Shepherding Pastoral Care John 21: September 2008
Table of Contents
The Ninety and Nine
There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold,
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold —
Away on the mountains wild and bare,
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.
“Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?”
But the Shepherd made answer, “This of
mine
Has wandered away from Me,
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep.”
But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed,
Nor how dark was the night that the Lord
passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost:
Out in the desert He heard its cry —
Sick, and helpless, and ready to die.
“Lord, whence are those blooddrops all the
way
That mark out the mountain’s track?”
“They were shed for one who had gone
astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.”
“Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and
torn?”
“They are pierced tonight with many a thorn.”
But all through the mountains, thunder-
riven,
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a cry to the gate of heaven:
“Rejoice! I have found My sheep!”
And the angels echoed around the throne,
“Rejoice! For the Lord brings back His own!”
E. C. Clephane
Shepherding
There is nothing I pray for more than the dispensation of pastors. What I mean by a pastor is a person who can bear the whole sorrow, care, misery and sin of another on his own soul, go to God about it, and bring from God what will meet it before he goes to the other.
I believe a pastor is a rare gift. The work of the evangelist is simpler. He stands in the face of the world for Christ. A pastor must be like a doctor; he must know the right food, the right medicine, the right diagnosis, all the pharmacopoeia, and how to apply it too. In one sense, it is a rare gift and very precious.
Pastor and teacher are distinct things. The pastor does not merely give food as the teacher; the pastor shepherds the sheep, leads them here and there, and takes care of them. I think it is a thing greatly wanted, but I believe it is a rare gift and always was. Pastors must have a heart for the sheep. There are degrees of completeness in it, but that is what the pastor has to do. The evangelist carries the gospel to the poor sinner, whereas the pastor has saints on his heart and cares for them.
J. N. Darby, excerpts
Theme of the Issue
The Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd
“Shepherd My sheep” (John 21:16 JND). The Lord Jesus had risen from the dead, and now He is instructing Peter. These words came from the One who is our supreme example and were said to one who had just failed signally in not following his Lord. But the Lord could use Peter, and in various scriptures we find guidance for the role of shepherd, as we too are encouraged to care for His sheep.
In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus is mentioned as the Shepherd in three different ways — as the good Shepherd, the great Shepherd, and the chief Shepherd. Each of these brings a distinct thought before us, while each also sets an example for us in a different way. I would like to look at these three characters of the Lord Jesus as Shepherd, so that we may see His perfection in each role, but then also see how each is an example for us in seeking to care for others.
The Good Shepherd
In John 10:11, the Lord Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.” At the point when He says this, the Lord Jesus has been rejected. We might say that in John 7, His words have been rejected, in John 8 His Person has been rejected, while in John 9 His works have been rejected. But then we see that God is going to have His sheep in spite of everything. This can happen only if the good shepherd gives His life for the sheep, in order that they might be His. There was no other way. David had risked his life in saving his sheep from the lion and the bear, but the Lord Jesus must give up His life if His sheep were to be saved. What a price He has paid for them!
In the Old Testament, we see this character of the Lord Jesus in Psalm 22. There His sufferings are depicted more from the hand of God, for it is those sufferings that put away our sins. His cry in verse 1 went unanswered, for sin was in question, and God could not look upon sin. But what is the result? Nothing but blessing, carrying right through the entire latter part of the psalm, from verse 22 to the end. So it is with the good shepherd. If He gives His life for the sheep, there is nothing but blessing for them.
It is evident that we, as created beings, can never take up suffering for another with the thought of atoning for sin. No, our Lord Jesus was alone in that. However, we read that “hereby we have known love, because He has laid down His life for us; and we ought for the brethren to lay down our lives” (1 John 3:16 JND). If we follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Saviour, we will respond to His supreme sacrifice by being willing to lay down our lives for those who are so precious to Him — His sheep. It may not mean actually going into death, but in giving up our own ambitions and wishes in order to be a help to God’s people, we can, in that sense, lay down our lives. “He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (John 12:25). To gain a reward for eternity, God calls us to give up our lives down here, in order to live for Him.
