One of the great images of Christianity is taken from sheep farming. That is well known. Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and his brothers, Israel in Egypt, Moses, David. All were shepherds, all cared for sheep. And all were called to greater things. David saw the Lord Yahweh as his shepherd, who led him to fields of good pasture, and whose rod and staff comforted him. And through the valley of the shadow of death, David need not fear, because the Lord was with him. And after David, the image of shepherd was used to describe the King of Israel, and especially the righteous King who was to come. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, of course, takes this image for himself. Jesus also describes himself as the good shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep. (John 10:11, 14, 15) He knows his sheep and his sheep know him. The sheep hear his voice and only follow him. And Jesus says ‘I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of his hand.’ (John 10:29) And that is why he will leave the 99 and search out the one lost sheep.
After dying for his sheep, the risen Christ restored the Apostle Peter by three times asking ‘do you love me?’, and then saying ‘Feed my lambs’, ‘Take care of my sheep’, ‘Feed my lambs’. (John 21). And then Jesus Christ returned to the Right Hand of his Father in Heaven.
The Risen Christ did not just send out the Apostle Peter as a fisher of men. Nor was Peter only sent out to make disciples. Peter was charged as a shepherd of the Lord Jesus Christ’s flock.
And so, at the end of his first letter, Peter gives some principles of shepherding. Indeed, in doing so, he does a bit of shepherding himself. True, his flock is scattered far from him. But he can and will shepherd them.
First of all in chapter 5, Peter talks to elders, presbyteroi. Now, ‘elders’ first of all means older people. There is a word for younger people, which appears in verse 5.[1] And the younger people are told to submit to their elders (~Omoi,wj( new,teroi[2]( u`pota,ghte[3] presbute,roij). And the crowd cheers. And you lot in St Thomas’ says, ‘Finally, someone saying it like it is! The younger should submit to the older'.
So here’s a newsflash. You ready for it. Drumroll… Elders are older.[4] Generally speaking, elder statesmen are just that. They are the experienced leaders of any community who have seen much, and speak from what they have seen and heard and learned, sometimes from painful experience.
It gets up my nose when a Mormon Missionary, 19 or 20 years old spotty faced and on his bicycle, fresh out of Brigham Young University, sports a badge on his shirt front and expecting me to call him ‘Elder Smith’. Come on, ‘Elder’! You might be older than my teenagers – just - but I’m twenty years older than you, and I don’t care what the badge says. Drop the title, and maybe then we’ll have a proper conversation together.
Older people run the world. And St Thomas’ cheers. But it’s true. And there is a very good reason that older people rule the world.
They have the money. Older people have the money or the assets. They’ve been working and earning for decades. They have lived long enough to inherit their money. And they’re old and they still have their money or assets. And if they aren’t good enough reasons why older people should have the money, just think of the parable of the prodigal son. The parable of the prodigal son shows the dangers of younger people having lots of unearnt money. That’s why wealthy people set up elaborate trusts, with age restrictions, to stop the money dissipating.
Older people have seen life. Every grey hair has cost you something. You oldies have experienced loss, pain, disappointment, sadness, and the hard edge of life, and have come out the other side. You are scarred, but still alive.
But there is more than being an elder than having wrinkles and a pulse. An elder is someone whom time and experience has matured. Elders are not just older people, although you have to be older to be an elder.[5] You know as well as I do that some people grow older, but not more mature. I’ve seen it, and so have you. An old person who is immature. And its not good. But Mature people, like a good violin, or good wine, are those people who have improved with age and experience. Like the current fashion in antique furniture, elders have that ‘distressed look’. Now everyone manufactures scratches to try and make the furniture look older. Because the furniture is more valuable and precious for all the bumps and wear and tear. It gives the piece character.
