Shepherds Of The Flock

(Part Two)

by Bryan Gibson

In the New Testament the work of elders is compared to that of shepherds (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2). That being the case, we can better understand their work by determining the characteristics of a good shepherd. Here are three characteristics we looked at in last week’s article:

1.         A good shepherd makes sure his flock is fed.

2.         A good shepherd watches over his flock.

3.         A good shepherd protects his flock.

Let’s look at three more characteristics of a good shepherd.

4.         A good shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep (John 10:11).

Laying down one’s life includes much more than literally dying for someone (see 1 John 3:16-18). The idea here is that elders must be dedicated to the flock, willing to sacrifice time, energy, etc., to make sure the flock is cared for. Elders need to have the same attitude expressed by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:15: “I will spend and be spent for your souls.”

5.         A good shepherd knows which sheep are sick, or weak, or hurting, and is prepared to help them.

This was one area in which the shepherds of Israel failed: “The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken…” (Ezekiel 34:4). In just about every “flock,” there will be sheep who require special care, due to their delicate condition—“comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). Nursing these precious souls back to health will take some effort, but it will be effort well spent.

6.         A good shepherd will seek those who are lost (Luke 15:4-7; Ezekiel 34:6).

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4). One lost sheep is too many—every effort should be made to bring him back to the fold. Even if one is impenitent and has to be withdrawn from (1 Corinthians 5: 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14), effort should still be made to restore him (2 Thessalonians 3:15). Remember, at one time were all “like sheep going astray” (1 Peter 2:25; Isaiah 53:6). Think about how much effort the “chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4) spent to bring us back.