Sheep without a Shepherd explains believers as sheep, God’s pastoring of His people, and bad shepherd warnings.

This concept describes people without spiritual direction and guidance. Specifically, this direction and guidance is to rebuke what they do wrong in God’s sight, and exhort them to do what is God’s will. The imagery communicates sheep in a state of vulnerability, confusion, and lack of God’s guidance. Also it conveys the need of godly leadership as well as the danger of spiritual neglect. The imagery stresses the priority of pursuing God and what is celestial, spiritual, that has lasting value into eternity. — Biblehub.com
The link between spiritual oversight and the local church, specifically a good pastor cannot be emphasize enough.
A false prophet which takes on himself the office of shepherd or pastor without the calling of God is an illegitimate shepherd, and equivalent to having no shepherd. (Shepherd and pastor are the identical concept) A shepherd or a pastor is a spiritual leader, but also a governor. Mat 2:6; Psa 78:52; 2 Sam 5:2 Saul over Israel; Psa 77:20 led your people like a flock by Moses and Aaron. Nahum 3:18 King of Assyria… sleeping… lying down… scattered… no one to regather them
The Imagery of the Saved as Sheep
• Psa 95:7 “we are the people of his pasture, the sheep of his land. Today, if you hear his voice.”
• Psa 79:13 we… sheep of thy pasture.
• Psa 74:1 your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture
• Psa 23:1 The Lord is my Shepherd. Mat 11:28 come to me… I will give you rest
• Psa 100:3 acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture
• Eze 34:30-31 ye are my flock, the sheep of my pasture
• Rev 7:17 the Lamb… will be their shepherd, and he will guide them
• John 10:15 I lay down my life for the sheep
• Mat 15:24 Christ was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel
Sheep without a Shepherd naturally go astray
• Sheep naturally go astray Isa 53:6.
• Sheep are threatened in the world Mat 10:16.
• Psa 119:176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep – forgetting God’s commandments are how a person goes astray spirituall.
Sheep without a Shepherd
• Jesus laments the lack of shepherds over His flock Mat 9:36; 6:34; Mark 6:34.
• 2 Chron 18:16; 1 Kings 22:17; Num 27:15-17; Zech 10:2; Eze 34:5-8 (Eze 34:1-31).
• The only “good shepherd” is Jesus Christ. John 10:14; 10:11-18; Heb 13:20. All legitimate pastors are under shepherds under the Prince of the Shepherds, Jesus Christ. 1 Pet 5:4 when the Chief Shepherd appears. 1 Pet 2:25 returned to the Shepherd and verseer of your souls.
• Satan strikes to remove, corrupt, or otherwise neutralize a good shepherds work. Mat 7:15; 26:31; Mark 14:27; Zech 13:7.
Hearing and obeying the Voice of the Shepherd is what makes one a sheep of his flock
• John 10:14 I know my own sheep, and they know me.
• John 10:26-28 my sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life.
• John 10:3-4 the sheep recognize his voice and come to him
• Mat 25:32-34 Sheep… Come… inherit the kingdom prepared for you
• Luke 12:32 little flock… give you the kingdom
God’s desire is that His Sheep have a Good Shepherd
• Micah 2:12 God desires to gather his sheep under spiritual watchcare of a good shepherd..
• Eccl 12:11 words of the wise… are given by one Shepherd.
• Eze 34:12 God’s will is that Shepherds seek lost sheep to bring them under spiritual watchcare.
• Isa 13:14 scattered sheep will do what they think is right, which is many times wrong because of their lack of understanding and knowledge.
• Luke 15:4-7 illustration of leaving 99 sheep to seek after one lost sheep
A shepherd feeds his flock with the Word of God
• Jer 3:15 I will give you pastors… shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
A shepherd sacrifices for his sheep
• John 10:10-11 contrasts a hireling with the good shepherd. He intercedes and sacrifices for his sheep even to laying down his own life for them.
• John 10:15 I sacrifice my life for the sheep
• Isa 53:5-7 he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins beaten… whipped…
Bad Shepherds lead the Sheep Astray
• Jer 50:6 bad shepherds have led them astray.
• Jer 23:1 bad pastors destroy and scatter God’s flock.
• False prophets pretend to be good sheep. Mat 7:15.
• Bad shepherds make financial gain from destroying the sheep, go unpunished, have no pity on them Zech 11:1-17.
• Jer 2:8; 12:10; Isa 56:11 greedy… not satisfied.. shepherds have no understanding… turn to their own way.. unjust gain
• Eze 34:2-10 feeding themselves… eat the fat… sickly not strengthened… the diseased not healed… broken not bound up… scattered not brought back… nor sought the lost.. with force and severity have you dominated them.
A Good Shepherd will care for the sheep with tenderness.
• Isa 40:10-11. he tends his flock like a shepherd
• Spiritual growth through peace is God’s objective for sheep. Psa 23.
• The shepherd will seek out the sheep Eze 34:11.
• Jer 31:10