Well, that’s you lot. The buffets of time and the blows of experience make you valuable and precious to the church. And especially so, because of what Peter says in chapter 4 verses 17 to 19. Just come back with me to the end of 1 Peter chapter 4. In chapter 4 verse 17, Peter says that ‘it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God’. Judgment starts with us. God in this world brings the church into judgment. It can happen through royal commission, through the media, through persecution, through sickness, through lack of money, through lack of people, through lack of fruit, through some of us dying, in short, through any hardship our good Lord sends to us, which we should accept it as discipline. We are being judged by the Lord Jesus Christ, and being disciplined, so that we will not come under judgment at the end of time and be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:31-32). It’s time for judgment to begin with us, chapter 4 verse 17
And in chapter 4 verse 18, Peter said ‘it is hard for the righteous to be saved’. Jesus himself said, ‘it is hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom,’ but even more seriously ‘With man, salvation is impossible. But not with God. All things are possible with God’. It is easy to ruin souls. Any murderer or defiler, any demon or devil can do that. But it is very hard to save souls. Only God can save. Indeed, Jesus says that the trouble, or tribulation – which I believe that we are in now - If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. (Mark 13:20 NIV) And so we need elders, because of the hard, no, impossible work of leading men to salvation. Because it is hard for the righteous to be saved, we need elders.
And in chapter 4 verse 19, Peter says ‘those who suffer according to God’s will should […] continue to do good'. Not only is there suffering. Not only do we suffer in accordance to God’s secret will. But we must continue to do good in spite of the suffering. So friends we need elders.
Hard times and suffering awaits God’s household, the church. And Peter looks to the elders and addresses them. Judgment begins with God’s family and household. It is hard for the righteous to be saved. God’s family must continue to do good, So we need those older, distressed antique human beings who have been uniquely battered and shaped by suffering.
Let me talk to you older, more mature Christians, as Peter does. 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 1:
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who will share in the glory to be revealed (NIV)
There is something in seniority, in age, as a basis for leadership.[6] It falls on those who have experience, who’ve been Christian longer, who are tried and tested, to lead the flock. Peter appeals to the elders as a fellow elder. (Presbute,rouj parakalw; o` sumpresbu,teroj). He doesn’t give his edict as a Great Pontiff in an Infallible Papal Encyclical. He appeals and pleads as a colleague and fellow older person, and as someone who saw Jesus suffer. Peter has suffered, the elders have suffered, and Peter saw Jesus suffer. And so Peter gives the elders a task for their few remaining days. Verse 2:
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers… (NIV)
Shepherd the flock. The one to whom Jesus said ‘feed my sheep’, says to the elders, shepherd the flock. Look at the flock. Look at the lambs. Look after God’s household, God’s church, God’s flock. Look at the ones who are leaderless, who cannot look after themselves. Sheep are wilfull, stubborn and a bit dopey. And sheep bite. But shepherd them anyway, feed them, lead them to the good pasture, give them clean water, keep them from the wolves and lions, care for them. As long as there is strength in your arms and your legs will carry you, tend to the flock.
Now, it is true, I am an ordained presbyter, a priest of the Anglican church of Australia. I occupy the high and privileged office of presbyter. I get to shepherd the sheep of Christ. And this is a word to me, in my particular role as shepherd. It is in a very real and immediate sense a word directed to me as your teacher and pastor. Jesus says to me, through Peter, Shepherd the flock. And thank you for having me as your shepherd.
When I was ordained Priest, this was the charge given me by the Archbishop of Sydney:
‘And now again I exhort you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you remember the dignity of the high office and charge to which you were called: that is to say, to be messengers, watchmen, and stewards of the Lord: to teach and forewarn, to feed and provide for the Lord’s family; to seek for Christ’s sheep who are scattered abroad, and for his children who are surrounded by temptations in this world, that they may be saved through Christ forever. Have always therefore printed in your min how great a treasure is committed to your care. For they are the sheep of Christ, whom he bought with his death, and for whom he shed his blood. (AAPB, 609-10)
I am your pastor, your shepherd in that sense. And I thank God I have that high office. I am given to you to look over your soul, and to usher you into Christ’s Kingdom, and minister the salvation which Christ won for you. And there may be many dangerous and dark valleys between us and Christ’s kingdom.
