Promises to the Orchard — 1 Peter 5:1-4

Introduction

Can I trust this guy? That’s the question you’re asking this morning, isn’t it? And it’s a hard one, because you don’t really know me. You don’t know if I’ll genuinely care for you… if I’ll always tell you the truth… or if I’m more interested in impressing you than loving you.

Trust is risky, isn’t it? We’ve been lied to, sold half-truths, and let down enough times that believing what’s in front of us can bring harm to us. Yet, trust is the currency of leadership. Trust determines whether we want to listen to someone or not. Trust decides whether we’re willing to follow them or not.

And, I want you to know this morning that I don’t presume trust just because I’m on stage. I want you to know that I’m here to begin the process of earning your trust. You shouldn’t listen to or follow a pastor unless you’re convinced his top priorities are your good and Jesus’ glory, and I want to start the process of showing you that’s my heart.

I understand that’ll take time, maybe even a lot of time. And, I want to start that by making Four Promises (or Commitments) to the Orchard (headline), promises that I believe Peter shows us are meant to be embodied by the elders of a church so that they are trustworthy. If God allows me to serve as your lead pastor, I want you to measure me by these promises, and hold me to them.

God’s Word

You’ll notice that our text starts with “so.” It points us back to what Peter has just said about the need for the godly to suffer in light of the coming judgment. He’s reminding us of Ezekiel 9, when the prophet speaks of the purifying judgment coming to the house of God, and prophesies that the shepherds of God’s people will face it first. In other words, Peter is warning the elders that they are often the first to suffer for faithfulness, and that when judgment comes, they must be found faithful. Why? Because we, the elders, will be judged with greater strictness. So, at the forefront of Peter’s mind is that we, the elders, must be found trustworthy as the shepherds of God’s people.

So, I want us to see the characteristics that are to be true of the elders and frame them as a series of promises to you:

We’ll lead by “grace,” not “guilt.”

1 Peter 5:1–2 “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;”

Philippians 2:7–8 “but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Now, before I go any further, notice that I’m starting each of these promises with “we.” Leadership is never ‘I,’ it’s always ‘we.’ Peter calls himself a “fellow elder,” and “elder” is always plural in the New Testament. So, Peter includes himself in the “we” and expects elders to see themselves as a “we.” I don’t have all the answers, gifts, or expertise to lead the Orchard well. If you’re looking for the perfect pastor, you’ve found the wrong guy. That’s why there’s a “we.” Your elders have prayed over these promises, knowing it will take all of us serving faithfully together to uphold them. I want to commit to you this morning that it will always be “we” and not “me.”

When I was a teenager, my mouth got me in more trouble than anything else. James says the tongue is like a spark that sets the forest on fire, and I seemed to set fires everywhere I went. Often, it wasn’t what I said that caused trouble, but how I said it. We all know you can say the right things the wrong way, and that ruins what was right. I bet some of y’all can relate!

(Jonah had a bad attitude) This is Peter’s point about elders. His concern isn’t primarily what an elder should do, but how and why he does it. Attitude and motive are the difference between trustworthy and untrustworthy elders. Never trust a person who does a good thing from a bad motive, they will eventually turn on you. Never trust a person who does a good thing with a bad attitude, they will eventually quit on you. Trustworthiness is the result of the right actions flowing from the right reason in the right way.

So, what’s the right way? It’s the New Covenant way. The Old Covenant, under the Law, was compulsory, you had to obey whether you liked it or not. But the miracle of the New Covenant is that we are radically transformed to live the lives God calls us to live because we want to, not because we have to. It isn’t compulsory. It’s gratuitous. Grace has so transformed our hearts that it becomes the driving force of our lives. The difference between the Old and New Covenants is the distance between ‘I have to’ and ‘I get to.’ It’s the difference between duty and delight. It’s a life overflowing with grace.

New Covenant ministry embodies and displays that reality. By grace, we are changed. So, by grace, we serve. The gospel centers on a Savior who serves willingly, not reluctantly. Philippians 2 teaches us that He willingly “emptied himself by taking the form of a servant.” He willingly “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.” This example of willing servanthood defines the ministry of the elders of Jesus’ church.

