“Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow
elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory
that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising
oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and
not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those
allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the
Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” (1 Peter
5:1–4, NASB95)
Peter’s letter was written to encourage believers to live right before God with great hope regardless of the pressure
to do otherwise. This was to apply to them personally and together as a church.
As he wraps up his letter he turns his attention to the leaders of the church,
and focuses specifically on their responsibility to shepherd the flock in these
difficult times. Peter wrote to them elder to elders. This term “elders”
(Presbyterous, Strong #4245) can be used to speak of an older person as we see
in 1 Timothy 5:1-2: “Do not sharply rebuke an older man [Presbyterō], but rather appeal to him as a
father, to the younger men as brothers, the older women [presbyteras] as
mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.” (1 Timothy 5:1–2,
NASB95) Here you can see the same root with different masculine and feminine
endings to specify which was which. At the root of both is the word “presbus”
which means elderly. But this passage is not written to people of age alone. From
the verses that follow we see that Peter is specifically writing to the
leadership in the churches. These were men who were specifically set aside for
the role, one which Peter was personally given Himself by our Lord Jesus Christ
when Jesus charged him to shepherd His sheep (John 21:15-19).
It was this task of appointing elders that Paul gave to
Titus when Paul left him in Crete, and from the context we see that this was
not a general appointing of selected people but a plurality of specific men. We
read, “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what
remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, namely, if any man
is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not
accused of dissipation or rebellion. For the overseer must be above reproach as
God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not
pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good,
sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which
is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in
sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.” (Titus 1:5–9, NASB95)
It is to men such as this that Peter is writing here, as he
gives them instruction on how to continue in their calling in the difficult
days their people were facing. Peter wrote to them not only as one who had
suffered personally, but as one who had been with Christ and was witness to His
suffering. Peter wrote to them as one who had denied Jesus three times on the
night in which He was betrayed, but also as one who was personally tasked to
shepherd His sheep as Peter was personally restored and set apart for this
ministry to His church. It was Peter who gave the powerful message on Pentecost
where we read that about three thousand souls were added that day. Peter
understood the challenges before them, and he wrote to them of the great
importance of continuing the call given to them as fellow partakers of the
glory which was set before them all.
These men were to “shepherd the flock of God” that was among
them. They were to stay there and be faithful to their task. This word
“shepherd” is the action form of the Greek word “poimainō.” It is the same word given to Peter by Jesus, and it
was in this task that Peter exhorted them to faithfully continue. We see this
word used of the elders (plural) in the church and we also see it used
specifically in reference to those set apart as pastors and teachers in the
church, where we see in Ephesians 4:11 the word translated “pastors” is the
same Greek word translated elsewhere as “elders.”
One elder or pastor is not to stand in this task alone. The
church is not intended to operate with one person in the task, but functions
best when this burden is shared. When we read in the New Testament of the
elders in the church as its overseers we always see it in plural form. These
men were to do it together as a multiplicity of elders. They were to jointly
shepherd the sheep. Looking at Jesus’ instruction to Peter we see that this
task not only was to include feeding the sheep or teaching them, but it was
also to include tending to them in all of the other necessary ways. The
shepherd’s responsibility is to tend to the sheep for their welfare and the
health of the flock. It is a broad task that includes not only great oversight,
but wisdom, discernment, and compassion. It involves the blending of the grace
of God with the truth of God in a way that honors God for the best of the
sheep.
These men are charged to do this task, “not under
compulsion, but voluntarily….” So often when we do something because we “have
to” we lose the enthusiasm for the task and it becomes a drudgery that not only
wears on us but it obvious to those we are around. An elder who serves because
he feels that he must is an elder whose joy will fade and un-Christ-like
behaviors will rise. Paul wrote to Timothy, “It is a trustworthy statement: if
any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”
(1 Timothy 3:1, NASB95) In this we see that the overseer (and elder) responds
to a desire and not a demand. Going back to Peter’s charge to shepherd Christ’s
sheep, we read that three times Peter was asked if he loved Him. To each of
these Peter affirmed that he indeed did. From this foundation, Jesus then
charged Peter to serve. Similarly, the elders are to serve from a foundation of
love where their actions are the proper voluntary outflow of what they know
deep inside. Paul wrote in Romans 12:1 that this is our spiritual or reasonable
response of service as we give ourselves back to God to do what He has given us
to do in light of what Christ has done for us.
Peter went on to add, “according to the will of God….” Whether
we serve as an elder or in some other role, we are to serve with the
recognition that God is the One who has prepared these good works for us. “For
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, NASB95)
Our response is to walk in them and so do the will of God with the attitude of
1 Peter 4:10-11, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving
one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is
to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do
so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all
things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10–11, NASB95)
Furthermore, we read that the elder is “not [to serve] for sordid
gain, but with eagerness….” It’s not to be about what’s in it for the elder,
but out of his desire to serve God that he fulfills the role given to him.
Sure, there are those who serve vocationally as pastors (shepherds) in the
church, but even then, these men are not to serve with their remuneration as
their motivation. Elders are to serve because of their love for God and their
desire to do what He has given them to do, and then to do it with eagerness.
Serving in the role given them as shepherds and overseers of the flock is to be
the desire of their heart and they are to do it willingly and with
anticipation. Sure, there will be difficult days and unwanted tasks, but the
desire to serve God will strengthen them in those times just as He does all of
us when we look to Him and not to the size of the circumstance.
Lastly, Peter wrote to them, “nor yet as lording it over those
allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.” I think
we’ve probably all heard the phrase that someone rules “with an iron rod” or
“fist.” This later form of leadership either drives people away or causes them
to cower in fear, and it definitely does not reflect the character of our God.
Several times in John chapter 1 we read that Jesus came in truth and grace. The
two of these have to be held in balance. Truth without grace can lead to
legalism and the hard hand of leadership making itself ever present. Grace
without truth leads to extreme license and the absence of authority. The elders
are to exercise leadership without lording or domineering. Thinking of this I
am reminded of the example of Jesus during that last supper with His disciples
when He wrapped Himself with a towel and washed His disciples’ feet. We read,
“At the conclusion of this He said, “So when He had washed their feet, and
taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you
know what I have done to you? “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right,
for so I am. “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also
ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I gave you an example that you also
should do as I did to you. “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater
than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.””
(John 13:12–16, NASB95)
This is the attitude of Christ and the example
set for not only all elders, but for all of us as well. And as the elders set
this example they will powerfully influence their local church to the glory of
God. Peter concludes this instruction to elders with, “And when the Chief
Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” The
recognition may or may not come now. That is not what is important. What is
important is why and how we serve Who we serve knowing that He will take care
of the rest. This is true for elders, and this is true for all of us who know
Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. He is our Chief Shepherd. His elders are
given to us to carry out the work of tending to His church, and we are to
submit to them as His under-shepherds for His glory.
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