At the end of the chapter the Scripture says that Jesus had compassion on all these multitudes because they were like sheep having no shepherd. What is interesting is that they had many church officials but no shepherds. The Role of a Shepherd One of the reasons that we have so much death and destruction among the people of God today is that we have been content to have church officials but not shepherds. During these days, God is raising up people who have the shepherd's heart. A shepherd is not necessarily a ruler.
Shepherds are people who care for sheep.
The wonderful thing about being a shepherd in God's Kingdom is that we are shepherds under the Great Shepherd. It is not our ultimate responsibility to hide the sheep, feed the sheep, or protect the sheep. It is our responsibility under the Great Shepherd to facilitate all of these things. Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice. We simply need to be obedient to Him and say what He says and do what He does.