In approximately AD 63, Peter writes (or
by orally speaking as Silas writes)[1] the
book of 1 Peter as an epistle to the churches of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey).
[2] Peter, writing to the Gentile churches, was
encouraging them amidst their trials and persecution (1 Pet
1:6;2;12,19-20;4:12,14), and exhorting them to pursue sanctification or as Peter
calls it salvation of the soul(1 Pet 1:9).
This exhortation to be sanctified is one of perseverance. Sanctification
is personal spiritual growth or maturity, and a part of this growth is
reinforced by the Shepherds’ nurturing care. Peter calls these shepherds, elders. The position of elder (Πρεσβυτέρους) as identified in 1 Peter 5, is a
position that implies leadership or authority based on seniority- not of age,
but of spiritual growth based on the context in 1 Peter 5:5. [3] The role of elder/pastor as mentioned 1Peter
is to be a shepherd - one whose task is to watchfully tend to the people of God
(the sheep) entrusted to his or her care.
1Peter 5:1-4 in Context
to all of 1 Peter
Peter is writing to the churches in
Asia Minor. He is writing to the chosen race of aliens, not of this world but
of a separate nation, a nation to come (1 Pet 1:1; 2:9-13). Peter seems to be
using these motifs as a means to look forward to the return of Christ and His
Kingdom. Then there is a promise of hope
based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Pet 1:3). Those who choose to hold
unto this promise, then pursue their calling for the sake of obtaining an
inheritance (1 Pet 1:4). The specific reward for the elders is the Crown of
Glory. According to Michaels, the word crown is “actually a victor’s wreath” of
glory.[4] Moreover,
Peter seems to be dealing with personal sin, because in 2:11 Peter states,
“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lust which
wage war against the soul.”[5] Peter
then proceeds to give instruction on how each person should act, including the
leadership of the elders during this time of waiting.
Commentary of 1Peter
5:1-4
1 Peter 5:1 states, “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.” According to Mark Dubis, the
phrase “Πρεσβυτέρους οὖν
ἐν ὑμῖν[6]”
is “fronted as a topical frame, making a topical shift to a specific group of
recipients,” and in this case it is the elders (Πρεσβυτέρους).[7]
Moreover, the word “οὖν”
(Therefore), is being used to introduce a new exhortation, which is possibly
linking back to the judgment in 1 Peter 4:17.[8]
This concept of judgment starting “with God’s own people is already found in
Ezekiel 9:6 and Jeremiah 25[32]:29.”[9]
Feldmeier explains that while the judgment “in the Prophetic text... is about a
judgment of annihilation… in 1 Peter it is a judgment of purification.”[10] It
is because of this judgment that God inspired Peter to give this exhortation to
prepare elder/pastors to be shepherds of the people of God.
The passage also states that Peter
is a “witness of the sufferings of Christ.” This suffering can be taken as a
“subjective genitive” as only referring to Christ’s suffering. On the other
hand, it makes a bit more sense to translate it as an attributive genitive.
Dubis translates it with an attributive genitive, which would result in the
suffering being a “Messianic suffering” - a broader suffering of both “Jesus
and believers.”[11]
For example, in the preceding verses in 1 Peter 4:13 Peter calls the people of
God to share in the “sufferings of Christ.” This is paralleled by Paul in
Romans 8:17-18 which states:
And if
children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if
indeed we suffer with Him so
that we may also be glorified with Him. For
I consider that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that
is to be revealed to us.” [bold added].
1 Peter 5:2-4 states, "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 Shepherds appears, you will receive the unfading crown of Glory." This command powerfully commands elders/pastors to shepherd the flock of God.
The concept of shepherding (ποιμαίνω) conveys two key ideas: first,
caring for and nurturing the flock and second, protecting and leading.[12] Therefore, Peter is calling pastors/elders to
fill in the role of being a shepherd, being leaders in the church and leading
by nurturing and protecting. Moreover, Peter emphasizes this idea more by
exhorting the elder/pastors to exercise “oversight.” According to BDAG, the word “ἐπισκοποῦντες”
or oversight means to “accept responsibility to care for someone.”[13]
In other words, elders and pastors are responsible for willingly nurturing, protecting,
and leading the people of God, because these are the tasks that God has given
them.
Furthermore, Peter exhorts the elders/pastors
to not let wrong desires be the motivation to lead. The role of being a pastor
is not for those who are greedy, or power hungry. Rather, the motivation should
be based on Christ’s resurrection as mentioned in 1 Peter 1, and on the hope of
obtaining the victor’s wreath of glory (1 Pet 1:4; 5:4). Not to mention the
fact that when Christ returns, He will set up his Kingdom, of which every
believer is a citizen. Elders/pastors should also serve with eagerness, just as
one should eagerly wait for Christ’s return because each one is called and
entrusted by God with His people. Thus, one should serve willingly out of
eagerness, because he or she is waiting for the return of Christ and the
rewards that come along with that return. On the other hand, one could at least
serve out of reverential fear of God. Again this section of passages is
directly linked to the warning in 1 Peter
4:17a, which states, “For it is time for
judgment to begin with the household of God.” Indeed, there will
come a time of judgment where each elder/pastor will stand before God and give an
account of why they did not shepherd the people of God.
Biblical Theology of
Shepherding
First, God is the one who calls and
gives the responsibility of shepherd, for as Acts 20:28 states, “Be on guard
for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made
you overseers, to shepherd the church of God
which He purchased with His own blood.” The word here for
overseers is, “ἐπίσκοπος”,
and can be translated this way, “the Holy Spirit has made you [responsible for safeguarding
or seeing to it that (the church is cared for) in the correct way].”[14]
The basic concept then for an overseer is being made a guardian of the church
by the Holy Spirit.
