Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—
Summary: Peter begins a passage dedicated to helping elders shepherd their flock. Why would he need to remind them of this? Shepherds are people, too.
Peter has the marvelous gift of packing volumes of information into just a few words. Today’s passage begins a sentence that is as relevant today as it was in Peter’s day. Indeed, the fact that it was relevant in Peter’s day tells us much about the human condition and the church as a human institution.
In the early days of the church, as now, there were different ways of structuring authority. Some had a single person in charge as a kind of overseer, and then various levels of authority under that person. Others, like the churches that Peter writes to, were governed by a group of people called elders. No one elder had authority over the others. Peter’s words apply equally to both types of church structures.
In the first part of this passage, Peter seems to be saying, “Do what you are supposed to do.” Watch over the flock. Why would he have to make such an obvious statement?
In an ideal world, God would provide leadership for his churches that is infallible. Elders would be people who are above reproach. Each one would be like David was as he faced Goliath. David was a shepherd who loved God and always did what was right.
Er … wait a minute. Didn’t David make some big mistakes? Didn’t he cause a plague on Israel because he counted the fighting men instead of trusting God? Isn’t he the one who fell into bed with his neighbor’s wife and then killed his neighbor? Don’t I remember something about David almost giving up when Absalom tried to take over the kingdom?
If God’s hand-picked leader over Israel could mess up that badly, how bad could an elder be?
The answer is: pretty bad.
Pastors, elders, deacons, etc. are all human. They make mistakes. They fall into temptation. They all need God’s help. Peter’s letter offers help in the form of guidance and encouragement.
Application: Each of us is responsible for something. We are each a shepherd of something or someone. Watch over your flock.
Food for Thought: If you know anything about being a shepherd, please share it.
I’m in no position to have the knowledge or wisdom of a shepherd or even a elder or deacon. I’m just happy to be a servant.
Tim,
Ultimately, we are all just servants. I think that is one of the challenges of being a shepherd; remembering that!
Being a servant is an important part of a shepherd’s job description. In fact, being a minister means to serve. Mark 10: 42 – 45. And the Lord is the greatest shepherd of all and to all (Psalm 23: 1 – 6; Jeremiah 31: 10; Micah 5: 2 – 4; John 10: 10 – 11, 14 – 15, 27; Hebrews 13: 20; Revelation 7: 17). The best Shepherd to study and imitate is Jesus.
Thank you, Rich!
Great verses about shepherding, too!
I’ve added a link to them here.
If you know anything about being a shepherd, please share it.
As a father I am shepherd of my family, as a bible study leader I was a shepherd of the members, as a manager of others in a manufacturing environment I was a shepherd. All believers in positions of authority over others are called to allow the genuine love of Jesus be seen by those who they are called to shepherd. John wrote how as a good shepherd he bought new boots for his men, praise God!
As an operations manager for a manufacturing firm with 70 operations employees. The company was failing but I could see tons of “easy fix, free” opportunities for making money and they hired me to turn it around. One of my first acts was to tell my foremen, all personnel matters would be handled by me. I was to be the shepherd of these sheep. I had lots of issues brought to me, but no matter the problem, I made sure they understood, the answer to each was to be found in Jesus. I could get away with what I did because Jesus made sure all went well. A number of my men came to know the Lord and became excellent employees. I remember there were 3 young men I had to eventually fire for drug issues. Two quit drugs, went on to join the Marine Corps and came to the plant in uniform to visit me when they got out of basic training, I felt honored. I received a letter from the third mans mother, thanking me for what I had done. Her son had stopped doing drugs, returned to church, was engaged to marry a wonderful christian girl, I attended his wedding and learned he had become a supervisor at a large electronic firm in Beaverton. As these events were taking place, the company made more money than it ever had and everyone was happy.
Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek the Kingdom of God FIRST, and all things we need will be provided for us.
We are surrounded by lost sheep, they wander around seeking happiness of this world which will never come. God has left each of us here to help them find their way. We need to study our bibles, grow in Christ and allow Him to lead us into the ministry He has planned for us, He will take care of everything.
LUKE 10:19, Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Ron,
Thank you for sharing your story. It is inspirational and very encouraging.
Thanks Ron,..I never thought of being a boss as being a shepherd,..but that’s essentially what I am now,..what a total different perspective,..
I have learned to listen to each of them,..I have learned to encourage each of them,..I have learned to instruct them,..I have learned to teach them,..I have learned to respect them,…we say a prayer before they get in the trucks and take off with their work orders for the day,..most times we stand in a circle right out on the sidewalk witnessing to the cars as they drive by,..what a blessing it is to give God all the glory and honor due Him each and every morning with these men,..sometimes it feels as if the prayers are redundant but I will not cease in that which takes place before they leave,..
Thanks again Ron for shedding some light on this shepherd subject,..even still I am a city boy with my heart out in the country,..so does that make me a city shepherd,..?
John,
What a great testimony! Your men could not start the day any better than praising God on the sidewalk with you leading the way.