What Is A Shepherd? / Part Four
“Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.” — Proverbs 27:23 KJV
| Definition of “pastor”: “A shepherd, one who tends herds or flocks” (Vine’s An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words). “Pastor” and “shepherd” are the same word in the original Greek. |
God As Shepherd
God was Israel’s pastor and they recognized Him as such. “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth” (Ps. 80:1). “Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young” (Isa. 40:10-11).
Just as God cared for Israel, so He will also care for believers. He will not leave us without a shepherd. “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12). Jesus Christ has all of the rights over the Church because it belongs to Him (Col. 1:17-18). The Lord Jesus Christ has taken it upon Himself to look after it. Therefore He is the One who calls and gives pastors to His Church; and they are responsible to Him.
What Is The Function Of A Shepherd?
God has given various gifts, some prophets, some evangelists, and some teachers and pastors. By the lists that are given in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 and 14, and Ephesians 4 we understand that normally speaking one person does not have all of these gifts. Perhaps a believer will only have one gift. So we need to ask, “What is the gift and work that the Lord wants from the one He has called to shepherd? Is it to rule, be the director, guide and delegate all in the church? Should he preach all the messages, direct the singing, choose all the hymns and say all the prayers? Is it to have a regular salary?” From the Scriptures we know that this is not what the Lord has in mind.
In Peter we read that all believers are a holy and royal priesthood to give glory to the Lord (1 Pet. 2:5-9). It is the privilege and responsibility of every believer to offer spiritual sacrifices to God when the church meets. This may be by means of a prayer, praise, reading of Scripture or through a hymn that is sung. This is not reserved for only one person or group of persons, but for every believer within the limits that the Word of God gives in relation to the spiritual condition of a believer and the limitations on sisters in the church.
Furthermore, God has given a gift to each member of the Body of Christ. We do not all have the same gift and neither do we have all of the gifts. Having one or a few who are chosen to preach, direct, organize and delegate takes away the right of the Lord Jesus to be the Lord and Head in His own Church – a very serious matter. In many places today the right of the Lord to use whom He desires by the Holy Spirit to give praises, to preach the Word or to pray is restricted by human organization. In so doing the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ, has been replaced.
What Is Shepherding?
It is the work done by one who has been called by the Lord, given the charge and prepared by Him to look after His sheep. He must be able to teach but he may not necessarily be involved in public preaching as this is the work of the one who has the gift of a teacher. A shepherd looks after the sheep. He senses their weaknesses and needs, hopefully before they go astray. He helps, encourages and strengthens them. Many times the work is done in private between the shepherd and the sheep in the presence of God.
If a sheep goes astray there is more work to be done. One day Jesus, speaking to the Pharisees, asked, “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” (Lk. 15:4). The sheep was lost. By itself the helpless one would not have returned home so the shepherd had to go look for it. The search was difficult and lonely. With perseverance, he looked and looked and looked until he found the lost sheep. He didn’t give up until he found it and brought it home again, sharing his joy with everyone. The shepherd examined the found sheep to see if medicine or ointment needed to be applied, being concerned until he was certain that it was fine.
When others are discouraged or give up, the pastor applies himself fully to the restoration of the dear, lost sheep. He gives his life in service for the sheep. Without looking for attention or his own glory, he works out in the field – a shepherd with the sheep. He watches carefully and knows the condition of those under his vigilance and responsibility (Prov. 27:23). We are reminded that David followed the sheep (2 Sam. 7:8). From that vantage point he could survey and watch over them. He would quickly see the one who was going astray, hurt or in need. The shepherd could then intervene and give the needed help.
A pastor guides more than he commands. “The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd” (Eccl. 12:11). A goad is a sharply pointed pole used to prick the animal without damaging it, to guide and encourage it to continue on. Guiding is done by using the Word of God, necessitating a proper manner of life by the shepherd as an example for the sheep. “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation” (Heb. 13:7).
The shepherd must recognize spiritual dangers and protect and warn the sheep under his care. “When he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice” (Jn. 10:4).
A shepherd is one who has compassion and gives comfort. The Lord Jesus shows how we should comfort others. One day the Lord said to His disciples, “Now is My soul troubled” (Jn. 12:27) because He knew that in a few hours He would be suffering on the cross. But even with this burden on His heart, only a few moments later with His disciples sad and troubled He said to them, “Let not your heart be troubled” (Jn. 14:1). The burden of that which was before Him was so much greater than the sorrow of His disciples, yet, rather than being occupied with Himself, He was concerned with them and their needs.
With an attitude of humility and compassion a good pastor is there to lift up the one who has fallen in the way. He is one who knows how to apply a spiritual remedy for the individual who is wounded and hurt. “And He said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit ... will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?” (Mt. 12:11).
Peter, chosen by the Lord Himself to keep and feed the sheep and lambs, teaches that if shepherds do well there will be a good return from the Lord. He said, “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being [examples] to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Pet. 5:1-4). Considering his words we are reminded:
By meditating on each of these words we will reap rich teaching on the conduct and character of those who have been enlisted in the service of a shepherd.
The Importance Of Prayer
Reading Deuteronomy 9 we discover a quality which is absolutely necessary in the life of a pastor. Moses wrote: “Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Let Me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they ... And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger ... I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not Thy people and Thine inheritance, which Thou hast redeemed through Thy greatness, which Thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand ... Yet they are Thy people and Thine inheritance, which Thou broughtest out by Thy mighty power and by Thy stretched out arm” (Dt. 9:13-14,18,26,29).
We may be reminded of the story of Moses when he was on the mountaintop with God: Israel made the golden calf and worshiped it. God told Moses that He saw the wickedness of the people and said He would destroy them and start over again through Moses. Not desiring this, Moses implored God, interceding on behalf of Israel. Moses requested that God not destroy them, reminding the Lord of His relationship with His people and the testimony of His great work of redeeming Israel from the bondage of Egypt by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Just think about it, Moses spent 40 days on the mountaintop in God’s presence interceding for Israel. He was not there seeking something for himself but was there on behalf of Israel, seeking what was for their good and for the glory of God.
This reminds us of the Lord Jesus Christ’s interceding for all His sheep in John 17. We also think of His intercession for Peter: “The Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Lk. 22:31-32).
Obviously, a very great and important part of the work of a pastor is prayer, whether privately interceding for the sheep or praying with the sheep. God’s strength, not ours, keeps the flock. So we ask, “How often are you praying? How much of your time is invested in prayer for each individual sheep as well as for the flock that God has placed under your care?”
By Albert Blok
Look for the conclusion of this series for pastors next month.