“Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them–not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve” (1 Peter 5:2 NIV).
It is worth noting that the Apostle Peter refers to the members of the Christian community as “God’s flock” within this passage. This serves as a helpful reminder for anyone who ministers in a position of spiritual leadership. Our text from 1 Peter 5:2 tells us that a congregational flock does not belong to the elders, but to God- and He has entrusted those leaders with the responsibility to serve His people as under shepherds.
Psalm 23:1 employs this metaphor for God as our Shepherd in a beloved and comforting portion of Scripture: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” We also find some corresponding imagery in Psalm 100:3, where we are told, “Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
Jesus made a similar allusion to Himself in another passage that is widely known and cherished…
“Then Jesus said to them again, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:6-10).
Much like a field shepherd, a spiritual shepherd must care for God’s flock and watch for thieves or predators that may threaten a congregation. Peter was well-acquainted with these responsibilities, having received a personal calling from Jesus to “Feed My sheep” in John 21:15-17. Nevertheless, it is possible to overstep those responsibilities and take this analogy too far.
Human beings who bear the image of God are not like dull-witted sheep that must be driven by the shepherd and the sheepdogs that assist him. Instead, they should be guided by the shepherd’s example and corrected if necessary. In doing so, we can emulate Jesus’ attitude towards others…
“…when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).