1 Peter 5:1-4 The Biblical Theme of the Shepherd and His Sheep

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1 Introduction 1 Peter 5:1-4 The Biblical Theme of the Shepherd and His Sheep 1 Peter 5:1 4 Therefore I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow-elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, as also 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, according to God; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those allotted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. When Peter introduces this imagery of shepherding the flock of God he s consciously assuming a whole world of background; he s consciously assuming fifteen centuries of history. As soon as Peter speaks of shepherds caring for God s sheep we re drawn irresistibly back into the Old Testament and then equally irresistibly pointed forward again to Christ and then to our passage here in 1 Peter. This morning, we re going to read a lot of Scripture, but it won t be nearly all that we could read. These are all Scriptures that the Apostle Peter ultimately had in mind when he penned these words to the elders: Shepherd the flock of God. We can never fully appreciate or even understand those words without tracing the theme of the shepherd and the flock of God in the Old Testament. I. The Shepherd and His Flock The very first place that this theme begins to appear is in Exodus chapter 3, verse one: Exodus 3:1 Now Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led [nahag] his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Why does it matter that Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law and that he led his flock to the mountain of God? The point here isn t just to tell us how he happened to come there. The primary point is actually to serve as a vivid introduction to Moses calling at the burning bush, and to help us see in these chapters how he s being called now to shepherd not the flock of his father-in-law, but the people or the flock of God, who is the great Shepherd of His sheep. And so we read in Exodus three verses 10-12: Exodus 3:10 12 I have come down to deliver [my people] out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. Just like Moses led the flock of his father-in-law to the mountain of God, so now God was calling him to lead the flock of His people His human sheep to the very same mountain. And so it happened, just as God said it would. Later, when the people of Israel read or heard the story retold of how God brought them out of Egypt and led them through the wilderness, it was the 1

2 most natural thing in the world for them to see in this story the vivid picture of a shepherd leading and going before his sheep. So the Psalmist writes, after describing the plagues in Egypt: Psalm 78:52 53 Then he led out his people like sheep and guided [nahag] them in the wilderness like a flock. He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. This wonderful picture then became one of the defining images for God and for the people of God throughout all their generations not just when that first generation came out of Egypt. So the Psalmist writes again, in chapter 80: Psalm 80:1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead [nahag] Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. There are only four times in the Bible where this Hebrew word [nahag] is used for guiding or leading a flock [tson]. The first time is in Exodus 3 when Moses led the flock of his father-inlaw to the mountain of God. The other three times are all in the context of God leading and guiding His people like a flock. We ve seen two of these places already in Psalm 78 and Psalm 80, but in the one remaining place we re reminded not only of the divine Shepherd, but also of the human shepherds of God s flock. Isaiah 63:10 14 Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit, who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name, who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not stumble. Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So you led [nahag] your people, to make for yourself a glorious name. See how Yahweh was the great Shepherd of His sheep, but also how one of the means He used in shepherding his sheep was to appoint under-shepherds, entrusting them with the responsibility of leading and guarding and caring for His flock. So when Moses was about to die, he prayed to the Lord: Numbers 27:16 17 (cf. Isa. 63:11) Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd. And so the Lord appointed Joshua to succeed Moses as a shepherd and leader of His people. After Moses and Joshua, the next time that this theme reappears in Scripture is some four hundred years later when God calls David from shepherding his father s sheep and appoints him as the new king in place of Saul. 2 Samuel 5:2 The LORD said to [David], You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be leader over Israel. 2

3 But that s not all that the Lord said! When David wanted to build a temple for the Lord, God sent His prophet Nathan with this message for David: 2 Samuel 7:7 8, In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be leader over my people Israel the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. God s everlasting covenant with David isn t just about a king it s about a king who will shepherd God s flock; it s set entirely in the context of that most pressing need for a shepherd who will faithfully guard and feed and care for God s sheep. (cf. 2 Sam. 7:9-10) II. Straying sheep, faithless shepherds, and a scattered flock But the sheep went astray, and the shepherds were unfaithful, and the flock was scattered. The prophet Isaiah writes: Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way. In the end, because the sheep were continually wandering and straying and always turning to their own way, God gave them the shepherds they deserved shepherds who didn t care for the sheep at all. Listen to what Zechariah the prophet says: Zechariah 11:15 16 The LORD said to me, Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. This was the shepherd the people deserved; but can you imagine such a man even being called a shepherd? Can you imagine shepherds that violently devour their own flock? It was the Lord Himself who gave His flock these shepherds that they deserved, and yet He still held the faithless shepherds wholly accountable. Zechariah 11:17 Woe to my worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! Let his arm be wholly withered, his right eye utterly blinded! And so the straying sheep with faithless shepherds were scattered. They were left vulnerable and defenseless, and became food for the wild beasts. The Lord said to Ezekiel: 3