The Great Shepherd
Then, in Hebrews 13:20-21, we read, “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ.” The Lord Jesus is the great shepherd in resurrection, for He has triumphed over death, Satan and sin. As such, He has brought in the “everlasting covenant” by which God can bless man in grace, as opposed to the old covenant, which was based on what man should have done. Now God can come out in grace, on a totally new basis, for Christ has died and risen again.
This character of the Lord Jesus brings in our walk, for God can now work in our hearts to “do His will” and to work that “which is well-pleasing in His sight.” There was no power for man to do God’s will under the old covenant, but now God has given him new life in Christ. Now the believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and has, as his object, a risen Christ in glory. With an object in glory and the Spirit down here, the believer has power to walk to please the Lord. All the power that raised Christ from the dead is ours, to enable us to walk before the Lord in this world.
We see this character of the Lord Jesus illustrated in Psalm 23—probably the best-known of all the psalms. His care of us takes us all the way through this world, providing for our needs, feeding us, restoring us, keeping us in the valley of the shadow of death, and ending in glory. It is as the great shepherd that He might be spoken of as “the all-the-way-home Shepherd,” for He will never rest until we are safely there with Him in glory. He does not simply save us and then leave us to find our own way in this world. Rather, He looks after us in every way, enabling us to walk a pathway that is well-pleasing in His sight.
What an example for us as shepherds! There can be only one “great Shepherd,” but all of us can be involved in feeding the sheep, leading them by still waters, seeking to restore them if necessary, and comforting them in difficult circumstances; all of these things we can also do, in the spirit of the great Shepherd.
The Chief Shepherd
Finally, in 1 Peter 5:4 we read, “When the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” If the Lord Jesus is the chief Shepherd, then it follows that there are “under-shepherds.” This chapter in 1 Peter shows us the character the Lord looks for in those under-shepherds. They are to serve the flock of God willingly, not for money or as overlords, but rather leading by example. Overseers and elders are needed for God’s flock, but there is a right way for them to carry out their service. Peter gives us this and also tells us that a reward will be offered “when the chief Shepherd shall appear.”
Shepherding is often thankless work in this world, done for the most part behind the scenes, and in many cases not appreciated even by the sheep. Evangelizing and teaching both involve work too, but such gifts are much more in the public eye. For this reason, I believe, a special reward is spoken of to encourage the shepherd. The crown of glory will more than make up for all the effort spent on behalf of God’s sheep. We get the same spirit in the good Samaritan, who said to the host of the inn, “Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee” (Luke 10:35). What a wonderful repayment it will be, to receive that crown of glory!
The chief Shepherd is pictured for us in Psalm 24. There we see the Lord Jesus prophetically portrayed in glory. No longer despised and rejected, He is acclaimed as the owner of “the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psa. 24:1). In that day none will be able to approach Him without “clean hands, and a pure heart” (vs. 4). The Lord will be “strong and mighty . . . mighty in battle” (vs. 8), and all the world will see His glory. Those who have been faithful as under-shepherds in the day of His rejection will see that glory and share it with Him.
Shepherding is a much-needed but multifaceted service. We must be willing to put aside our own wills and look to our perfect example in these three characters as Shepherd. Then He can use us to care for the sheep for which He died.
W. J. Prost
Three Titles
It is interesting to observe the three titles applied to our blessed Lord Jesus Christ as Shepherd. In John 10 He is called “the good shepherd” in death. In Hebrews 13 He is called the “great shepherd” in resurrection, and in 1 Peter 5 He is called “the chief shepherd” in glory. Each title has its own specific meaning and its own appropriate place.
C. H. Mackintosh
Love, Faith and Hope
The good shepherd is the object of love; the great shepherd, the object of faith; and the chief Shepherd, the object of hope.
The Bible Student, 2:20
He Was Moved With Compassion
“Jesus, when He came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and He began to teach them many things” (Mark 6:34).
