THE MINISTERING SHEPHERD IN MATTHEW 9:36
Matthew 9:36 is the second text that mentions the shepherd motif. The text reads as follows: “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’” (Matt. 9:36–38, emphasis added). The verses occur at a transition point, and scholars debate whether they more naturally relate to the previous two chapters (8–9) on the deeds of Jesus or whether they fit better with what follows, the sending out of the twelve disciples in chapter 10. In other words, is 9:36–38 primarily a conclusion to the healing narrative or an introduction to the Mission Discourse? The best solution is that the verses are transitional, both looking back to what precedes and forward to what follows. As Davies and Allison argue, “9:35–10:4 is a door that closes off one room and opens another. Structurally the pericope belongs equally to what comes before and to what comes after (as one door belongs to two rooms).”28 While this might seem like a pedantic debate, it helps readers understand the role of the shepherd motif in Matthew.
If this section is like a door, it helps us understand the shepherd motif in two ways. First, it points back to Jesus’s ministry of healing and teaching in chapters 5–9. Chapters 5–9 can be described as the shepherd-king watching his flock.29 Second, it points forward and claims that in the sending out of the disciples, Jesus is still being the shepherd. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (9:37). In many ways, this text covers everything in Matthew from chapter 5 through chapter 10 and probably up through chapter 13. The exiled king is thus reaffirmed as the ministering shepherd.
This expansive reading of shepherd also puts a little more flesh on the bones of what it means for Jesus to be the Davidic shepherd. He heals and teaches the people as the shepherd. His activity indicates both how Jesus will save them from their sins (1:21) and how he will be Immanuel to them (1:23).30 But not only that. He also authorizes his disciples to be Davidic shepherds in power. As the shepherd, he trains and empowers under-shepherds. As Willitts notes, connecting this to the sending out of the Twelve points to restoration themes.31 This text points to the need of the nation and implicitly contrasts Jesus with the current shepherds, who are not doing their job.
In Num. 27 Moses passes the leadership baton so that a new generation can take the mantle. Moses asks Yahweh to appoint a man over the congregation “who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd” (Num. 27:17, emphasis added; see also 1 Kings 22:17; 2 Chron. 18:16). This text is likely in the background for Matthew not only because of the linguistic parallels but also because a new phase is about to be introduced into Jesus’s ministry, as in Moses’s; the disciples are now to share in the management of the kingdom mission. Moses is concerned that the people will be left leaderless, and Jesus views the situation of the crowd with their current leaders and concludes that they are leaderless. The vacuum needs to be filled by the righteous Davidic shepherd and his followers.
THE MERCIFUL SHEPHERD IN MATTHEW 15:24
The third text employing the term “shepherd” is Matt. 15:24. Jesus withdraws to the district of Tyre and Sidon, where a Canaanite woman comes out, crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon” (15:22). Jesus pretty much ignores her and says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (15:24). She pleads with him again, and Jesus recognizes her faith and heals her daughter (15:28).
Three interesting details occur in this text. First, Jesus describes himself as a shepherd of “the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” but it comes in a context where someone calls him the “Son of David.” Matthew develops the theme of Jesus as the righteous Davidic shepherd by linking the woman’s statement about Jesus being the son of David and Jesus’s role as shepherd to Israel and all the nations.32 Second, the shepherd son of David claims that his mission is to the “lost sheep of the house Israel” (τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ). Willitts argues that this phrase refers to the northern tribes of Israel.33 Already Jesus had sent his disciples to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (10:6) and told them to go nowhere among the gentiles or Samaritans. The implication is that when Matthew has Jesus describe both his mission and the disciples, it centers on the reunification of the north and south. This son of David restores and mends the split kingdom by his staff.34
Third, Matthew indicates that while Jesus has a priority in his shepherding ministry, it is not exclusive. When the Canaanite woman appeals for mercy, Jesus initially is reluctant, which heightens the tension of the story, but then the son of David shows himself to be the merciful shepherd who has compassion even on gentiles. The shepherd who was sent to the lost sheep of Israel also has compassion on the gentiles who have faith. Although the mission of the son of David is first to the house of Israel, he is also merciful to those who display great faith in Israel’s king. Jesus’s activity in his exile is not only to restore the unity of Israel; he also welcomes all who are loyal to his kingship. The compassion of the shepherd will eventually lead to trouble.
THE SHEPHERD-JUDGE IN MATTHEW 25:31–46
The fourth text develops the Matthean motif of Jesus as the shepherd judge (Matt. 25:31–46). The section functions as a conclusion to the eschatological discourse of 24:1–25:46. In the larger context of Matthew, it concludes the formal teaching of Jesus that Matthew has gathered into five large blocks throughout his Gospel. The scene is one of judgment: the Son of Man sits on his throne, gathers all the nations before him, and separates the people into two groups. He places the “sheep” on his right and the “goats” on his left, just as David protected Israel and destroyed its enemies.
