Be Examples to the Flock (1Peter 5:1-11)

Be Examples to the Flock

 

1Peter 5:1-11

 

We see various colors around us. It is said that human eyes can tell around 150-200 colors. The number of colors that can be implemented in computer graphics is much larger. Although there are so many different colors, however, they are all the mixtures of the three primary colors yellow, red, and blue at different ratios. And as we know well, when the three primary colors of pigment are mixed together, the mixture becomes black, and when the three primary colors of light are mixed together, the mixture becomes white. I would like to think about today’s text using this fact about color. In today’s text, Peter addresses his message largely to two groups of people. One is “the elders,” and the other is “young men.” Considering that his exhortations to the elders are all about how to take care of God’s flock, we can assume that “the young men” are God’s flock under the care of the elders. The elders are shepherds who are caring for and leading sheep. Today, church ministers are called “pastor.” This term came from Latin noun “pastor” meaning “shepherd” and Latin verb “pascere” meaning “to lead to pasture, set to grazing, cause to eat.” Thus, we can say that all the elders are pastors in charge of shepherding God’s flock. When we meditate on the elders and the flock under their care, we are reminded of the people of Israel who were walking through the wilderness under the leadership of Moses in the old days. There were many enemies “prowling like a roaring lion” lurking around in the wilderness. Wandering here and there in the barren land, the people went through many sufferings. God himself became their Shepherd, and he led his people using Moses and dozens of elders like his hands. They had a hope, namely, their destination. It was entering the glorious land promised by God. Therefore, their sufferings in the wilderness were not meaningless at all. Verse 10 of today’s text says, “The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” Yes, it is. By letting us suffer a little while, God makes us whole, strong, firm, and steadfast. And through this training, he leads us to his eternal glory. Each of us is making this pilgrimage while living in this world. We should always see our life in this context in order to understand and live it correctly.

 

Peter’s exhortations to young men can be summarized into three points: first, don’t be conceited but be humble; second, don’t worry but stand firm in the faith; and third, be self-controlled and alert. In Peter’s teachings, I see the three primary colors of sin, and the three primary colors of righteousness. The three primary colors of sin are pride, fear, and greed. And the three primary colors of righteousness are humility, faith, and self-control. When Moses was shepherding the people of Israel through the wilderness, there were a number of serious collisions between Moses and the people. All these revolts happened out of the people’s sin. Some of them are recorded in Numbers. Numbers 11:4-6 says, “The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!’” They also cried out, complaining, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” (11:18). God had been faithfully providing them with manna, their daily bread. But, when they harbored greed in their heart, they began to grumble against God and to look back their old days in Egypt, missing the good food there. They didn’t feel like following God their Shepherd anymore. Numbers 13,14 is recording another episode. This time, the people’s problem was fear. Moses sent 12 tribal leaders to explore the land of Canaan, and when they returned, many of them delivered a very fearful report. “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are. The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:31-33). Hearing this report, the Israelites again wept aloud through the night, and grumbled against Moses and Aaron, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (14:1-3). Instead of trusting in Almighty God who had delivered them from Egypt, they were greatly panicked. Again, they resisted following God their Shepherd. Numbers 16 is dealing with the people’s pride. Some of the Israelites made a group, and rose up against their leaders Moses and Aaron. "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?” (Numbers 16:1-3). In addition, they said, “Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you also want to lord it over us! Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves?” (16:13-14). They didn’t know that Moses and Aaron became humble servants of God in order to take care of the people who were like sheep making many troubles. Rather, out of their pride, they despised the servants of God as failed leaders, incapable, wicked, and even “arrogant and oppressive.” It was because they were haughty, competing with Moses for the ruling position. In this way, the people of Israel had all of the primary colors of sin, pride, greed, and fear. They were, by themselves, in a very dangerous situation, fully exposed to devil.

 