4 Ezekiel 34:1 6 (cf. Jer. 23:1-2; 50:17) Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them. It's a terrible and a hopeless picture. The sheep are utterly helpless. They can t save themselves. They don t deserve to be searched out or gathered in to the fold ever again. And it s against this terrible and hopeless backdrop that God reveals to us the unfathomable riches of His mercies and compassions. III. God s faithful Shepherd seeks out and gathers the scattered sheep Ezekiel 34:11 16, 23, 31 (cf. Jer. 23:3-8; Isa. 40:10 11; Jer. 50:17 19; Mic. 5:2 5; Zech. 10:2 3) Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 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. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. 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 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David [remember God s eternal covenant with David whom he called to shepherd his people Israel], and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord GOD. Isn t this a wonderful and a beautiful picture? God says that He Himself will be the shepherd of His sheep, and yet He also says that He will set up over the people one shepherd, His servant David, who will faithfully feed His sheep. And now the already unfathomable riches of God s mercy are revealed to be even more unfathomable than we had yet conceived. Remember the shepherd that God promised to give His people the shepherd in whom and through whom Yahweh Himself would come to gather and feed and tend His flock; and listen, now, to what God says through the Prophet Zechariah: Zechariah 13:7 9 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me, declares the LORD of hosts. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones. In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will 4

5 call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, They are my people ; and they will say, The LORD is my God. When He comes, God s chosen shepherd even the one who stands next to Him and is in some way equal with Him will be rejected by the sheep and struck down, and all the sheep will be scattered. The majority of those sheep (two-thirds) will be scattered in judgment they ll be cut off from the flock and perish forever because they refused to recognize or receive God s shepherd. But a remnant of the flock (one-third) will be ultimately gathered in again and refined as silver is refined and tested as gold is tested and they will become God s flock, and He will shepherd them forever as His people and they will hear His voice and follow after Him. And so we have, here, just one of the many Old Testament prophecies of the resurrection. The Apostle Paul says that Christ was raised on the third day in accordance with the [Old Testament] Scriptures. (1 Cor. 15:4) The shepherd who stands next to Yahweh, the shepherd who was pierced and struck down, must certainly be raised up again so that he can call all the remnant of God s sheep by name and gather them in to God s fold and tend and care for them forever. Listen to what God says! Zechariah 12:10; 13:1 I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. And so we read in Jeremiah: Jeremiah 31:10 Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, He who scattered Israel [the remnant of Israel] will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock. And then there s this: Isaiah 56:8 The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered. God s shepherd, who would be pierced and then raised up again, would one day gather together not only the whole remnant of Israel but also all of God s sheep who are among the Gentiles, and they would all be one flock and they would all have one Shepherd. IV. The Scriptures fulfilled in Christ All of this is what the Scriptures said would happen, brothers and sisters, centuries before these things ever came to pass. How then, can we not believe in the one who has so perfectly and so marvelously fulfilled all of these things? Christ is the shepherd who stands next to God and is even equal with Him. Christ is the shepherd who was pierced and struck down and then raised up again. Christ is the shepherd who gathers God s scattered sheep from the remnant of Israel and 5

6 God s scattered sheep from among the Gentiles and joins them all together into one flock. After all the worthless and faithless shepherds of the Old Testament who didn t care for the sheep, Christ is the good and faithful Shepherd the promised Son of David who loves the sheep and who even lays down His own life for them. Mark 14:27 28 Jesus said to [the disciples], You will all fall away, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. John 10:1 4, Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. Do you know His voice? Are you one of His sheep? Have you believed in the Gospel of the Shepherd who was struck for His people and then raised up again? I pray that you have. And if you haven t, I pray that you will! But if you have, then rejoice to know that Jesus, the good shepherd, has called you by name and gathered you in and now He has promised to lead you and go before you and be your shepherd forever. Remember how Peter sees in us and in all the churches the Old Testament Scriptures all being fulfilled: 1 Peter 2:25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. I said that Peter sees the Scriptures being fulfilled because we always remember that there s the already, but there s also still the not yet. The Scriptures foretold that one day there would be one flock with one shepherd, and yet they also said that at least for a time (as long as there s still a not yet ) there would be many shepherds all of them under the one chief Shepherd. Jeremiah 23:3 4 (cf. vv. 5-6) Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the LORD. Jeremiah 3:14 15 Return, O faithless children, declares the LORD; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 6

7 How could we not believe, brothers and sisters, in the one who has so perfectly and marvelously fulfilled all of these things? Christ is the one who has brought us all to Mount Zion to the city of the living God. (Heb. 12:22; cf. Gal. 4:26-27) Christ is the one who has given us shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (Eph. 4:10 13) Christ is the one who said to Peter: John 21:15 17 Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs. He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. And so once again Peter sees in us, and in all the churches, the Old Testament Scriptures being fulfilled. Only now can we fully appreciate and understand these verses: 1 Peter 5:1 4 Therefore I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow-elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, as also 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, according to God; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those allotted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Conclusion In the church, the good and the chief Shepherd is gathering all God s scattered sheep; and in the church He gives them under-shepherds who feed them with knowledge and understanding with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How good God is! How faithful to His Word and to us His sheep. We ll come back to these verses in 1 Peter next week, but right now I want to close with a picture of what it will be when the not yet is finally here. Listen to what the Lord says to His Servant in Isaiah 49: Isaiah 49:8 10 Thus says the LORD: In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, Come out, to those who are in darkness, Appear. They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. And then see how this promise is fulfilled in Revelation chapter seven: Revelation 7:9 10, After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before 7

8 the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come? I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water. 8