In a world of misery and want, how blessed to know One whose heart feels it all, who makes it His own, and whose emotions of pitying love are so expressed that we can know and see them: “He was moved with compassion.” That blessed face plainly told of the throbbing of divine mercy that worked within. The heart expressed itself before the hand moved to relieve what the eye looked upon. Nor was it a transient feeling, a passing emotion. Human misery has found a home in the heart of Jesus, and He, who is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever,” although now on the throne of God in glory, is still “moved with compassion” as He looks out upon and takes in all the misery and want that plead incessantly, in accents of ever deepening intensity, at the throne of mercy.
The Shepherd of Israel
If the Shepherd of Israel was moved with compassion as He looked upon the children of Abraham, “as sheep not having a shepherd,” how deep must be the emotion with which the Lord Jesus now views the children of God again “scattered abroad”! What havoc the “grievous wolves” have made in “the flock of God”! How the speakers of perverse things have led away “disciples after” them! What widespread division and offense have they wrought who “serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly”! Surely all this appeals with touching force to Him who “loved the church and gave Himself for it.”
But was it only that Jehovah’s people were “as sheep not having a shepherd”? Had they not sinned themselves? Had their hearts been “right with Him”? Had they been “steadfast in His covenant”? Full well He knew the long, sad history of that perverse and stiff-necked people; it was all before Him, “but He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity” (Psa. 78:38).
The Church of the Living God
And has the church of the living God suffered only from false teachers and bad guides? Have the children of God a better history than the children of Israel? Have they been less perverse and stiff-necked? Have they altogether kept His Word? And have their hearts been right with Him who redeemed them with His own blood? How well He knows that higher privileges and better promises have only brought out deeper sin and relatively less response to His love! Surely every heart knows this. How sweet then, in our day, to turn to Him whose “compassions fail not” and who, “having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end”!
We do well to be at home with that deeply moved heart of pitying, forgiving love, as it “began to teach them many things.” True enough, He now speaks from heaven, but that heaven is open to us, and there is no distance to faith.
Failure and ignorance are on every hand. Only rightly can we feel the one and minister to the other as we are really with Him who, above all evil, sees it all, only to find in it the occasion for the ministry of love.
Serving the Sheep of Christ
They who would, in any little degree, serve the sheep of Christ need much to ponder these words, spoken to one of old: “Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother.” While doing this, they need to be in spirit with that “merciful and faithful high priest,” who Himself is not encompassed by infirmity, yet who is touched with the feeling of ours and is “able to have compassion on the ignorant and on them that are out of the way.”
Most merciful High Priest,
Our Saviour, Shepherd, Friend;
’Tis in Thy love alone we trust
Until the end.
C. W., from Words of Faith, 1:5
Shepherding - the Proof of Love
The high priority our Lord has for shepherding God’s flock is revealed in the way He committed His lambs and sheep into the Apostle Peter’s care as a proof of Peter’s love to the Lord. The Lord had said to him, “Lovest thou Me more than these?” When Peter answered, “Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee,” the Lord Jesus responded, “Feed My lambs” (John 21:15).
Three times Peter denied the Lord before he realized what he had done, and it took three times before he realized the significance of the words, “Lovest thou Me?” Meanwhile, the Lord graciously kept repeating these words, “Feed My sheep.” The Lord was telling Peter that this was the way He wanted Peter to show that he loved Him, or was attached to Him.
Peter, the most prominent of the disciples, had boasted of his love for the Lord, but he had failed miserably in showing his love. He forcefully denied knowing the Lord. It was not enough for Peter to love in word only — the Lord wanted deeds to prove it. Yes, the Lord knew that Peter loved Him, but where was the display of it in his life? Getting to the bottom of this problem would prepare Peter to be one who could strengthen his brethren (see Luke 22:32). The strength to do this could not come from within. He needed to learn to trust in the Lord.
The Lord Himself knew all that was going to transpire and had told the disciples of it beforehand. Yet, He was willing to go through the experience of being denied by His disciple in order to prepare him to be a shepherd of His precious sheep. What a Good and Great Shepherd He is!
