This coming Sunday is the 22nd Sunday. So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”

In Mark 6:34 and following, Mark represents Jesus as the true shepherd of Israel. One easily hears the echo of Ezekiel 34:10 in which God promises that he himself will shepherd: “Thus says the Lord GOD: Look! I am coming against these shepherds. I will take my sheep out of their hand and put a stop to their shepherding my flock, so that these shepherds will no longer pasture them. I will deliver my flock from their mouths so it will not become their food.” While this passage is normally considered in the context of the kings of Israel and Judah, in the post-Exile period the “shepherding” of the people to the Covenant became the responsibility of the religious leaders of the nation. Continue reading →