? [3] You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. [4] You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.”

Jesys called these shepherds “hirelings”.

John 10:12-13 NLT
[12] “A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. [13] The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.”

There are many “hired hands” masquerading as shepherds in churches all over the world today, growing fat on the wealth they extract from the sheep, and feeding them on lies and deception. They are the ones who “steal, kill, and destroy”.

Ezekiel 34:5-6 NLT
[5] “So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. [6] They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them.”

There are serious consequences for these hireling shepherds.

Ezekiel 34:10 NLT
[10]” This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey.”

How many of these false shepherds are being exposed for what they are…big names in the Christian world but falling like bowling pins when God shows them up for what they are.

So, God sent His own Good Shepherd to find and care for His sheep.

John 10:14-15, 27-30 NLT
[14] “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, [15] just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep….
[27] My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, [29] for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. [30] The Father and I are one.”

Every human on earth is essentially a “sheep”. Throughout Scripture, people are likened to sheep. Like sheep, we are made to follow. We either stubbornly go our own way blindly following one another, or we mindlessly follow false shepherds who lead us astray. We are rebellious at heart. We have no inclination to seek after and follow the true shepherd unless, by God’s grace, our bent to go astray is changed.

Isaiah 53:6 NLT
[6] “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”

God Himself took the role of the true shepherd by coming to earth to rescue His sheep. He died to pay for their sin. He lives to care for, protect, and provide for His sheep, calling and leading them to the best pastures and the purest water.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 NLT
[11] “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. [12] I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. [13] I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. [14] Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills. [15] I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. [16] I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes—feed them justice!”

Just as God, historically, gave Israel a safe homeland, restoring the land of Israel to them and calling them home to their own pastures and quiet waters, so He calls all who belong to Jesus by faith into the safety of His kingdom and under His care.

Now, since Jesus is no longer with us as a human, He has entrusted to us, His under-shepherds, the role and task of caring for His sheep. He restored Peter to his shepherding role after Peter’s denial and betrayal of his trust in Him.

John 21:15-17 NLT
[15]”After breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. [16] Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. [17] A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

Jesus called Peter to be a shepherd in His church, a role which Peter passed on to his fellow shepherds, giving them the rule of thumb to guide them in their function and attitude towards the sheep.

1 Peter 5:2-4 NLT
[2]”Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. [3] Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. [4] And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.”

The sheep belong to Jesus, not to the under-shepherds who are accountable to Him. He appoints those whom He can trust to care for His sheep. He gives them authority to pass on His teachings, unchanged and intact, so that the sheep are fed the truth that will set and keep them free from those who would feed them unauthorised “junk food”.

Love for Jesus, our true response to His love for us, will keep us from becoming the mercenary hirelings who use the sheep to satisfy their own fleshly greed. If Jesus’ compassion for the sheep led Him to teach them “many things”, so with His appointed shepherds now, wherever we have sheep under our care, it’s up to us to be faithful to our calling. Teaching them the life and words of Jesus, the Bread of life, will heal their wounds, nourish their souls, and protect them from the toxic influence of the hirelings who have prostitued a sacred trust for their own gain.