But that doesn't let most of you off the hook. Here is what I think an elder is from Peter’s perspective. Three things. One, you are older than someone else. Tick. OK, second, you are Christian and have been so for a while, certainly longer than most. Yep, tick. Third, suffering has matured you rather than embittered you. Older, Christian for a while, Matured, not embittered, by suffering. Yep, think so. That makes you an elder. But there’s one more thing that’s required. And that’s in verse 2.
Half way through verse 2 we find the first ‘not … but’. It tells us that eldership is a choice freely taken:
not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be (NIV)
The task of eldership must be voluntarily and willingly accepted. It is not to be taken on in a forced manner, unwillingly, and out of obligation. You don’t take on the responsibilities of eldership in grudging compliance. Nor do you just graduate into it by getting old and still having a pulse. It is saying, not only am I older, but I’m the grown up. I’ve now learnt from the things I’ve been through. And these young whipper snappers in the church need me. My natural family is doing OK. And while there is always more to do, both in and out of my home, I will take on the responsibilities of serving my church family. And that responsibility must be taken willingly, voluntarily, spontaneously, deliberately, and intentionally. While you have to be older to be an elder, you don’t just become an elder by being older. You’ve got to want it, and choose it.
So, if you are older rather than younger, if you’ve been a Christian a longer time than others, and if suffering has made you more mature as a Christian, not less, and you have opted in, then here is the imperative.
‘Shepherd God’s flock’. Lead those bible study groups. Shepherd the little ones. Have a cuppa, read the bible and pray with those younger Christians. Keeping a watch over the flock, by being aware if someone is straying, bring them back.
But then the question is, how to shepherd the sheep? And that is the topic of verses 2 and 3. This is how shepherds are to shepherd the sheep. Three ways to do it, and three ways not to do it. Three nots and three buts. I’ve already talked about the first not but.
not greedy for money, but eager to serve;
As an elder in God’s church, you or I could be tempted by money. There are three things that bring ministers down, and they are the same things that bring politicians and union officials down, and premiers. Gold, girls, and grog. Sex, drugs, and money. It might be a bottle of wine. Or visiting prostitutes on the credit card. Or ministers wanting to earn more than the diocesan stipend. Godliness with contentment is great gain. Friends, some people have a successful business through running their church. They get rich and make lots of money out of it, and store up money for their retirement. Instead of shepherding the sheep, they fleece their flock. And once exposed, as it is, it becomes another reason for people rejecting God and Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel 34 warns about such shepherds in Israel.
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. (NIV)
Sadly, there are such shepherds in the church of God. Their spirit is different to that of the good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep. Rather, the flock serves these shepherds, and the flock dies for them. If they are Anglican ministers, there is the Archbishop's Professional Standards Unit. Ring them up. You need to do your part to get rid of such under shepherds. Better that these wicked shepherds get judged now and keep their salvation, then fall into the wrath of the lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, when he comes.
not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. (NIV)
Verse 3 speaks of the shepherd who does not rule harshly their heritage. Rather, he nurtures and cherishes the portion. He teaches, rebukes, corrects and trains, sure. But he also does more than that. He is an example to the flock. 'Do what I do', says the shepherd. This is how you live the Christian life.
Another part of shepherding is warning about the wolves, lions and bears. David as Shepherd killed them with his slingshots. And Peter as a shepherd reminds of a great lion wanting to munch the sheep.
8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering. (NIV)
Satan, the great devil, has human society under his sway. His influence can be seen in Religious groups which behead journalists in cold blood, and say that Jesus Christ didn’t die nor rise from the dead, or in the elements of our society which seek to silence the gospel and reserve Jesus’ Christ’s name as only a swear word. Or in the hypocrisy and false teaching within the church, which fails to protect children for its own name and hides the gospel under layers of man made tradition. Remember that according to Paul, the Antichrist sets up his seat within the Temple, which is the church (2 Thessalonians 3).
