Shepherds, Sheep, and Humility

Bible Passage: 1 Peter 5:1-5

It would seem that the end of 1 Peter chapter 4 would be appropriate as the last word for all Peter has been saying to the Saints who live in refining exile, purified through suffering.  The letter could easily close with 1 Peter 4:19 (NLT):

19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.

But surprisingly this is not the end, Peter has more to say.  He now finds it necessary to speak to the church body and give some final instructions.  He begins with those in leadership before speaking to the rest of the congregation, he wants to talk with the Pastor.

1 Therefore I exhort the Elders among you as a fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory that is to be revealed. 2 Shepherd the flock of God among you exercising oversight, not by compulsion but willingly as God would have you do, not in fondness of dishonest gain but eagerly 3 and not as exercising dominion over your portion but being an example for the flock.  4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears  you will receive the unfading crown of glory.  5 Likewise, you who are younger be subject to the elders.  All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Peter speaks to Pastors as a pier.  He is a fellow elder, one who also has been called to shepherd God’s people.  He was with Jesus from the beginning all the way to Calvary.  He saw the empty tomb and met the resurrected Lord afterward. 

So what are his words of wisdom for those in leadership?

Shepherd the flock among you

Pastors do the work of a shepherd in caring for the flock.  When I think of my role as Pastor, my thoughts go to Psalm 23 where David describes what a good shepherd does for his flock.  For example,

· The sheep are satisfied and not in want.  Through the instruction and teaching of God’s Word, God’s people learn to live with contentment.  They are satisfied in Him.

· The shepherd leads them to rest in green pastures and beside still waters.  Sheep are easily distracted and fearful, so a good shepherd leads them to a place of rest and refreshment in Christ.

· The shepherd shows them the way to go, the way of righteousness, and when they stumble, he encourages and restores their soul.

· When they walk through troubling times, the valley of death David calls it, the shepherd walks with them giving courage and strength.

· When correction is needed, he provides it.  Not with harshness, but with firm guidance, gentleness, grace, and love.

Now I know that Psalm 23 describes how God cares for us.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd and fulfills in a wonderful way all that is described in the Psalm.  But as Pastor, Psalm 23 shows me the depth of devotion and the proper commitment I’m to have if I want to follow in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd.

Teaching God’s people God’s Word and instructing them in the way they are to go is at the top of a Pastor’s list of duties.  But there is more to it than speaking and preaching.  The Pastor is to be an example of righteousness, good behavior, and proper attitudes which the flock can follow. 

The job of pastoring is challenging, difficult at times, and something he cannot do alone but only with the help of the Lord.  But it is a necessary job because God’s people need to be shepherded. 

What is encouraging for Pastors is that the welfare of the sheep does not begin and end with him.  The work that we do is first and most importantly the work of God through His Spirit in your life.  You are His sheep, not my sheep.  Psalm 95:7 says, “we are the People of God’s pasture, the sheep of his hand” and first verse of Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my Shepherd”.  First and foremost, the Lord is the one who cares for his people, leads us, and loves us always.  In Ezekiel 34:11–16 (ESV) we read,

11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out ... and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them …, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights … shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

For me, the position of Pastor is to serve the congregation by being his hands and feet and voice, as the Lord leads and the need requires. 

So what does Peter tell Pastors to do in these final words of First Peter?

Shepherd The Flock

1 Therefore I exhort the Elders among you as a fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory that is to be revealed. 2 Shepherd the flock of God among you exercising oversight,

Peter knows what it means to shepherd God’s people.  He learned through suffering.  As a fellow elder, he has something to teach us. Peter was a witness to all that Jesus said and did and endured.  One day, Jesus gave Simon a new name and said, “you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). Boy, talk about getting big head and being puffed up inside, Peter must have felt like the most important disciple of them all.  Curious that after this event, the disciples began to argue with one another about who is the greatest among them.  But on the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter in anger and fear denied three times that he knew the Lord.  How could a leadership role remain with someone who cursed about knowing Jesus and denying it? 

