Feed My Sheep

I. Introduction

‘Feed my sheep…’ (Fig. 1). The sheep belong to Jesus; they are His; He claims them, as His very own. These words from Jesus convey such depth of love and concern for the Flock one cannot “grab hold of it” aright. The words resonate with the sound of deep familial love. Imagine going on extended travel and entrusting the care of your beloved and precious family into someone’s hands in your absence. You would probably say to them:

Protect and care for my family until I return; make sure that all their needs are met; fuss over them, and be there for them should they come into need; treat them as you would your very own; please do this for me, for I love them so very, very much.

And in your absence your family’s well-being would be on your mind constantly, but you would probably say to yourself:

I can trust their caretaker, they love me, and thus they will love and care for my family, just like they have manifested their faithful love for me [1].

It is not surprising that Jesus prefaced His “feed my sheep” directive to Peter with the question of whether or not Peter loved Him; indeed, He asked Peter that question three times. Some say that the question was asked three times in connection with Peter’s three denials of Jesus—probably so—but it seems as likely that Jesus was also stressing the synergy behind loving Him and caring for His beloved family. Here is likely made clear the preeminent characteristic of a true minister of Jesus Christ—they must love Jesus far above all else, for then they will, out of a sort of commensurate compulsion, love Jesus’ sheep above all else as well. And this love for the sheep is as fodder for them; perhaps this is what Jesus had in mind when He said to Peter “feed my sheep…” That is, He says to Peter: ‘Lovest thou me Peter? ‘ ‘Yea Lord,’ he answers, and Jesus says in three different ways…[then] ‘feed [love] my sheep…’ A given Christian ministry surely qualifies itself by the depth and veracity of its vicarious love for the Flock on behalf of the head Shepherd Jesus Early Christendom Fig. 3.

This pulpit is interested in categorizing and discussing the aforementioned “fodder” by which Christian ministry feeds Jesus’ sheep. In that effort these points will be considered:

• The Word of God—quintessential fodder.

• Training and retraining in holiness.

• Burden Bearing | Affection for, Consolation and Support of, the Flock.

• The makeup and mindset of a Christian shepherd.

We are approaching the subject with the premise that all Christians, not just pastors (though the great weight of responsibility lays here), have to varying degrees a certain responsibility to feed the Flock of Jesus Christ. What follows considers this responsibility with the whole of Christendom in view, not just pastors.

 

II. The Word of God—Quintessential Fodder

Why is the Word of God quintessential fodder? Probably because through the Word of God we gain knowledge of God, and from that knowledge stems sound wisdom, and from that a working spiritual understanding (1Cr 2:6-16, “Be Holy”); in turn, from these the Spirit of God can, by and by, instill the holiness of Christ. Thus the Word of God feeds our holiness, which holiness is prerequisite for eternal life in the presence of Jehovah God; and clearly any food that sustains eternal life is expressly quintessential. It follows that in keeping with His all-embracing care and love for the Flock, Spirit-driven exposition of the Word of God is a primary sort of feeding of the sheep Jesus must have had in mind, for this feeding serves their consummate well-being best [2]. But the Flock consists of both sheep and lambs, and each is fed the Word slightly different (Gen 33:13, cf. 1Cr 3:1-2), but to the same blessed end; that is, for their spiritual and physical well-being presently and ultimately—here is excellent provision. Moreover, the provider must be cognizant of/sensitive to their approach and personal presence in this feeding (2Ti 2:24).

III. Training and Retraining in Holiness

This section connects with the previous one in that the Word of God informs holiness training, which training is centered in attaining to Christ-likeness. Here is where the Holy Spirit of God energizes the Word of God, and it becomes a living Word that transforms its hearers ever more unto Christ-likeness.

If training in holiness (Christ-likeness) is a positive (amen), then conviction and reproof of sin is in a manner of speaking the negative here (Pro 6:23, Eph 5:11, 2Ti 3:16, 4:2, Hbr 4:12, 12:5-6, Rev 3:19); holiness training (feeding) per se necessarily involves both [3].

