{"id":625,"date":"2015-04-08T12:00:18","date_gmt":"2015-04-08T12:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/?p=625"},"modified":"2015-02-26T23:06:11","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T23:06:11","slug":"matthew-935-38-the-workers-are-few-cross-reference-comparisons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/04\/matthew-935-38-the-workers-are-few-cross-reference-comparisons.html","title":{"rendered":"Matthew 9:35-38; The Workers Are Few (Cross-Reference Comparisons)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Matthew 9:36 records that when Jesus went on a preaching tour through Galilee, he found the people he met to be \u201charassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Most commentators agree that Matthew\u2019s phrasing, \u201clike sheep without a shepherd,\u201d was a deliberate allusion to similar phrasing in Numbers 27:16-17 (\u201cMay the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord\u2019s people will not be <em>like sheep without a shepherd<\/em>.\u201d), 1 Kings 22:17, (\u201cThen Micaiah answered, \u2018I saw all Israel scattered on the hills <em>like sheep without a shepherd<\/em>\u2026\u2019\u201d), and Zechariah 10:2 (\u201cThe idols speak deceitfully, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander <em>like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd<\/em>.\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>In all three of these passages, the people of Israel (\u201csheep\u201d) are found in to be a state of danger and distress that comes from either an absence of godly leadership (\u201cshepherd\u201d), or a corruption of authority placed in leaders. Eduard Schweizer explains, \u201cThe image suggests a flock that is tormented and almost totally exhausted, or is at least being led astray and neglected by careless shepherds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMatthew 9:36 thus also implies,\u201d Bible historian Craig Keener says, \u201cthat those charged with shepherding Israel, its leaders, were failing.\u201d And theologians John Walvoord and Roy Zuck add, \u201cLike sheep bothered by wolves, lying down and unable to help themselves, and having no shepherd to guide and protect them, the people were maligned by the religious leaders, helpless before them, and wandering about with no spiritual guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By connecting Israel\u2019s current circumstance with Old Testament warnings about \u201csheep without a shepherd,\u201d Matthew gave tragic commentary on the religious leaders of his day\u2014yet also offered hope for change in the person of Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/workscited.html\">Works Cited<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p>[BKB, 201; GNM, 233-234, BBC, 72; BKC, 41]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u2126\u2126\u2126<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"About: Bible Study Nerds\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/about-for-bible-study-nerds.html\">About: For Bible Study Nerds\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"About: Mike Nappa\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/about-mike-nappa.html\">About: Mike Nappa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2014 to present by\u00a0<a title=\"Nappaland Communications Inc. official website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nappaland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Nappaland Communications Inc<\/a>. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Matthew 9:36 records that when Jesus went on a preaching tour through Galilee, he found the people he met to be \u201charassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.\u201d Most commentators agree that Matthew\u2019s phrasing, \u201clike sheep without a shepherd,\u201d was a deliberate allusion to similar phrasing in Numbers 27:16-17 (\u201cMay the Lord, the God&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":571,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2],"tags":[16,282,283],"class_list":["post-625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cross-referencecomparisons","category-matthew","tag-jesus","tag-sheep","tag-shepherd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Matthew 9:35-38; The Workers Are Few (Cross-Reference Comparisons) - For Bible Study Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/04\/matthew-935-38-the-workers-are-few-cross-reference-comparisons.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matthew 9:35-38; The Workers Are Few (Cross-Reference Comparisons) - For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Matthew 9:36 records that when Jesus went on a preaching tour through Galilee, he found the people he met to be \u201charassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.\u201d Most commentators agree that Matthew\u2019s phrasing, \u201clike sheep without a shepherd,\u201d was a deliberate allusion to similar phrasing in Numbers 27:16-17 (\u201cMay the Lord, the God&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/forbiblestudynerds\/2015\/04\/matthew-935-38-the-workers-are-few-cross-reference-comparisons.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"For Bible Study Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-08T12:00:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-02-26T23:06:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mike Nappa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Matthew 9:35-38; 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He's a former youth pastor who shepherded kids on staff at Chuck Swindoll's church in Southern California\u2014and he's a bestselling and award-winning author with more than a million copies of his books sold worldwide. Plus, he holds a degree in Christian Education with an emphasis in Bible Theology. So, you know, he\u2019s got that going for him. Mike is also a pop culture dork who watches too much TV, reads too many comic books, utters too many bad words, laughs at all the wrong jokes, and often gets in trouble because he says whatever he happens to be thinking at the moment\u2014like quoting an R-rated movie in the middle of a sermon. Yeah, he\u2019s a mess (just like you!), but he kind of likes it that way. Most of all, Mike Nappa loves Jesus, and he figures that covers over a multitude of sins. 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