After the resurrection, Peter must have felt shame and that he had failed the Lord.  Peter seems to have lost any interest in leading others.  A week or two after the disciples met and saw the resurrected Lord, Peter, feeling that he had no more to offer others told the group, “I am going fishing”.  Several followed and went with him.  They fished all night on the lake of Galilee and caught nothing.  The next morning Jesus met them from the shore and miraculously granted them a great catch of fish.  The fishermen brought in the catch and ate breakfast with Jesus.  After the meal, Jesus asked Peter a question.  Three times he asked the same question – “Peter, do you love me”.  And each time Peter said, yes Lord you know I love you.  After each question, Jesus gave Peter a command, a calling, “Feed my sheep”, “Feed my lambs”.  The position of Pastor is one that God calls a person to do.  He gladly uses the humble and broken to serve as shepherds over His flock.  The Pastor is to care for them, love them, and serve them by exercising oversight.  He is to be attentive to the ones God brings to him.

Verses 2 and 3 give more detail about how a leader is to lead:

2 Shepherd the flock of God among you exercising oversight, not by compulsion but willingly as God would have you do, not in fondness of dishonest gain but eagerly 3 and not as exercising dominion over your portion but being an example for the flock.

The main job is to exercise oversight.  Keep your eye on the flock.  It is an exercise requiring a daily routine.  It begins with prayer.  Pray for the flock.  Then be prepared.  Prepare to teach and instruct God’s people.  The Pastor is to labor with them for the kingdom, to be with them as they journey through this land of darkness.  As Paul instructed Timothy, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and understanding” (2 Timothy 4:2).

1. Serve Willingly, Not by Compulsion

After a while, every job can become a chore done only out of duty and obligation.  Shepherding is the same.  Serving others and putting the needs of others above your own can sometimes become a thankless job and wearisome.  A pastor may find himself doing the job but without a smile, without joy.  But performing your duty out of obligation lacks the most important ingredient needed in order for God’s people to flourish:  Love.  C.S. Lewis put it, Duty is only a substitute for love (of God and other people).”

When a Pastor finds himself doing out of duty instead of doing out of love, it is time to look deep in the heart, search for unmet expectations, identify any love of idols lurking in the dark corners of your heart, then repent knowing that God has called you to a task and the task is to serve Him out of love, love for God and love for God’s people.

To serve willingly requires you to be honest with yourself and recognize when you are unwilling if it pops up.  Find your way back to love others and let it flow out of recognition of how much God loves those you have been sent to serve as a shepherd and let His love for them overtake you instead of duty.

2. Serve Eagerly, Not in Fondness of Dishonest Gain

When Peter wrote this letter there were many travelling preachers who were in it just for the money or for free room and board local churches often gave to visiting preachers.  We know them by their fruits.  Are they lovers of self?  Lovers of money?  Or do they have the heart to serve, even at their own expense?

Church has become big business in many places.  Success is measured by the numbers who attend and the size of the church’s bank account.  Even in our small community we see it happening.  There is a church, not too far away, that over my years here at CHCC, I have heard multiple stories of how the Pastor has mishandled funds and used them for his own purposes and wants, not for the ministry in the church and for the lost.

3. Serve as an Example to the Flock, Not as Exercising Dominion Over Your Portion

This is the hard part of the job.  It is easy to talk but harder to do.  People follow by example.  It is in doing that people see how something is done and find the courage and strength to do the same.  For a Pastor to think his only duty is to stand up front and tell others what to do and how to do it is excercising dominion over them – treating God’s people as someone to boss around. 

Jesus saw that this would be a problem in his church so he told his disciples as they bickered with one another about who is greatest, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,  27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [1]

Peter tells the Pastor not to “exercise dominion over your portion” but to be an example of righteousness and purity.

The Pastor’s Reward

4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears  you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Jesus didn’t lead begrudgingly or for personal gain but lovingly cared for, protected, and guided his people.  Those who are called to serve are expected to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.  For those who do, there is a reward – an unfading crown of glory.  So Pastor, know that as you serve, as you endure, as you keep yourself from viewing God’s work only as a duty, as you love God’s people and show yourself an example of righteous living and purity, know that one day God will reward you.  There will be a day when you stand before Him, face to face, and he says to you, “Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master”.  Then he place on your head an unfading crown of glory

Well, so much to say to Pastors.  Peter then turns to the rest of the congregation and says,

5 Likewise, you who are younger be subject to the elders.  All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

We will speak more of this next time.

Amen.

[1]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 20:25–28.