IV. Burden Bearing | Affection for, Consolation and Support of, the Flock

Gal 6:2 | Isa 40:11

Phillip Keller writes:

“…The diligent sheepman rises early and goes out first thing every morning without fail to look over his flock. It is the initial, intimate contact of the day. With a practiced, sympathetic, searching eye he examines the sheep to see that they are fit and content and able to be on their feet. In an instant he can tell if they have been molested during the night—whether any are ill or if there are some which require special attention. Repeatedly throughout the day he casts his eye over the flock to make sure that all is well. Nor even at night is he oblivious to their needs. He sleeps as it were ‘with one eye and both ears open’ ready at the least sign of trouble to leap up and protect his own. This is a sublime picture of the care given to those who are under Christ’s control.” (Keller 19)

 

The Flock needs constant heartfelt affection, consolation, and support, for beyond the significant and constant vicissitudes of life which wear on everyone, the Flock is thoroughly suffused in an environment of callous, cold, God-disdaining unbelief (wolves all about [Mat 10:16]) which can rip and tear them deeper and harder (and in addition to) said vicissitudes. It can rip and tear them deeper and harder because the Flock is required to maintain a Christian demeanor in the face of these trials, hence they are as sheep before wolves—vulnerable. Yes the Flock has God on its side, but God oftentimes chooses to work through a Christian network of affection, consolation, and support; He may definitely choose to work through the very sufferings of the Flock. We suppose that Christian pastors and laity feel the burden to step up to the plate here all too well; may God bless you for giving so of yourselves for the sake of the Flock (this tender feeding for Jesus).

In Jesus’ physical absence the Church’s pastors and laity must be like the diligent sheepmen Phillip Keller describes. Indeed, in a manner of speaking, the sheep themselves must be diligent sheepmen one for another. Table 1 considers how each might do this.

V. The Makeup and Mindset of a Christian Shepherd

(The Mindset of a Shepherd, A Pastor’s Prayer-a JA Psalm)

We are not adequate to the task before us here, so we shall, by God’s grace, offer but a possible starting point which more able and qualified Christian shepherds may develop.

Jesus Christ described in one word the characterizations we seek here—GOOD. A Christian shepherd must be a good shepherd, like Jesus is a good shepherd. And our Lord in no uncertain way qualified what He meant by “good.”

• A good shepherd enters by the door of the sheepfold. What could that mean? The meaning comes out by contrast: One not entering by the door is almost certainly up to mischief, like robbers and thieves are wont to enter by some devious means. The good shepherd enters by the door of the sheepfold—“straight-up,” if you will. And the doorman opens the door for the good shepherd because the good shepherd has shown himself to be trustworthy (contrast the house of Eli, on whom God “slammed the door” “Eli and the Church”).

• A good shepherd calls his own by name, and they hear his voice, and he leads them out to find pasture. This is a beautiful picture. ‘Blessed brother…blessed sister…it is I, I have come for you, let us go forth together and rejoice; let us skip, and sing, and be glad together in the green fields of God…’ Yes the sheep hear His blessed voice and they leap for joy at the sound of it; they look all about until they locate the blessed Savior that calls tenderly and lovingly for them to follow Him.

• A good shepherd goes ahead of the flock—he takes the point, so to speak, and the sheep follow him, because the sheep know his voice, they trust him as their leader; but a stranger they will not follow; they will flee from a stranger; for they do not know his voice. This bespeaks of intimate trust—the good shepherd has shown himself a trustworthy and able leader; has led them to green pastures and cool still waters; has bound their wounds and frolicked with them, and the sheep are content to follow him wherever he goes. O how sweet our blessed Savior’s voice, how good His company, how abundant His green pastures; how healing His balm; how pleasant His merry making.

• A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. When the wolves come, when tribulation is all about, the good shepherd hustles to step up into the savage mix to save his own, no matter what the cost to himself; indeed, such personal cost does not enter his mind, all he is concerned about is the well-being of his flock. This is a picture of Redemption; of Calvary; of our great savior God; of our Good Shepherd giving all for His own to rescue and redeem them from separation from Jehovah God; from separation from abundant Life.

• A good shepherd is not like a hired hand; a hired hand cowers out at the first sign of serious trouble; the cost becomes too high for the hired hand, and he “bails out,” so to speak, as trouble swells all about the flock and presumes to devour it; to rip it to shreds. The hired hand flees because he is not the owner of the flock. But the good shepherd is the owner of the sheep; they are his own, and he will defend them to his dying breath. A good shepherd takes ownership of the flock—this much is sure. Try to grasp the weight of that stewardship with respect to Christian ministry. Contrast the odiousness attending misuse of this weighty office (the robbers and the thieves, the self-servers); the gut-wrenching let down here; the pain spilling onto the vulnerable sheep as they contentedly follow their “leader/s” off a precipice unto multiplied sorrow and death.

• A good shepherd knows his own, and they know him. This is more than friendship, it is a familial blood tie.

We have tried to condense some of these things by way of two tables (table 2, table 3).

