With unwearied care, the Shepherd leads His sheep through the trackless wastes until He gathers each one safely Home at last.
That our blessed Lord Jesus is the Chief Shepherd is a truth that the under-shepherds would do well to keep in mind. To them He has entrusted the care of His sheep, but He remains, for all time, the Chief Shepherd. Their work among the sheep has its source in Him, its authority from Him, and its pattern after Him. Elders, therefore, should always be in submission to Christ as those who will ultimately give account to Him alone. They need to consider the implications of His being the Chief Shepherd.
The Owner of the Sheep
Firstly, the flock belongs to Christ because He purchased it by His own blood (Acts 20:28). He is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep (Jn. 10:11) that they might have eternal life (Jn. 10:28). And He continues to care for them. The Lord knows each of them by name (Jn. 10:3,?27). And when they face danger, He is willing to put Himself in harm’s way to guarantee their safety (see Jn. 10:8). A hireling, on the other hand, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees because he doesn’t care for the sheep (Jn. 10:12-13).
Secondly, the sheep belong to the Lord Jesus because they recognize Him alone. They know His voice and they follow Him (Jn. 10:4,27). They do not know the voice of the stranger, nor do they follow him. Instead, they flee (Jn. 10:5).
Thirdly, the sheep belong to the Chief Shepherd because, having given them eternal life, He is the guarantor of their eternal security. At the end of his life, Moses, the man of God, in blessing the nation of Israel, said “Yea, He loved the people; all His saints are in Thy hand” (Deut. 33:3). Those who know Christ as Lord and Saviour have tasted of this safety. No one is able to pluck them out of His hand, neither can any one pluck them out of His Father’s hand (Jn. 10:28-29). Furthermore, our Lord is the surety of His people’s eternal security because He is the mediator of a better covenant (Heb. 7:22)—a covenant that was established between Him and God, and which He sealed with His own blood. The Lord Jesus is our great high priest who now lives by the power of an endless life (Heb. 7:16). His priesthood is therefore unchangeable (or un-transferable) and thus He is able to save to the uttermost those that come to God by Him, for He lives forever to make intercession for them (Heb. 7:24-25).
The Shepherd and Bishop of Their Souls
“For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls” (1 Pet. 2:25). Christ’s sheep have turned to Him from their wanderings and going astray. By His stripes they were healed. As the Shepherd He feeds the flock, gathers the lambs with His arm, and carries them in His bosom (Isa. 40:11). He leads them into green pastures and by refreshing waters of rest (Ps. 23:2). He alone is indeed the Great Shepherd of the sheep who was brought back from the dead by the blood of the everlasting covenant (Heb. 13:20-21).
As the Bishop or Overseer of their souls, the Lord Jesus is the One who determines the circumstances of each sheep’s life. He oversees their childhood, their family surroundings, their education, their places of work, and their habitation. His Divine wisdom would lead them first to accept Him as Lord and Saviour, and then to live their lives according to His will. To those who yield in obedience to Him, His Holy Spirit reproduces Christ-likeness in them. No human under-shepherd is able to exercise such a profound influence in the lives of the sheep. We can learn from human rulers, teachers, and shepherds in regard to their faith and manner of life, but all of these will change and pass on. Only the Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Heb. 13:7-8). Only He remains permanently available to His people in all circumstances of life.
The Shepherd of Shepherds
Christ’s Holy Spirit raises up elders to shepherd the flock (Acts 20:28). The Word of His grace should be the elders’ mainstay for their own edification and that of the flock (Acts 20:32). They are as much in need of His loving care as the sheep that He has entrusted to them. Isaiah speaks of how the Lord gently leads those that are with young (Isa. 40:11), meaning those that are capable of feeding others. In other words, the Lord cares both for the lambs and for those that feed them.
Elders, as under-shepherds, need to have a full appreciation of their relationship with their Chief. This will help them carry out their duties to the glory and honor of their Master rather than for their own profit or personal gain. First, they have to always realize that they are only in a stewardship position over the flock. Thus they always need to keep in mind that they do not own the sheep; Christ does. Remembering this will prevent elders from setting themselves up as lords over God’s heritage (1 Pet. 5:3) and enable them to walk humbly before the Master, owning His Lordship over them. As stewards it is required of them that they be faithful to Him who has entrusted His sheep to them (1 Cor. 4:2). Elders should do their work with a single eye for His glory. They should do it willingly, not by constraint, and never for personal glory or gain (1 Pet. 5:2). As the Master has left us an example to follow His steps, likewise under-shepherds ought to lead by example (1 Pet. 2:21; 5:3), not seeking their reward here on earth in money, prestige, or the praise of men, but looking forward to His appearing. For when at last He appears, He will reward those faithful shepherds with a crown of glory that doesn’t fade away (1 Pet. 5:4).
Secondly, elders ought to show diligent care in their tending of the sheep, “Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Rom. 12:11). In Old Testament times, God severely rebuked the slothful shepherds of Israel for their lack of diligence in caring for the sheep. The flock was not fed regularly, nor tended when sick and broken, and ended up being scattered (Ezek. 34:1-10). The under-shepherds of the risen Lord Jesus ought to take heed of these warnings in the Word of God. They need to hold themselves responsible for the kind of spiritual food offered to the sheep. Elders need to seek after the wanderers, tend to the ailing ones, and bind up the broken and injured, for they shall give an account of their work to the Lord (2 Cor. 5:10).
Thirdly, overseers ought to watch out for wolves coming from outside and deny them access to the flock (Acts 20:29). These could be false teachers or others with agendas aimed at perverting the truth. In particular, in our times there are those who attempt to attack the truth of the scriptural gathering of the people of God. It is the duty of elders to prevent such men from misleading the flock.
Elders should also be wary of the human inclination to seek to draw away disciples to ourselves. To do so would be to draw them away from the Lord Himself. Gathering a following around us, forming cliques and parties, is clearly condemned by the Word of God (1 Cor. 3:3-4). Elders, therefore, should be before the Lord examining themselves personally and corporately to keep such tendencies from becoming a cause for concern.
The under-shepherds should also guard against strife, envy, malice, or wrath coming among them (1 Pet. 2:1). They should be of one mind on major issues and make a practice of looking up to the Chief Shepherd in all things for guidance.
This is quite a list of duties and obligations. But remember beloved that, “ye have need for patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while and He that shall come, will come, and will not tarry” (Heb. 10:36-37). Amen, even so come Lord Jesus.