So, what does this promise look like in real life? It doesn’t mean that we’ll never have difficult conversations or difficult teachings. It means that we’ll never be harsh when we do. It doesn’t mean that we’ll never call you to take up your cross or to give generously. It means that we’ll never shame you into doing it. It doesn’t mean that we’ll never call to serve sacrificially or live uncomfortably. It means that we’ll never manipulate you into doing it. We’ll lead by grace, not shame and guilt. Because grace sustains faithfulness in a way that guilt never can.

We’ll see you as “family,” not “statistics.”

1 Peter 5:2 “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;”

John 21:15–17 …He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” … He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” … Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

During the trial of Adolf Eichmann, Hannah Arendt introduced the chilling concept of the “banality of evil” — the idea that ordinary people can commit horrific acts simply by following orders without personal reflection. Around that same time, psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted his famous obedience experiments, revealing how easily individuals can harm others when they see them as mere objects or numbers, not as real human beings. Milgram’s study showed that when people are depersonalized, obedience overrides conscience, and cruelty becomes disturbingly easy. This can be summarized in the infamous Stalin quote: “One death is a tragedy. One million deaths is a statistic.”

Turning people into statistics dehumanizes them. It strips away their dignity as image bearers and diminishes them as God made them. When we treat people like statistics, we erase their story. Yet ministry is often tempted by this—too easily it becomes a pursuit of numbers and balance sheets. And, in the process we diminish God’s sacred stamp on each one.

This dehumanization lies behind the “shameful gain” Peter warns of. It’s treating people as means to our own ends. Too often, in Israel’s history and ours, congregations have become the means by which shepherds seek wealth, power, or prominence.

But Jesus led differently, didn’t He? He’s the Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to rescue the one. In a crowd, He ministered personally to the woman bleeding for years. He served every person with the “eagerness” of a Father caring for his son. Peter knew this well. After the resurrection, Jesus went to Peter personally and restored him. Think of how personal this is. Three extremely personal questions: “Do you love me?” Three times Peter answered yes, and three times Jesus emphasized how personally Peter was to now care for Jesus’ people: “Feed my lambs… tend my sheep… feed my sheep.”

Jesus was teaching Peter what shepherds should be, and now Peter teaches us: God’s people are not means to an end or a platform for agendas. They are siblings, not stepping stones. They are family, and our ministry’s passion and “eagerness” must reflect that reality. You see, love — personal, deep, humanizing — love is the bridge that carries us from shameful ambition into eager service. It’s the difference between business and family. It’s the difference between Jesus and the wolf.

Leadership in the way of Jesus isn’t an opportunity to build up a platform. Leadership in the way of Jesus is an opportunity to lay down your life for the good of others. Jesus teaches us to view leadership as a stewardship for the good of those entrusted to our care. And so, the promise that I want to make to you this morning is not that we’ll always make the right decision or that we’ll never make a mistake. I’m going to let you down. Our elders are going to let you down. The promise that I want to make to you this morning is that whatever decision we make will always have your best interests at heart and not our own platform or agendas. You will never be reduced to a number here.

We’ll “shepherd,” not “push.”

1 Peter 5:3 “not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”

Mark 10:42–44 “And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”

John 13:14–15 “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”

When Peter says that elders are not to be “domineering over those in (their) charge,” but to be “examples to the flock,” he reminds us that there are two ways to think of leadership. The first is to stand behind the flock and yell at it—trying to intimidate and spook them into going in the right direction. More often than not, it just results in a stampede that leaves the flock wounded and scattered.

The other way of leadership is to stand in front of the flock and walk the path they need to walk so they can see the way. You guide them by your “example.” And, think of the difference: yelling is meant to drive them away from you; guiding is meant to invite them to walk along with you. This second way is the Jesus way of leadership.

Peter is likely teaching the elders of Asia Minor the same lesson Jesus taught His disciples in Mark 10. You’ll remember James and John had requested to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand in glory, much to the displeasure of the others. Jesus said “that those who are considered ruler of the Gentiles ‘lord it over them.’” The word for “lord it over” is the same as “domineering” in 1 Peter 5.

