Mk 6:34-44
34When [Jesus] disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. 36Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37He said to them in reply, “Give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?” 38He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out they said, “Five loaves and two fish.” 39So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass. 40The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties. 41Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to [his] disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all. 42They all ate and were satisfied. 43And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish. 44Those who ate [of the loaves] were five thousand men.
LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD: Though a carpenter or artisan (Greek tekton), Jesus is familiar with the nomadic life of the shepherds and the ways of the flock. Sheep are totally dependent on shepherds for protection, grazing, watering, shelter, and tending to injuries. They are considered dumb, prone to wandering and unable to find their way back to a sheepfold even when it is within sight. The helplessness of the sheep requires a good shepherd who leads the flock to places of grazing and watering, and protects the sheep from animal and human marauders. Jesus cares for his disciples with the solicitude of a good shepherd and he declares himself as such (Jn 10).
In the Gospel, Jesus’ heart is moved to pity for the people because they are like sheep without a shepherd. The people are hungry and seem to be walking aimlessly. But the comparison points to Nm 27:17 where Moses prays to the Lord to appoint a leader to take his place before he dies, lest the people “be as sheep which have no shepherd.” In Ez 34, the shepherd image is associated with wilderness: the sheep are scattered for lack of a shepherd (34:5). But God promises that he himself will look after the sheep, and he will appoint a shepherd over them.
The action of Jesus harks back to the care of the Lord for his people. The Lord is the shepherd who leads his people to green pastures and restful waters to restore their strength; he protects his people with his rod and his staff (Ps 23).