The Crowd Is Like a Sheep Without a Shepherd

At the end of matthew, chapter nine, our passage is introduced by the fact that jesus is going through all the cities and the villages. The good news is that god is establishing his reign. The crowds, however, are like sheep without a shepherd. In first kings, chapter 22, verse 17, as a result of a rout in battle, israel is described as like sheep without shepherds on the mountains. A further important piece of old testament background can be found in ezekiel, chapter 34, verses two to six, and then verses 11 to 16. There, god condemns the false shepherds of israel, the ones who have not been faithful