The Lord was soon going away, leaving the disciples to care for His sheep. He would not entrust His sheep to just anyone. We see the premium He puts on the care of His sheep in how He prepares the disciples. This is what He wanted Peter to learn, and more than this, to serve for the rest of his life (unto death), allowing himself to be led by others. This we believe he did.
The Apostle Peter, later in his first epistle, speaks of being a witness of the sufferings of Christ (for he dare not say he was a partaker of those sufferings) as the basis for exhorting us to “feed the flock of God” (1 Peter 5:12). He got the point the Lord had taught him. He fed the flock because he saw how the Lord loved them and showed the saints that this was the reason to do it. He does not, in his epistles, speak of his love for the Lord or His people, though he exhorts them to love one another. He does, however, speak of the “crown of glory” which the Lord would give those who were good shepherds of God’s flock.
May the Lord give us to follow Him in this way, to see the love He has for the sheep and care for them as He does. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:14,16).
D. C. Buchanan
The King With a Shepherd’s Heart
“Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he” (1 Sam. 16:11-12).
When Jesse said, “There remaineth yet the youngest,” surely he thought he could not be the elect one. Man cannot understand the ways of God. The very one which God is about to use is overlooked or despised by man. “Arise, anoint him: for this is he.” Glorious words! Perfect reply to the thoughts of Jesse and Samuel!
How happy it is to note David’s occupation. “Behold, he keepeth the sheep.” This was afterwards referred to by the Lord, when He said to David, “I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.” Nothing can more sweetly illustrate the kingly office than the work of a shepherd. Indeed, when it is not executed in the spirit of a shepherd, it fails of its end. King David fully entered into this, as may be seen in those touching words, “These sheep, what have they done?” The people were the Lord’s sheep, and he, as the Lord’s shepherd, kept them on the mountains of Israel, just as he had kept his father’s sheep in the retirement of Bethlehem. He did not alter his character when he came from the sheepcote to the throne and exchanged the crook for the scepter. No; he was the shepherd still, and he felt himself responsible to protect the Lord’s flock from the lions and bears which prowled around the fold.
The Prophetic Allusion
The prophetic allusion to the true David is touching and beautiful. “Therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it” (Ezek. 34:22-24). And doubtless our Lord’s words in John 6 had more or less reference to His shepherd character. “This is the Father’s will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” This is a great principle of truth. Independent of His own personal love for the sheep — so wonderfully attested to in life and in death — the Lord Jesus, in the above memorable passage, presents Himself as one responsible to the Father to keep every member of the loved and valued flock through all the vicissitudes of His course. Even in the matter of death itself, He will present them in resurrection-glory, at the last day. Such is the Shepherd to whom a Father’s hand has committed us, and, oh! how has He provided for us for time and eternity, by placing us in such hands — the hands of an ever-living, ever-loving, all-powerful Shepherd, whose love many waters cannot quench, whose power no enemy can countervail. He is the one who holds in His hand the keys of death and hell and who has established His claim to the guardianship of the flock by laying down His life for it. Truly we may say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” How can we want, while Jesus feeds us? Impossible. Our foolish hearts may often desire to feed on noxious pasture, and our Shepherd may have to prove His gracious care by denying us the use of such, but one thing is certain, that those whom Jesus feeds shall not want any good thing.
The Shepherd Character
There is something in the shepherd character which would seem to be much in harmony with the divine mind, inasmuch as we find the Father, the Son and the Spirit all acting in that character. Psalm 23 may be primarily viewed as the experience of Christ, delighting in the assurance of His Father’s shepherd-care. Then, in John 10, we find the Son presented as the good Shepherd. Lastly, in Acts 20 and 1 Peter 5, we find the Holy Spirit acting in that blessed capacity, by raising up and gifting for the work the subordinate shepherds. It is edifying to notice this. It is like our God to present Himself in the most endearing relationship, and that way most calculated to win our confidence and draw out our affections. Blessed be His name forever! His ways are all perfect; there is none like Him.
One can only say, blessed be the grace which took up one to be ruler over His people who manifested those traits of character which were most blessedly adapted to his work.