The focus of the text is on separation by the king, which is how the passage both begins and ends. In the middle, Matthew details why people have been divided into their respective groups. He combines three metaphors/titles here. Jesus is the Son of Man, the shepherd, and the king. The Son of Man is enthroned to exercise judgment, and he is seated on this glorious throne (25:31) and described as “the king” (25:34), but the king is also the shepherd who both gathers his people and separates/judges those who are against him. The metaphors inform each other. The shepherd is the judge, and the Son of Man is the shepherd.
The background to this text may come from Ezekiel’s extended meditation on good and evil shepherds in Ezek. 34. The chapter starts with the word of the Lord coming to Ezekiel and telling him to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel because the shepherds have been feeding themselves (34:2). They have not helped the weak, and so the sheep are scattered because they have no shepherd. The Lord pronounces judgment against the shepherds and says he is against them (34:10). Yahweh will rectify the situation by himself searching for his sheep and seeking them out (34:11). He will rescue them from the places in which they have been scattered and gather them together again. “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD” (34:15). Then in verses 17–19 he turns to his flock and speaks words from which Matthew may be drawing.
As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet? (Ezek. 34:17–19, emphasis added)
The sound of the text is appropriately similar because Jesus is the shepherd who now judges between sheep and goats. However, now the sheep are not limited to the people of Israel but include all the righteous and wise.35 The text begi
ns by castigating the current shepherds (the leaders of Israel), and then Yahweh pronounces that he will be the shepherd to regather them and feed them. Jesus has come as Yahweh’s representative to feed his people (Matt. 2:6), to send out others to teach them and guide them (9:36), and to welcome those not of Israel (15:24–28). But if they reject him, he comes with wrath. He is not only the merciful and ministering shepherd but the shepherd-judge.
THE SACRIFICIAL SHEPHERD IN MATTHEW 26:31
The final shepherd text, Matt. 26:31, is a marked quotation from Zech. 13:7.36 Contextually, it sits within the passion narrative begun in Matt. 26 and colors the rest of the narrative in shepherd imagery. The opening verses of the chapter set the stage for the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus at the hands of the Jewish leaders, thus becoming an implicit critique of their leadership. The leitmotif of Jerusalem leaders being false shepherds, which starts in chapter 2 with King Herod, comes to a climax here with the sacrificial shepherd enduring all for the sake of his sheep. This last reference to the shepherd is fitting, for the wise shepherd will ultimately gather his sheep through sacrifice (Isa. 53). The text appears as Jesus and the disciples go to the Mount of Olives and wait for Judas to betray Jesus. As they come to the Mount of Olives, Jesus reveals his foreknowledge of the situation. “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’”
The text functions on several levels. First, it reveals the shepherd protects by his own sacrifice. He guards his flock by giving himself over to the predators.37 Second, the passage speaks not only of the sacrifice of the shepherd but also of the departure of the sheep. They abandon him when he is struck. At the end of the section, Jesus says, “All this has taken place so that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” At that critical point “all the disciples left him and fled” (Matt. 26:56). Third, as Carson notes, the fulfillment quotation shows “that the disciples’ rejection, though tragic and irresponsible, does not fall outside of God’s sovereign plan.”38 Although the faithful shepherd is rejected, this is the path laid out for the Davidic messiah. Fourth, on the eschatological horizon, Willitts is right to hold that this quote points toward the restoration of Israel. “Zechariah 13:7 is taken from a discrete passage whose limits are 13:7–9. The unit has a poetic design that sets it apart from the previous section and consists of three statements. The first concerns the death of the Shepherd-King (13:7a), the second the scattering of the flock (13:7b) and the third: purification and restoration of the remnant of insignificant ones who remained in the Land (13:7c–9).”39 Through the sacrifice of the shepherd, Jesus reunites the kingdom. Though he is betrayed and left alone, he still purifies, atones for, and redeems his people.
In this story, Judas and the chief priests and scribes act as a foil to the righteous sacrificial shepherd. In Matt. 27 Judas admits that he has betrayed innocent blood, but the chief priests and the elders don’t care because they have captured the shepherd who was disturbing their flock. This story reminds readers of Jonathan, who defends David to Saul and asks his father. “Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” (1 Sam. 19:5); but Saul continues to pursue David, to end his life. So too Judas throws the pieces of silver down in the temple, and the chief priests take the money and do not put it in the treasury but buy a field with the money (Matt. 27:6–8).
The text aligns Judas with the elders of the people as worthless shepherds. The quote from Zech. 13:7 provides scriptural warrant for Jesus’s announcement that he is both coming to his death and that his disciples will abandon him. In Zechariah, the shepherd whose sheep are scattered “is one of the Judaic kings in the line of David whose rule comes to a violent end in the sixth century BC.”40 But interpreters should also connect Zech. 12:10 to chapter 13. The shepherd who is struck down is also the one “they have pierced.”
