1 Peter 5:1-5 - Shepherds and their flocks

We’re going to hop back into 1 Peter 5:1-5 today. We will be going through chapter 5. It has been awhile, but if you remember it has been a lot of Peter exhorting to the people on how to live for Christ, the suffering that comes from being a follower, and the motivation to persevere comes from looking forward to the day of glory when we stand in the face of God.

Here in chapter 5 it’s focused mostly on how the leaders of a church should act as shepherds and how the younger ones are to respect the leaders. In a congregation like ours, we have many that serve and lead in some way in this church.

Let’s start out by going over the first few verses.

1 Peter 5:1–2 NLT

1 And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: 2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.

First, what is an elder? Scholars believe this term to be from Jewish tradition. It’s a common term used in the Old Testament. In the New Testament an elder is often referred to as a leader in the church. There’s no specific age set to be an elder. The biggest thing really seems to be maturity, and typically maturity comes with age, so that’s why we usually see an elder being a little older, but the Bible doesn’t really specify an age. Just to elaborate on that topic for general knowledge, the only time we see an age applied in any form is in the Old Testament on the tribe of the Levites. The Levites were the tribe with the right to become Priests. And in the book of Numbers chapter 4 you can read how the age limit was 30 years old to become a priest. No reason is given for the age limit, we can only assume it has to do with maturity.

So as a leader in the church, Peter appeals what they are to do and their attitude they should have for these responsibilities. Peter knows all about being an elder, because he is an elder himself. He was appointed as an elder in many of the churches he visited. And obviously as an apostle, he definitely has the credentials to give exhortation to the leaders, but as we see here he levels himself with them and makes a request, even though he could try to act much more authoritative towards them. He doesn’t say “as an apostle I command you”. He says as a “Fellow elder, I appeal to you”. Humility is a huge part in leadership, and he demonstrates humility here.

So Peter’s request to the elders is to watch over the others in the congregation, or the flock, like a shepherd. The word pastor comes from New Testament imagery of a shepherd pasturing his flock, watching over them as they graze. That is the main purpose of an elder in a church. We know the ultimate purpose for everyone in life is to glorify God, so for those that have more life experience and more knowledge of God through his Word, they are to help guide the younger ones. It’s a big responsibility. And when you acknowledge the fact that God is sovereign, the responsibility for the ones you know should feel even more serious, because as pointed out in verse 2, the flock is not a group of people that stumbled into your church or your life by accident. God entrusted them to you. God placed the flock into your life for a reason. Our church and every other church that gathers in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, does so because of a divine appointment that God set. Everyone in this room is here for a reason, not by mistake.

Another verse that uses verbiage to clarify once again the importance is Acts 20:28

Acts 20:28 NLT

28 “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.

How do you guard your heart, protect the flock entrusted to you and feed them? It’s all through the word of God and prayer. The word of God is the source, it’s the sustenance to keep us all going. And the flock that has been appointed to you, was bought with the highest price, the blood of Christ.

So elders are to care for the flock, which God has gathered by his grace, and the attitude elders are to have is a willing heart in service to the flock. Every leader in the church must serve willingly. If we are not and we are doing it solely for any other reason than to glorify and serve God, then we are doing it for the wrong reason. Being an elder, pastor, overseer, or some sort of leader in a church is not some requirement to be a faithful follower of Christ. Peter is not saying when you join your church you are part of the flock and eventually you move up the chain to be a leader because that’s how you display faith and maturity. All elders should be mature and serve willingly, but all mature and willing members of a church do not have to be an elder.

There are many other scriptures that talk about the elders of a church, and they are very consistent in terms of what’s expected. I want to read one more passage that paints a clearer picture on what exactly the character of an elder looks like.

Titus 1:6–9 NLT

6 An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. 7 A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. 8 Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. 9 He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.

There are a lot of expectations, you must be spiritually mature. There’s actually one verse in 1 Timothy that says you can’t be a recent convert. Not because they’re not a christian, but because this role requires spiritual maturity. As I read these verses to you all, looking at what a true leader in a church looks like, I stand here thinking to myself I’ve got a lot to work on. This list of requirements is because as a leader people are looking to you for guidance through your speech and actions, and you do not want younger believer to be led astray by someone they believe to be a leader but is not.

Let’s continue on through the next few verses:

1 Peter 5:3–5 NLT

3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 4 And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor. 5 In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

In the body of Christ, no one is greater than another. You can read that throughout scripture, and here we see that as well where Peter talks about the leaders of a church and the non-leaders, but he says to the leaders “Don’t lord it over those assigned to your care.” Now Peter was a great example of this a few verses back, which we pointed out, where he didn’t lord himself over these elders by playing the Apostle card. He used the verbiage “Fellow elder.” Everything an elder does for the flock is an attempt to point them closer to Christ. They are not the real ones in charge. They are no greater than anyone else in the body of Christ. They are not to do it so others will look up to themselves. The reward isn’t found here on earth, anyone who is looking for the reward here would not be following one of the requirements Peter specified at the beginning, do it willingly, not for dishonest gain. Your reward is described in verse 4 “when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.” The Great Shepherd is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the reward is something you will not find in this world. We’re going to do some math real quick, these might sound silly but they are legitimate math problems, Anyone know what infinity + 1 is? It’s infinity. What about infinity + 1 trillion? It’s infinity! Any finite number added to infinity is negligible, it doesn’t matter. Anything we could ever receive on earth is negligible compared to what we’ll inherit as followers of Christ. We can’t even fully comprehend it.

Now, we’ve been talking a lot about the elders of a church. Now what about those who are not elders? Be teachable, having a willing heart to accept instruction and look to the elders as examples. Accept their authority. Now sometimes accepting someone’s authority might sound painful, depending on who it is. But within this context, assuming the elder is someone who is truly acting as an elder should, accepting authority will not be painful. You will not feel inferior, you will have respect and want their guidance as you seek to be closer to Christ. Because they themselves will be acting Christ-like, and you will witness that by the good fruit they bear.

One of the biggest hindrances to someone leading effectively and at the same time someone accepting authority, is pride. It is a deadly sin. And I think that’s why Peter here reminds them of this. He spoke of the elders, then spoke of the rest of the flock, and now he addresses the whole body of Christ “all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another”

And he quotes what many believe to be Proverbs 3:34

Proverbs 3:34 NLT

34 The Lord mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble.

The only one worthy of praise is the Lord Jesus Christ. The second we try to get in the way of that, seeking our own praise, we’ve lost sight of who we’re serving. Think of the scriptures where the Pharisees prayed or gave money to get attention, Jesus said “they have received their reward in full.” Human attention, a negligible value in the end, is the reward of the proud who “serve” the Lord for their own attention and gain. It is God’s desire for his followers to remain humble and our reward for serving the Great Shepherd will be “a crown of never-ending glory and honor.”