C. H. Mackintosh, from his
Miscellaneous Writings, 4:34-38
Let Us Go Again
“Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do” (Acts 15:36). A motto for the evangelist is the expression, “To preach the gospel in the regions beyond” (2 Cor. 10:16). This is the grand object of the evangelist, let his talents or sphere of action be what they may. But the pastor has his work as well as the evangelist, and his motto can be found in the words, “Let us go again.” This is a model of what ought to be done, so long as there are brethren to be visited. The evangelist forms the vital connection; the pastor maintains and strengthens that connection. The one is the instrument of creating the beautiful link, the other of perpetuating it. It is quite possible that the two gifts may exist in the same person, as in Paul’s case, but whether this is so or not, each gift has its own specific sphere and object. The business of the evangelist is to call out the brethren; the business of the pastor is to look after them.
The order of these things is divinely beautiful. The Lord will not gather out His sheep and leave them to wander uncared for and unfed. Hence, He not only imparts the gift whereby His sheep are to be called into being, but also that gift whereby they are to be fed and maintained. He has His own interest in them and in every stage of their history. He watches over them with intense care from the moment in which they hear the first quickening words until they are safely in the mansions above.
If His desire to gather the sheep is expressed in the words, “The regions beyond,” His desire for their well-being is seen in the words, “Let us go again.” The two things are intimately connected. Wherever the Word of the Lord has been preached and received, there you have the formation of mysterious but real and most precious links between heaven and earth. There may be many things to hinder our spiritual perception of this link, but it is there. God sees it and faith sees it likewise. Christ has His eye upon every city, every town, every village, every street and every house in which His Word has been received.
Heartfelt Care
Now, our gracious Shepherd would fill the heart of each one acting under Him with His own tender care for the sheep. It was He who animated the heart of Paul to express and carry out the design embodied in the words, “Let us go again.” It was the grace of Christ flowing down into the heart of Paul and giving character and direction to the zealous service of that most devoted and laboring apostle.
Observe the force of the words, “Go again.” It does not matter how often you may have been there before. It may be once or twice, or more. This is not the question. “Let us go again” is the motto for the pastoral heart, for there is always a demand for the pastoral gift. Matters are always springing up in the various places in which “the word of the Lord” has been preached and received, demanding the labors of the divinely-qualified pastor. This is especially true in this day of spiritual poverty. There is immense demand on the pastor to “go again and visit [his] brethren in every city” where “the word of the Lord” has been preached, “and see how they do.”
Using Your Gift
Do you possess anything of a pastor’s heart? If so, think of those comprehensive words, “Let us go again.” Have you been acting on them? Have you been thinking of your “brethren” — of those “who have obtained like precious faith” — those who, by receiving “the word of the Lord,” have become spiritual brethren? Are your interests and sympathies engaged on behalf of “every city” in which a spiritual link has been formed with the Head above? Oh! how the heart longs for a greater exhibition of holy zeal and energy, of individual and independent devotedness—independent, I mean, not of the sacred fellowship of the truly spiritual, but of every influence which would tend to clog and hinder that elevated service to which each one is distinctly called in responsibility to the Master alone.
Let us beware of a false economy which would lead us to attach an undue importance to the matter of expense. The silver and the gold are the Lord’s and His sheep are far more precious to Him than silver and gold. His own words are, “Lovest thou Me? . . . Feed My sheep” (John 21:16). And if only there is the heart to do this, the means will never be wanting to carry us to “the regions beyond” to preach the gospel or to “visit our brethren” in “every city.”
C. H. Mackintosh
Shepherding
As a young man I learned a valuable lesson from sheepherders in the mountains in the western U.S.A. So intently did they watch their flocks that nothing distracted them — not even conversation. Their dedicated, focused behavior illustrates the scriptural principles of shepherding: loving the flock, being prepared to serve and being available.
A Heart-Driven Activity
The Good Shepherd (the Lord Jesus) loves His Father and loves the sheep entrusted to him. “Those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost” (John 17:12). “Of them which Thou gavest Me have I lost none” (John 18:9). He values the flock more than His own life. Conversely, the hireling (John 10) does not love the sheep because they are not his. His care lacks dedication and discipline. When danger comes, the hireling decides that protecting the flock is not worth the personal risk, so he flees.
