Ep. 192 - Sheep Without a Shepherd: Why Jesus Chose the Twelve
Mass Readings for June 14, 2026
Jesus looks upon the crowds and sees sheep without a shepherd—and in a bold move, calls and commissions the Twelve to become apostles, not just disciples. We’ll dig deep into the structural brilliance of Matthew’s Gospel, unpacking its connection to the five Mosaic books, and trace the Old Testament echoes from Ezekiel’s warning to corrupt priests all the way to Christ’s own priestly and kingly authority. Along the way, we'll make surprising connections between Jewish harvest festivals, the rebuilding of the Temple, and Peter's explosive vision for the Church. Join us as we wade into the literary, historical, and cultural streams that erupt in this pivotal moment: the sending of the first apostles as laborers into God’s harvest.
Diving deep into our Gospel we'll spend our episode looking closer at:
The intentional structure of Matthew’s Gospel mirroring the five books of Moses and the way this shapes the missionary discourse [08:12]
The direct allusion Jesus makes to Ezekiel 34 and how the condemnation of corrupt Old Testament priests shines a new light on the mission of the apostles [19:07]
The surprising reason Pharisees, not priests, exerted spiritual influence in Jesus’s time, and how this is rooted in first-century Jewish religious corruption [25:03]
How the roles of priest and shepherd converge in the figure of David and are fulfilled by Christ as both the new high priest and shepherd-king of Israel [27:23]
Why the harvest imagery in Jesus’s words would have reminded Jewish listeners of the Feast of Booths and its Second-Temple-era association with rebuilding the temple [37:00]
The instant disciples become apostles through the gift of authority—and why Scripture gives no explanation for their selection apart from Jesus’s will [43:06]
The fascinating naval roots of the Greek word for "apostle," and how this watery imagery seeps into both the makeup of the apostles and the layout of the Church itself [43:33]
The echo of Isaiah’s “come without money” in Jesus’s command to “give without pay,” revealing the radical generosity underlying the apostolic mission [48:37]
References
Matthew 9:33-34 - “The crowds marveled, saying, ‘Never was anything like this seen in Israel.’ But the Pharisees said, ‘He casts out demons by the prince of demons.’”
Matthew 9:35 - “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity.”
Matthew 9:35 forms an inclusio with Matthew 4:23 - “And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people”
Ezekiel 34:1-6 - “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ho, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the crippled you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.’”
1 Samuel 21:6 - “So the priest gave him [David] the holy bread; for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the LORD, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.”
2 Samuel 6:14-15 - “David was belted with a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord.”
Exodus 19:6 - “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
1 Peter 2:9 - “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
Ezra 3:2-4 - “They built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings upon it, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. They set the altar in its place, for fear was upon them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings upon it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. And they kept the feast of booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the ordinance, as each day required.”
2 Maccabees 1:18 - “Since on the twenty-fifth day of Chislev we shall celebrate the purification of the temple, we thought it necessary to notify you, in order that you also may celebrate the feast of booths and the feast of the fire given when Nehemiah, who built the temple and the altar, offered sacrifices.”
2 Maccabees 10:5-6 - “It happened that on the same day on which the sanctuary had been profaned by the foreigners, the purification of the sanctuary took place, that is, on the twenty-fifth day of the same month, which was Chislev. And they celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the feast of booths, remembering how not long before, during the feast of booths, they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals.”
1 Peter 2:4-5 - “Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God’s sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
“The Gospels tell us that Peter was one of the first four disciples of the Nazarene, to whom a fight was added (called Levi), complying with the custom of every Rabbi to have five disciples. When Jesus went from five disciples to twelve, the newness of his mission became evident: he was not one of the numerous rabbis but had come to gather together the eschatological Israel, symbolized by the number twelve, the number of the tribes of Israel.” (Benedict XVI 60)
“In classical Greek texts the primary meaning of the word is naval expedition or the sending out of a fleet.” (Allison and Davies 153)
“No reason is given why the twelve man named were in fact chosen. Their prior accomplishments evidently do not matter. […] What counts is Jesus’ will.” (Allison and Davies 150)
Isaiah 55:1 - “Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Bibliography
Benedict XVI. The Apostles. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2008.
Davies, W. D., and Dale C. Allison Jr. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew. International Critical Commentary. London; New York: T&T Clark International, 2004.
Giambrone, Anthony. The Bible and the Priesthood: Priestly Participation in the One Sacrifice for Sins. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2022.
Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009.
Mitch, Curtis, and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010.
Discussion Questions
The episode explains the literary structure of Matthew’s Gospel and its connection to the five books of Moses. How does recognizing this structure deepen our understanding of the Gospel message?
The shift in terminology from “disciples” to “apostles” is highlighted. What is the significance of this change, and how does the conferral of authority play a role?
According to the text, Jesus’s compassion for the crowds was because they were “like sheep without a shepherd.” How does this reference connect to Ezekiel 34, and what is the importance of this Old Testament prophecy?
In discussing the corruption of the priesthood in Jesus’s time, the role of the Pharisees is also referenced. What distinction is drawn between the priests and the Pharisees regarding spiritual leadership?
The episode draws parallels between Jesus and David, portraying Jesus as both the new high priest and shepherd. How does David’s dual role in the Old Testament prefigure Jesus?
The idea of the “harvest” and its connection to the Feast of Booths is discussed. Why would this agricultural metaphor evoke thoughts of the rebuilding of the Temple for first-century Jews?
Katie explores the concept of the “universal priesthood” in the Church, referencing both Exodus and 1 Peter. How does this concept relate to the mission of the apostles?
The original Greek meaning of the word “apostle” is explained as having naval connotations. What significance can be found in this imagery for the Church and its mission?
Jesus instructs the apostles to “go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” What theological reasons are given for this prioritization, and how does it connect to Old Testament prophecy?
The episode concludes by looking at the phrase, “You received without pay, give without pay.” How does this connect to the text of Isaiah 55 and the idea of the abundance of God’s grace for all believers?