Second, one cannot fully understand the
concept of shepherding the people of God (the sheep) without studying Ezekiel
chapter 34. This chapter is an allegory about shepherds and sheep, to explain
the exile of the nation of Judah, and is “based on the ancient image of the
king as a shepherd… [and] places the blame …on [Israel’s] wicked shepherds.”[15] Ezekiel 34:1-10 is an explanation of how the
shepherds were neglectful and abusive leaders. This is a perfect example of how
God called and gave a responsibility to the shepherds [kings] of Israel, but
due to their neglect the sheep were sickly, broken, and scattered (Ezk 34:1-6).
In response to this, God thorough Ezekiel held Israel accountable by punishing
them through the Babylonian captivity.[16]
The fact is that neglectful shepherds do not just hurt themselves, but they
also hurt the people of God, because it was not just the shepherds who ended up
in the captivity but also the sheep. In
the end, poor leadership, neglect, and abusive power caused God’s wrath to fall
upon the shepherds and the flock.
After those horrible shepherds failed, God
promised a new, more perfect shepherd who is of course fulfilled in Jesus
Christ. Matthew 2:6 states in reference to Jesus, “‘And you, Bethlehem, land of
Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall
come forth a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.” The prophecy continues promising to rescue
the scattered (11-12) and to bring justice to those who are weak and downtrodden
(20). Today, as seen in 1 Peter 5:2-3,
God still calls elders/pastors to be shepherds.
The question then is when Christ returns, does one want to be found as a
shepherd who abuses his or her power and neglected the flock, or does one wishes
to found as one who followed God’s will and received the victory wreath of glory.
Thirdly, shepherds are called to
proclaim the Word of God. Paul states in Colossians 1:28, “Him we proclaim,
warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may
present everyone mature in Christ” (ESV). The idea here is that the teachers/elders
should proclaim the gospel and teach in the wisdom of God, so that when Christ
returns those who are under the teacher/elder’s care will be mature before
Christ at the Bema Seat. This indeed is the goal, to be “responsible for
safeguarding or seeing to it that (the church is cared for) in the correct way.”
This is the call that the Holy Spirit makes on each elder and pastor. Part of
this declaration of God’s word sometimes is not easy. God called Ezekiel to be
a watchman which involved going out and declaring God’s message to the people
of Israel (Ezk 33:7). This message was one of judgment (the Babylonian
captivity), and then one of a messianic hope (Jesus).
Conclusion
In conclusion, 1 Peter 5:1-4 is a call
to elders and pastors to be good stewards of their role as shepherds, whose
task is to lead with care, nurturing the people of God. In a way, the shepherds
are by the power of the Holy Spirit, the safety nets of the flock - helping
each sheep grow spiritually in their daily walk with God. The shepherd’s
actions should result in the spiritual growth of the flock, and serve as a
means to help prevent spiritual wandering. Meanwhile, if any sheep does wander,
a shepherd’s heart is one to seek out the sheep and try to bring them back to
the fold. This also means that churches
need to have enough staff to meet the needs of the flock. If one pastor cannot
meet the demands of each member of the flock, then the elder/pastor needs to
train up more shepherds. When training these shepherds, they should be taught
to reverentially fear God, and to hold onto the hope of receiving the victor’s
wreath of glory. The task of leading and
nurturing the body of Christ is no small task, because of daily trials and
persecution. Therefore, pastors and
elders need to rely on Christ’s atoning work, eagerly awaiting the return of
Christ, by faithfully serving God’s flock. This is done so that when Christ does return, the
elder/pastor can obtain the inheritance, which hopefully will include the
presentation of the members of his or
her personal flock as mature in Christ.
[1] 1 Peter 5:12 states, “Through
Silvanus” this has been understood by some scholars to mean that Silvanus was
possibly Silas, and that either he wrote the letter for peter or at least was
the one who delivered the letter to the different churches and gave the message
to them. Norman Hillyer, 1 and 2 Peter,
Jude, (NIBCNT; Peabody: Paternoster; 1992)147.
[2]Hillyer, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude, 3-4.
[3] (πρεσβύτερος) is used in the New Testament 66
times of which 60 times is referring to Elder or Elders, not just as one’s
senior but that conveys a sense of authority or position.
[5] All Biblical references are in
NASB unless noted.
[6] Cited NA 27, 1993.
[7] Mark Dubis, 1Peter: A Handbook on the Greek Text, (Waco, Baylor University
Press, 2010)158.
[8]
Dubis, 1Peter, 159.
[9] Reinhard Feldmeier, The First
Letter of Peter: A commentary on the Greek Text, (Waco, Baylor University
Press, 2008), 228.
[10] Feldmeier, The First Letter of Peter,228.
[11] Dubis, 1Peter, 148.
[12] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
and Other Early Christian Literature (3rd ed.; Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2000), 842.
[13] BDAG, 379.
[14] My modified translation based on
BDAG, ἐπίσκοπος, 379.
[15] Steven Tuell, Ezekiel, (NIBCOT; Peabody: Paternoster;
2009)236.
[16] John F. Walvord, Every Prophecy of the Bible,( Colorado
Springs, David C. Cook Publishing,
2011)177.
This Paper was written for fulfillment of MS 502 in May 2012 so I ask that if you decide to use any of the information above please
cite and give credit where credit is due. Thanks and God Bless.
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