Of False Shepherds and Desperate Sheep - Reflections on Ez 34:11-16, 20-24, 26th Sunday after Pent

by John C. Holbert on Saturday, September 19, 2026

         Seldom does a preacher find in two lectionary texts such obvious connections than we see on this Reign of Christ Sunday. The Hebrew Bible text is from Ezekiel, where the prophet warns the leaders of Israel, calling them “false shepherds,” about the nation’s downfall due primarily to these bad kings that have led Israel astray from YHWH. And the New Testament text is the famous Matthew 25:31-46, where an enormous assembly of nations (or “Gentiles”) stands before the Son of Man (or perhaps better “the human one”) to discover whether they, in their lives, have been good sheep or bad goats. Ezekiel says, “I (YHWH God) will judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats” (Ez.34:17), while Matthew describes a scene of judgment that follows the same path—a division between sheep and goats. Though the texts have important similarities, there are obvious differences; each possesses its own literary integrity.

         The historical context of Ezekiel has been the source of considerable scholarly dispute over the years. The majority of readers have come down on the conviction that Ezekiel was carted off to Babylonian exile during the first assault of the Babylonians in 597BCE. Thus, it is surmised that the bulk of Ezekiel’s prophetic work occurred from Babylon, after his life in Judah ended. Thus, if that is a reasonable conclusion, Ezekiel’s accusation that the kings of Israel and Judah have been “false shepherds,” leading the sheep of Israel astray, is a post facto one. That is, he has witnessed the end of Judah, and has seen the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, try to rebel against his Babylonian overlords, and as a result has seen the hapless king blinded by Nebuchadnezzar’s army, right after he has watched while that army murdered his children. Zedekiah, now blind and helpless, joins Ezekiel in exile to live out his days in shame. 

         The metaphor of shepherd and sheep is hardly original with Ezekiel; in the ancient world of Israel and Judah sheep were among the most important elements of that society’s economic life, providing food, cloth from wool, and other body parts, all of which could be used in one way or another. The sheep/shepherd metaphor is a somewhat slippery one for the prophet. At first, Ezekiel is admonished by YHWH to speak against the false shepherds, who are mainly the kings of Israel: “Mortal (lit. “Son of Man”), prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: Thus says YHWH God: look! You shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves. Should not shepherds feed the sheep” (Ez.34:1-2)? 

         The accusations against these terrible shepherds are quite direct: “You eat the fat, and clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the fatlings, but do not feed the sheep! You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound the injured, you have not brought back the strays, you have not sought the lost, but instead have ruled with harsh power” (Ez.34:3-4). As a result of this horrifying behavior from the false shepherds, the sheep “were scattered, because there (finally) was no shepherd. And because they were scattered, the sheep became food for all wild animals” (Ez.34:5). Of course, the actions of bad shepherds have been repeated quite literally for centuries of sheep herding, when flocks were lost and strayed, and devoured by the beasts of the field. But here Ezekiel extends the common wisdom of the community concerning the poor shepherds always among them to the kings of the land who have performed their leadership just as poorly as any actual bad shepherds have done.

         And now, because the shepherds of Israel have allowed the sheep to be scattered in exile and swallowed up by the power of Babylon, YHWH will now play the role of shepherd abrogated by the false shepherds of Israel and Judah. “I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out—I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land” (Ez.34:11-13). YHWH has not forgotten the lost sheep of Israel/Judah in their exile and vows to return them to their lost land, a land lost due to the false shepherds who failed to play the role of shepherd assigned to them by YHWH. 

         As I noted above, Ezekiel uses the sheep/shepherd metaphor rather differently in vss17ff. “As for you, my flock, says YHWH God, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats” (Ez.34:17). Now the shepherd/kings have been reduced to members of the flock of Israel, and shall be judged by YHWH, because the ruling class has acted abominably with the sheep given to their care. “Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread with your feet the remainder of the pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? Then must my sheep eat what you have fouled with your feet, and drink what you have polluted with your feet” (Ez.34:18-19)? Here the kings of Israel/ Judah are merely sheep, fouling and polluting the fields and water so that the sheep of YHWH are starved and brutalized and scattered.

         In the end, YHWH will “set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them; he shall feed them and be their shepherd” (Ez.34:23). It is always somewhat jarring to read that David will now be the shepherd of Israel, some four centuries after his death. Moreover, the tales from 1 and 2 Samuel that we have of David are hardly conducive to a portrait of a benevolent leader, who is to be the great shepherd of Israel henceforth. But we must recognize that the figure of David in the intervening years has evolved into one of greatness and delight, leaving behind the sordid stories of the man in those books of Samuel. David has now become the very model of Israel’s shepherd, and he will replace these false shepherds who have led Israel astray. Is it any wonder that when Jesus rides into Jerusalem on that famous donkey, the crowds shout “Hosanna to the son of David!” The memory of David’s power and superb leadership of Israel spills over into so many facets of the ongoing life of Israel and into the life of Jesus of Nazareth, too. 

         Finally, it is YHWH who will judge the sheep of YHWH’s flock, creating once again the flock of God, no longer starved, brutalized, and scattered. The earthly leaders have utterly failed as shepherds, so YHWH must step in to lead them as only YHWH can. Is this not a metaphor for our own time, as earthly leaders show themselves completely incapable of true leadership, and we cry out for the help of God to feed, protect, and help us in our vast needs?