Peter is remembering that leadership in Jesus’ Kingdom isn’t about power. Leadership in Jesus’ Kingdom is about a cross. The first are last, and the last are first. He calls us to be an “example,” remembering that we are following Jesus’ “example.” Jesus didn’t just teach the values of the Kingdom, He embodied them. He exemplified them to their fullest extent Christianity is built around the incarnation of God. Love incarnate. Holiness incarnate. Justice incarnate. Joy incarnate. Jesus guided us toward the Kingdom life with His own “example.”

And so, if we’re going to lead like Jesus, if WE’RE going to lead the Orchard the way that Jesus would have it, then WE have to embody — incarnate — his values in our context as an “example.” In fact, when Peter calls elders to be “an example,” he may have in his mind another experience with Jesus. Do you remember John 13? The Son of God tied a towel around his waste and washed the filth from his disciples’ feet. And, what did he say? He said: “I have given you an “example.”

And so, my commitment to you is that I’ll lead by “example” attempting to follow Jesus’ “example.” I’ve plagarized my leadership philosophy from Jesus in John 13, and this is what I want you to expect and hold me to. You can summarize the leadership of John 13 in four words: honor first, inspire forward, teach faithfully, and love above all. I’ll use whatever influence I have to “outdo one another is showing honor,” like Jesus humbling himself beneath his disciples feet. I’ll stand in front and lead, not behind yelling, seeking to inspire anyone I can to follow after Jesus’ example. I’ll use every opportunity I have to teach, and teaching includes instruction, correction, and demonstration. And, above all, I won’t aim to impress you. I’ll aim to love you. I want you to always know that what happens to you matters to me. That’s the “example” that I believe that Peter is calling us to, and that’s the “example” I want you to hold me to. Hold me to the “example” of Jesus’ towel.

We’ll follow “Jesus,” not just “plans.”

1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

Jeremiah 23:5–6 ““Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’”

When Peter calls Jesus “the chief Shepherd,” he’s holding up Jesus as a fulfillment of prophecy. One of the chronic problems of Israel was that they had unfaithful shepherds. Every so often, there would a David or a Hezekiah or a Josiah, but for the most part the shepherds of Israel preyed upon the flock rather than protecting and feeding it. So, the Lord sent a prophecy through Jeremiah that judgment was coming upon the unfaithful shepherds of Israel and that He was sending “a righteous Branch” from David who would shepherd wisely and faithfully God’s people so that they could live in peace. And, He continues on to say that it will be the Lord himself — his name will be “the LORD is our righteousness” — who will come as the great Shepherd to lead his people to the eternal Promised Land of his Kingdom.

And so, here is Peter holding up the resurrected Christ who is seated on the throne of heaven as being “the Branch” of David” — “the chief Shepherd.” So, I’m not coming here to be the chief in charge. I’m coming here as an under-shepherd to carry out the calling of the Chief Shepherd. We all need to recognize that Jesus is the senior pastor of his Church. Jesus sets the agenda for his Church. Jesus sets the pace for his Church. The responsibility that I have, and that our elders have is to discern what God wants to do at the Orchard, and then follow after him with all of our hearts. So, whatever plans we have are held open-handed before our Lord.

And, I want to add a second promise under this heading: Because Jesus sets the agenda, we’ll never dodge anything in his word. We won’t avoid difficult teachings. We won’t dodge controversial teachings. We’ll aim to be thoughtful. We’ll aim to be systematic. But, we will be submissive to the agenda that Jesus has for us. Hold me to that!

You know, when you look up at a bright, full moon, it almost feels like it’s shining all on its own. But it’s not. The moon has no light of its own. It only reflects the light of the sun. In fact, without the sun, the moon is nothing more than a big, dark rock with nothing to offer.

That’s me as your pastor. I may stand here and offer guidance, encouragement, and truth, but it’s all borrowed light. Orchard Church, I’m not coming here to be your Savior. Jesus is your Savior, and He is sufficient. My hope is to come here to reflect his glory to you that we may together receive a crown of “unfading glory” from Him.