7 Minutes June 10, 2026 – Sheep with a shepherd

Hi, I’m Pastor Lucas. Welcome to 7 Minutes.

 What would you say about our time—do we have a lack or an excess of “shepherds” willing to guide people in their spiritual journey?

I think we know the answer: we have a lot. More than we know what to do with.

But then we turn to the Gospel for this coming Sunday, Matthew 9 (I encourage you to read it in your Bible). Jesus looks at the people as “sheep without a shepherd.”

Jesus is going around, teaching and healing. In that context He feels compassion for the people who are following Him. And as far as we know, their situation was not that different from ours today—except they didn’t have YouTube or the internet to spread ideas. But they did have plenty of religious leaders. Still, in a time with no lack of spiritual voices, Jesus looks at the crowd and still sees the as ‘sheep without a shepherd’.

How so? 

The main reason is that much of the teaching of the time was disconnected from the original—disconnected from the Word of God, from what Yahweh actually said.

Think for example of Exodus 19, God reminds His people of His protection and care—how He carried them “on eagles’ wings.” Then He says, “If you obey my voice.” This is not a way of earning salvation by “doing stuff,” but the shape of life for those who already belonged to Him.

That piece was missed by many of the shepherds of the time. They knew they were the chosen people, but they mixed this with other ideas, such as “obeying the law in order to secure a good standing with God.”

Psalm 100 points in the same direction. Worship is not paying God back. It is the joyful noise of sheep who already belong to their Shepherd and live from His mercy.

What Jesus senses, then, is a lack of that Old Testament word: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” People were burdened by religious practices and rules. They had no clear voice to lead them, even with many “leaders” around.

So how do you recognize the clear Voice of the True Shepherd?

The Word has the answer. It is the one that fulfills what the Old Testament had promised. Jesus is this true Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep to bring them into the fold. Once you are in the fold, you don’t obey in order to merit anything. You obey and worship because you already belong.

Here Romans chapter 5 also helps us. We learn that salvation is God’s gift in Christ. We were weak and far away; Christ died for us, and His death forgives our sin. We don’t work our way into the flock. We are brought in by grace.

Sometimes in your life you may feel like a sheep without a shepherd—even as a Christian, and even in the midst of many voices. IN the Gospel reading, we are invited to look to the Shepherd that is true and compassionate. In Him, we come sheep with a Shepherd. And we get the privilege of sharing that knowledge. Because if not you, there is always someone near you who feels drowned in competing spiritual voices.

He is the Shepherd whose compassion does not promise a life free of trouble, but it does promise a life free from sin and full of His love, His presence, and His grace.