Paul shepherded the flock with tears as he warned them of the “wolves” that would come. “Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears” (Acts 20:31). Jeremiah cared for God’s people fervently as well: “Mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive” (Jer. 13:17).
In biblical times, after gathering the sheep in their evening shelter, the shepherd would lie in the door or opening, placing himself between the outside world and his sheep. He became the way into safety, nourishment and blessing as well as being a barrier between the sheep and the outside world. Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd, places himself between us and a lost eternity. “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7). “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved” (vs. 9). The Lord went into death to save His sheep. “The good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). “I lay down My life for the sheep” (vs. 15). The sheep respond to the Shepherd’s love: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (vs. 27).
Risk
One reason there are so few shepherds these days is that shepherding involves risk. The shepherd in Luke 15 left the fold and went into the wilderness to save his lost sheep. Wanderers in the wilderness are in danger; those who seek them risk their own safety. The shepherd does this willingly, because he values the sheep more than his own comfort. To save lost sheep, our Lord and Shepherd left His Father’s side and entered a place where He would be abused, cursed, spit upon and hanged on a tree at Calvary.
Available, Involved and Watchful
Another reason there are few shepherds today is that shepherding takes a lot of time, a commodity that modern-day Christians hoard for themselves. The use of our time in the pursuits of this world, even legitimate ones, is one of Satan’s most successful tools.
A good shepherd spends enough time with his sheep to learn their individual characteristics. As he watches the flock he recognizes one with a tendency to stray and another that likes to eat weeds and briers that will sicken him. “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds” (Prov. 27:23). “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Eph. 6:18). The shepherd who knows his sheep can redirect the wanderer and move the flock to nourishing food. In return, the sheep learn to trust him.
Today many shepherding attempts fail because no bond of trust existed beforehand. To be effective, the shepherd must be involved in the lives of the sheep and the lambs. Sheep must be fed, bedded, watered, kept from straying, schooled and guarded. There is simply no substitute for spending this effort and time with the sheep. The enemy of your soul hates the shepherd as well as the shepherd’s work. After all, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, shepherds can undo Satan’s handiwork and reduce opportunities for him to intervene. Satan knows this, so he tries to hinder aspiring shepherds.
Much of the work of shepherding is preventive work. Aquila and Priscilla recognized error in Apollos’ ministry and lovingly corrected him. “He [Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (Acts 18:26).
Returning a straying sheep to the flock can be simple when it first wanders. If stopped early, the sheep may not need to be pulled out of painful thorns or the wolf’s jaws. Of course, this preventive work can happen only if the shepherd is close enough to see the misstep and reach the sheep with his crook. It is imperative that we make the time necessary for this task. “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).
Twenty-first century Christians have very full lives and little unallocated time. We may want to help young believers, but have no time to serve them. Our schedule places us elsewhere when they stray. Many worthwhile activities fill our lives, but we must weigh these things against the cost of lost sheep and lambs. Jesus considered a woman living a sinful life (and, no doubt, shunned by her peers) and decided He needed to go through Samaria (John 4:4).
David lived with his flock, and this put him into a position of service. Twice he saved his flock from predators (1 Sam. 17:34). When Samuel visited Jesse’s house to anoint a king and when Saul sent for someone to soothe him with music, David was with his father’s sheep (1 Sam. 16:11; 16:19). When he came to check on his brothers and ended up saving Israel from Goliath and his armies, his brother Eliab acknowledged that David’s normal place was with the family’s sheep (1 Sam. 17:28). A true shepherd stays near his sheep because he loves them, not because they love him. His love brings him to the place where he can train, care for, correct and feed them.
Being Ready to Serve
Christians may want to shepherd others, but may be unable to do so because they are unprepared. In addition to loving the sheep and being available, there are at least two personal prerequisites for effective service for the Lord. First, the shepherd must keep himself clean and ready to serve. “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (2 Tim. 2:21). One cannot harbor evil in his own heart and counsel another who is at risk from evil. While no one on earth is without sin (sheep or shepherd), daily cleansing, foot washing and confession are effective and essential as we prepare to serve God and His people.