Pride, greed and fear are the three primary colors of sin. In the world, however, these are not counted as something bad at all. Rather, these are the essential elements of “human glory.” That is, every day, we are pondering and seeking how to get higher, how to get richer, and how to get relaxed, free from all difficulties, dangers, and threats. So, the colors of what people envy or boast of are pride, greed, or easiness/laziness or their mixtures. If one has all of these in their vivid colors, he must be in the highest position of the world like the Egyptian Pharaoh or the Roman Emperor in his glory. To them, the wilderness is heaven. So, they don’t listen to warnings or instructions, and they don’t want to move from where they have settled. They never give up human glory. But the end of their human glory is being devoured by devil. Peter admonishes, “Humble yourselves,” “Cast all your anxiety on God and stand firm in the faith,” and “Be self-controlled and alert.” Humility, faith, and self-control are not something that we can gain through “mind training” in a quiet room. Humility, faith, and self-control are spiritual arts that we practice and learn by tuning our heart to God’s heart, and keeping in step with God. For us who have been seeking human glory in the world, it’s extremely hard to walk together with God in his heart and in his step. In today’s text, Peter mentions “sufferings” several times. In verse 1, he introduces himself, “a witness of Christ’s sufferings,” and in verse 9, he says, “your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings,” and in verse 10, “you have suffered a little while.” In the middle of these sufferings, we learn how to walk with God and trust in him. We learn that God gives grace to the humble. We learn that God, with his mighty hand, takes care of everything. We learn that God is making us whole, strong, firm, and steadfast. We learn that God is leading us into his eternal glory. Humility, faith, and self-control are spiritual arts that we must attain through all the sufferings, even at the cost of our life. With these spiritual arts, we can resist devil, and live in peace with God.

 

To the elders as well, Peter gives three admonitions: first, “Be shepherds of God’s flock, not because you must but because you are willing,” second, “Don’t be greedy for money but eager to serve,” and lastly, “Don’t lord it over the flock but be examples to them.” Interestingly, Peter’s admonitions to the elders are all about “how to take care of God’s flock.” This suggests that shepherding is the most important, or the only important job to the elders. In John 21, the risen Jesus met Peter, and gave him two last commandments. One is “Take care of my sheep” (15-17), and the other is “Follow me” (19,22). There are two things that Peter must do as an elder. One is following and learning Jesus, and the other is taking care of Jesus’ sheep. Peter calls Jesus “Chief Shepherd” (4). The Jesus whom Peter should follow and learn is “Shepherd Jesus.” That is, following Jesus, Peter should learn and practice how the Lord took care of his sheep and led them. Accordingly, the Jesus whom Peter should learn with all his heart and strength is “Shepherd Jesus.” In fact, Peter’s admonitions to the elders are just his testimonies of “Good Shepherd Jesus” in John 10. In laying down his life for the sheep, Jesus says, “I lay it down of my own accord” (18). Distinguished from “the hired hand” who just takes advantages of his position and then abandons the sheep and runs away, Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep so that the sheep may have life and have it to the full (10-12). Moreover, Jesus doesn’t thrust the sheep into moving by brandishing a cane behind, but he calls his own sheep by name and goes on ahead of them so that they follow him just because of the shepherd’s tender voice (3,4). This Chief Shepherd Jesus is himself the outstanding example to Peter, the elders, and all the ministers. Thus, we should keep learning Jesus, and at the same time, taking care of Jesus’ sheep.

 

Peter introduces himself “a witness of Christ’s sufferings.” What was the reason of Jesus’ sufferings? Jesus’ sufferings are all for his sheep. As we see through Moses who led the people of Israel in the wilderness, shepherding God’s flock is far from the idyllic scene of green pasture with sheep grazing in peace. In fact, shepherding God’s flock is an extremely laborious work that involves fierce wrestling with the sheep’s sin problems. Exhausted after struggling with the grumbling people, Moses came to God and complained to him, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant?” (Numbers 11:11,12). “If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin” (15). Like Moses did, Jesus also took the burden of his sheep. Seeing Jesus coming toward him, John the Baptist said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:19). We know how difficult it is to handle a minor mistake of my most beloved one. And it is beyond our imagination how heavy the sin of the world is when Jesus embraces all the souls in the world and takes away their sins. The suffering must be a pure bitter pain “without a ray of joy.” Jesus suffered the sufferings for his sheep. And it is the job of elders, pastors, and ministers to join the Lord’s sufferings for his sheep. Elders’ sin is much more serious than that of the flock. It is because their sins are invisible and therefore hardly correctible, and because their sins bring forth not only their own destruction but also the destruction of God’s flock, and because God’s beacon of light for guiding his flock turns into Satan’s stronghold for tempting and misleading God’s flock.

 

In verse 4, Peter says, “When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” St. Paul also mentioned two crowns that he loves to attain. One is the crown of righteousness that Jesus prepared for him who had fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith (2Timothy 4:7,8). And the other crown is his sheep. He said to his brothers in Thessalonica, “What is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy” (1Thessalonicans 2:19,20). We enter God’s glory by following Jesus. And we enter God’s glory by shepherding God’s flock. May the Lord help us save time and commit ourselves more in following Jesus and serving his flock!