But because God is a shepherd, he cares for his flock. So we can pray when we are concerned or anxious (verse 7). Verse 7.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (NIV)
God cares about the things we care about. Is our son or daughter an unbeliever? Pray. Are we sick or lacking? Pray. Are we worried about our children or grandchildren, how we are going to pay the bills? Pray. Are we stuck in a sin and racked with guilt? Is marriage tough? Is work awful? Is church hard? Pray, because God cares for us. And he cares for us so much that he will bring us through all these trials into eternal glory. Verses 10 to 11.
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. (NIV)
This is the perseverance of the saints. Those God chose from before the foundation of the world will continue to the very end. Christ’s sheep hear his voice and come through the dangers of this world. Ultimately, Christ’s sheep will be saved, and none of his sheep will perish. They will be saved to the uttermost.
But in the end, I as a shepherd, or you as a shepherd, are just under shepherds. We might be a good shepherd. But we are not THE good shepherd. The real good shepherd is the Lord Jesus Christ. We see this in verse 4.
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (NIV)
This is a reference to Jesus Christ, the chief shepherd. Christ is the Shepherd the Old Testament promised. Yahweh says this in Ezekiel 34 verses 23 and 24.
23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. (NIV)
The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. And the name of that Lord is Jesus Christ the good shepherd. Peter has already spoken about this good shepherd, Jesus Christ, in chapter 2 verse 25. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 25:
For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (NIV)
The elders of the church, including me, are called to shepherd and oversee the church. But you and I only do so under the watchful eye of the chief shepherd. There will be reward for good shepherding work. There will be rebuke for poor shepherding work. And if you or I are a false shepherd, Jesus Christ in his coming judgment will cut us to pieces, and assign us a place with unbelievers. Because his flock is precious to him. He died for it.
But even if the under shepherds are actually wolves in sheeps clothing, Christ will still bring his sheep through it all. For Christ is the chief shepherd. And he will not fail to save his sheep. In chapter 10 of John’s gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ makes this clear, where Jesus declares:
11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me- 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. And the name of that Chief Shepherd is Jesus Christ, who layed down his life for the sheep.
Let’s pray.
[1] new,teroi is Adj, Masculine Nominative Comparative Plural : neÅterow is the comparative of n¡ow young, youthful, meaning younger: LSJ.
[2] Nom as Voc
[3] APImpv2P u`pota,ssw (1) active subject, bring under firm control, subordinate; (2) passive with a middle sense; (a) have to submit; (b) be submissive, obey, subject oneself: Friberg
[4] ‘Age is still a general qualification for the officel the oridingal sense of elder is not quite extinct. But presbuteros is distinctly used not only as an official designation, but as a personal title (here and in 2 and 3 John)’: Bigg, Peter & Jude, 183.
[5] ‘I am assuming that “elders” refers not simply to “the older people among you” but to leaders who are likely to be drawn from among those who are older.’: Green, 1 Peter: 2 Horizons, 162 fn 25. ‘elders […] here denotes the officials who acted as pastoral leaders of the congregations’: J N D Kelly, 1 Peter : BNTC, 196.
[6] The leadership role of the elders is ‘an outgrowth of leadership patterns based on seniority in Jewish synagogues: Michaels, 1 Peter: WBC, 279. It is a ‘familiar official designation among the Jews’, and in a local Sanhedrin included at least 7 elders with 2 Levites acting as officers. They consitituted a local court and had the power of administration of the synagogue and excommunication. The term passed over from the synagogue to the church, and the elder of the church also adopted spiritual functions: Bigg, Peter & Jude : ICC, 183-5. Compare also Clowney, 1 Peter: BST, 232-4. In Egypt and Asia Minor, presbyteroi was the technical term for the members of a civil corporation: Selwyn, 1 Peter, 227.