Second, a shepherd must search God’s Word diligently. An old servant of the Lord once encouraged a younger brother to study God’s Word by telling him, “If you want to help someone follow a scriptural life, you have to know your way around Scripture.” “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). This principle seems so simple, but it is a common point of failure among well-meaning Christians. There is no more powerful way to counsel sheep than to illustrate the will of God with the Word of God.
Conclusion
Shepherding is good work. It is humble work, often without recognition or visible sign of profit. Remembering what our Great Shepherd did and does for us will give us energy to step into the wilderness and retrieve a straying lamb. It will help us spend the time getting to know His sheep intimately. Learning how much our Saviour and Shepherd loves all His sheep will increase our love for God’s flock. A look into Revelation illustrates that “even in Sardis” the need for shepherds and shepherding exists. “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die. . . . Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy” (Rev. 3:24).
D. Lamb
The Flock of God
In Psalm 80 Asaph addresses God as the Shepherd of Israel and likens His people to a flock. In Psalm 100 Israel takes the ground of being Jehovah’s people and “the sheep of His pasture.” Jeremiah, too, in the same strain, speaks of God’s ancient people as a “beautiful flock” (Jer. 13:20). But while God always remained the Great Shepherd of Israel, He also delegated authority to under-shepherds who were responsible to care for the flock. In the exercise of this responsibility the shepherds lamentably failed, and as a result the flock was ruined and scattered. In Ezekiel 34 we have a solemn denunciation of these under-shepherds for the violation of their trust. In the first four verses, three distinct charges are brought against them. They are charged with using their position to exalt themselves at the expense of the flock, with having utterly neglected the flock, and with having ruled God’s flock “with force and with cruelty.”
The Under-Shepherds
But the failure of the shepherds of Israel has been repeated, alas, by the shepherds of God’s people today, for in this day also God has His flock. The Lord Jesus gathered a company of Jewish believers around Himself, and afterward Gentile believers were also added, so that there would be “one [flock] and one Shepherd” (John 10:16). The Lord Himself is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep and the Great Shepherd who rose from the dead — the One who has triumphed over the power of death. But the Lord is also the Chief Shepherd, and as such He has again delegated the oversight of His flock to under-shepherds. Paul, in his farewell address to the elders of the church at Ephesus, gives the under-shepherds a solemn charge in Acts 20:28-35. He warns them to take heed to themselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit had made them overseers. He gives them a threefold exhortation in reference to the flock, which answers to the threefold denunciation of the shepherds of Israel.
First, instead of exalting themselves, they are exhorted to “feed the church of God” (vs. 28). Second, instead of neglecting the sheep, they are to “watch” and “support the weak” (vss. 31,35). Third, instead of ruling with “force and cruelty,” they are to remember “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (vs. 35).
Peter’s Threefold Charge
Furthermore, Peter, before his departure, gives a threefold charge to the under-shepherds (1 Peter 5:14). First, they are exhorted to “feed the flock of God.” Second, they are to care for the flock, “taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind.” Third, they are warned not to lord it over God’s heritage. They are not to drive the flock but to lead as “ensamples to the flock.”
