Matthew has been telling the stories of thirteen miracles, which demonstrate God's power at work in Jesus and proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God. Matthew finishes off this section with the opening words of today's Gospel passage: Jesus looks at the crowds with pity for they are harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Rather than taking immediate care of the crowds, Jesus turns to address His disciples and to speak about harvests and labourers, not about shepherds.

Then He starts the work of providing labourers for the harvest and shepherds for the sheep, by calling twelve disciples as apostles. He sends them out to work miracles of healing, and to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is at hand. In His instructions, Jesus says nothing more about sheep and shepherds, labourers and harvests. By referring to the Kingdom of God in this context, Matthew turns the picture of prostrate sheep into a parable of those who in this world are spiritually prostrate because there are not enough labourers to feed them with the harvest of God's truth and love, the core revelation of the Kingdom of God.