This sacrificial and struck shepherd is the messianic Davidic king who stays true to his mission while his followers all fall away. His enemies betray innocent blood, and the disciples fall away because of fear: only one shepherd turns the other cheek when he is struck and gathers his sheep. At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is the only true shepherd left standing. All other people have paid to get rid of him or flee when he is arrested. The shepherd must go to Jerusalem, where he will suffer. The text from Zechariah clarifies that this is the wise righteous shepherd who will be left alone to face the wolves of Jerusalem. David sometimes protected himself, and at other times put his life on the line for his sheep. Jesus is both like and unlike David.
The Davidic Healer
This chapter has argued that Jesus is the “living law,” the wise king who embodies the Torah during his exile, as Deuteronomy instructs the later monarchy to do. One of the ways in which the king embodies the law is by being the righteous shepherd. The second way he lives the law is by performing justice and mercy through healing. While this theme only furthers the Davidic shepherding motif, it can also be looked at separately for the sake of clarity. While Mark is more interested in presenting Jesus as an exorcist, Matthew centers on Jesus’s healing ministry, while not excluding exorcisms. As Paffenroth notes, “there are nearly three times as many occurrences of the verbs θεραπεύω [to serve, take care of, heal] and ἰάομαι [to heal] in Matthew than in Mark.”41 Additionally, Matthew summarizes Jesus’s ministry as one of “teaching” and “healing” (4:23; 9:35).
Matthew also stands apart from the other Gospels in that he links Jesus’s healing activity to the title “Son of David.” Quite a few texts exist in Matthew that tie the Davidic Son to the healing ministry of Jesus. Nine times Matthew refers to Jesus as the “son of David,” as against the three Markan times and four Lukan times.42 Five of the Matthean occurrences associate Jesus and his Davidic ancestry with healings. However, David was not explicitly known as a healer, which leaves interpreters with a question. Why would Matthew connect David with healing? Three reasons arise, two in continuity with the Davidic line, and one in discontinuity.43
First, it could be that this puts readers’ eyes on the son of David: Solomon. Solomon, the patron of wisdom (1 Kings 4:29–34) and the last great king of a united kingdom, was known as a powerful exorcist and magician.44 In the Testament of Solomon, David’s son is consistently presented as one who subdued demons. This act is regularly connected to Solomon’s wisdom (T. Sol. 3.5; 4.11; 22.1, 3). But as already noted, Matthew emphasizes healing, not exorcisms. However, it is also true that Matthew lumps exorcisms under the banner of healings in Matt. 4:23–24 when he summarizes Jesus’s ministry as “proclaiming” and “healing” in verse 23. Verse 24 expands on the healing ministry of Jesus and includes “those oppressed by demons.” When John the Baptist asks who Jesus is, Jesus claims that he is the one who fulfills Isa. 35:5–6, who heals the blind, deaf, lame, and mute (Matt. 11:2–6). In Isaiah this healer is a Davidic king. Already we have seen how the suffering servant is tied to a Davidic king. Matthew 8:16–17 makes explicit the connection between Jesus’s healing ministry and his suffering.45 In addition, the verses from Isa. 35 exist in a larger section of Isaiah where Yahweh promises Israel that he will turn their desert (exile) into a garden (kingdom). He will bring them back to Zion on a highway, and they shall come in singing (Isa. 35:8–10). Already Isaiah has said this will be accomplished by the Davidic branch who will have the spirit of wisdom on him (Isa. 11:1–2). Therefore, Matthew could stress the healing ministry of Jesus to show that he is the new son of David (Solomon) who has come to unite the kingdom and bring them back from exile.
Second, Wayne Baxter and Young Chae have argued that Matthew’s leading warrant for the use of David as a healer stems from Ezek. 34 (a further connection between shepherding and healing).46 In Ezek. 34 the son of man (Ezekiel) prophesies against the shepherds of Israel because they have not fed the sheep (Ezek. 34:2) and have neglected the flock: “The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured yo
u 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” (34:4).
Overlaying this verse onto Jesus’s ministry in Matthew seems to fit as a puzzle piece. The religious leaders of Jesus’s day are also guilty of neglecting the sick and marginalized (Matt. 9:10–13), failing to exercise compassion (12:7, 10), and exploiting the flock (23:4, 14). Ezekiel says that the people are “scattered because there was no shepherd” (34:5), and in Matt. 9:36 Jesus observes that the people are “like sheep without a shepherd.” Later in Ezek. 34 Yahweh promises that he himself will search for his sheep and seek them out (34:11). This promise is specified as the narrative continues when he says, “I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. . . . My servant David shall be prince among them” (34:23–24).
Third, a point of discontinuity also appears in relation to David as a healer. Paffenroth suggests that Jesus is contrasted and not compared with his father David in the healing episodes.47 Jesus is acclaimed the son of David both when he enters Jerusalem and when he heals the lame and the blind in the temple (21:9, 14–15). In contrast, when David conquers Jerusalem he shuns the lame and the blind. The relevant text is as follows:
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