But, as we have seen, these are the very things in which the shepherds of old so signally failed. Instead of feeding the flock they fed themselves; instead of taking the oversight they neglected the flock; instead of being ensamples they ruled the flock with harshness and cruelty. And, alas, as the shepherds of Israel failed, so the shepherds of the Christian flock have failed, and with a like result. Turning again to Ezekiel 34, we find the prophet, in verses 56, depicting the pitiful condition of God’s flock as a result of the failure of the shepherds. The sheep are scattered for the lack of a shepherd to lead and have become a prey to the beasts of the field. Harassed by the beasts of prey they wander through all the barren mountains and on every high hill. Instead of one flock — one beautiful flock — we have scattered, harassed and wandering sheep with none to search or seek after them. And what a solemn and striking picture of the condition of God’s people today! As a result of the failure of the leaders, God’s people have been scattered, and being scattered they have fallen a prey to the enemy. United they could have resisted the inroads of the enemy, but scattered they fall an easy prey to every evil, and under the power of evil they are starving and wandering in a solitary way in this barren world. Having portrayed the sorrowful condition of the sheep, the Lord proceeds to pass sentence upon the responsible shepherds: “Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand” (vss. 7-10). But if God is against the shepherds, He is for the sheep, and in the verses that follow we have a magnificent description of how God shepherds His flock. And as the Chief Shepherd acts, so should the under-shepherds. Thus in these verses (vss. 11-16) we have the perfect example for the truehearted shepherd, whether in Israel or among God’s people today. We do well to take to heart the sevenfold actings of the Chief Shepherd as set forth in these touching verses.
Seven Actions of the Shepherd
First, God says, “Behold I, even I, will . . . search for My sheep.” They have been scattered, and they have wandered, but they are “Mine,” says God, and “I will search for them.” May we never forget, whatever the condition of the sheep, they belong to Christ.
Second, having sought them, He “tends” them, for thus the passage should read, “I will both search for My sheep, and tend them. As a shepherd tendeth his flock in the day that he is among his scattered sheep” (Ezek. 34:11-12 JND). His sheep are the objects of His tender care. After the Good Samaritan found that poor wounded man and bound up his wounds, he brought him to an inn and “took care of him,” and before he left, he put the man in the charge of the host, saying, “Take care of him.” He seems to say to the host, “Do what I have been doing.” We have failed to act the part of the host. We have failed in tending the sheep. But not only does the Lord tend His sheep, but He does it in a very blessed way. It is not as one far removed in some high position giving directions for the care of the sheep, but it is as a shepherd “among his sheep that are scattered.”
Third, further, the Lord says, “I will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.” While leaders are busy darkening the sky with their controversies, the enemy is busy scattering the sheep. But the Lord will deliver. Not one of His sheep will be left behind when He acts in delivering power.
Fourth, the Lord does not deliver His people from the powers of the enemy and then leave them. He also “gathers” them, and so we read, “I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries.” “Separation” and “gathering” must go together. Separation without gathering only puffs up and leads to the spirit of the Pharisee and to further scattering. When the Lord separates His people from evil, He gathers them around Himself, for Christ is God’s great gathering center.
Fifth, what does God do with His delivered and gathered saints? He “will bring them to their own land” (vs. 13). There is a company we can call our own (Acts 4:23), and there is a country we can call our own. It is a heavenly country, but, alas, as the result of the scattering of the sheep the heavenly calling of God’s people is almost unknown, and the people of God have settled down in this world. Israel has been scattered and lost their land. Christians have been scattered and have lost the truth of their heavenly calling. But when God takes His people in hand, whether earthly or heavenly, it will be to “bring them to their own land.” If gathered by the Lord, it is that we may be led by the Lord into our own country.
Sixth, having led His flock into their own land, the Lord “feed[s] them in a good pasture.” The true food for the Christian is in the heavenly country. When the children of Israel were brought to their own land, they fed upon the old corn of the land (Josh. 5:11-12). Passing through the wilderness, we need Christ as the manna, but as a heavenly people we feed upon Christ as “the old corn of the land.” We need to feed upon all the glories and perfections of Christ in the place where He is, for what we feed upon forms us.
Seventh, lastly, in that heavenly land He gives His people rest: “I will cause them to lie down” (vs. 15). In this world there is no lasting rest for the people of God, but “there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (Heb. 4:9). When we awake in His likeness we shall be satisfied. He will make us to lie down in perfect rest, and “He will rest in His love” (Zeph. 3:17).
How perfect are the ways of the Chief Shepherd of the sheep! In the light of this perfect example of shepherd care, may we have grace to judge our past failures and seek, for the little time that may yet remain, to shape our service according to this divine standard. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, we “shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Peter 5:4).
H. Smith,
Scripture Truth, 10:9