 

VI. Concluding Comments

It seems very natural that Jesus would establish His directive to feed the Flock in this post-Resurrection appearance we have been considering, for it suggests that He knew well that He would be manifestly absent for quite some time, as indeed He has been thus absent for quite a long time. Many in Jesus’ day and not long afterward supposed that He would return in a physically abiding sort of way rather quickly; His feeding directive bespeaks of an omniscience that knew better (and note His accommodations Jhn 14:16-21) [4].

Along the way we discussed the possible “fodder” Jesus may have had in mind in the feeding of His sheep; we suggested that Christian pastors and laity, indeed the sheep one to another, are once-removed responsible for this continual Spirit-supplied-feeding.

We talked about the Word of God as quintessential feed. We said that the Word of God feeds our holiness (Christ-likeness). Through the Word of God we gain knowledge of God, and from this knowledge stems sound wisdom, and from that a working spiritual understanding; in turn, through these the Spirit of God instills the holiness of Christ, which is prerequisite for eternal life in the presence of Jehovah God. As a consequence of this, Spirit-driven exposition of the Word of God is one sort of feeding of the sheep Jesus must have had in mind. We said that the Flock consists of both sheep and lambs, which necessitates a slightly different feeding of the Word for each, but to the same blessed end; that is, for their consummate well-being, which well-being finds expression in Christ-likeness (Christ-likeness redounds to both physical and spiritual well-being; indeed, the best possible for either). Moreover, we said the provider must be cognizant of and sensitive to their approach and personal presence in this feeding.

In the spirit of what was just said, we noted that the Word of God informs holiness training, which is an effort to attain to Christ-likeness; that the Holy Spirit of God energizes the Word of God such that it becomes a living Word that transforms its hearers ever more unto Christ-likeness. An integral part of this process is necessarily reproof of sin. Since all of Scripture is centered on Jesus Christ, almost any manner of reverent and sincere Bible study serves the Flock’s holiness training (feeding in Christ-likeness). It can be readily observed that many Christian ministries feed the Flock toward that end in diverse ways.

We said that the Flock needs constant heartfelt affection, consolation, and support because the Flock is thoroughly suffused in an environment of callous, cold, God-disdaining unbelief, which can grievously rip and tear it; can grievously rip and tear it because the Flock is required to maintain a Christian demeanor in the face of these trials (the Flock is preeminently a Witness Body; it bears witness to God and to God’s good programs for humankind by outright witnessing and especially by its daily walk in the face of matters both mundane and spiritual). This required demeanor can clearly leave the Flock as vulnerable as sheep are before wolves. In loving appreciation and concern regarding this, God oftentimes chooses to comfort, solace, and strengthen His own through a Christian network of affection, consolation, and support. Christian pastors and laity, even many of the sheep themselves, no doubt feel the burden to provide this network all too well.

We talked about the makeup and mindset of a Christian shepherd. Foremost a Christian shepherd must be a good shepherd, like Jesus is a good shepherd. We put forth some qualities that we thought communicated what is meant by a “good” shepherd. A good shepherd enters by the door of the sheepfold. We understand this to mean that a good shepherd is transparent before the Flock in that they have no self-motivated schemes in mind that would necessitate entry and operation in some camouflaged and deceitful way. Moreover the doorman (God) opens the door for the good shepherd, signifying that they are indeed completely trustworthy—the very (esp. spiritual) lives of the sheep may be entrusted to their care (these are spiritually and physically fruitful ministries [feedings], thus “the door has been opened”). A good shepherd calls his own by name—this bespeaks of a highly personal and interactively involved relationship. And the sheep hear his voice, but notice that only those who are of the Truth hear his voice (Jhn 18:37; note Jhn 8:31-32). Only those who are predisposed to be inclined to God’s Truth hear the shepherd’s voice (this Truth acts as a natural “filter,” separating the sheep from the goats so to speak). A good shepherd goes ahead of the Flock; that is, they lead, and lead in such a way that searches out trouble before the Flock might engage that trouble. They are at the point searching out the best (spiritually and physically expedient, fruitful, secure, etc.) path. And by being at the point, should an ambush lay in wait, it will strike the good shepherd first, giving the Flock some measure of time to scatter—a good shepherd lays down their life for the sheep. Inasmuch as Jesus will allow it, a good shepherd takes ownership of the Flock. To a good shepherd the Flock is as much their own as is the heart that beats in their own chest. A good shepherd knows his own, and they know him. This bespeaks of more than friendship, it bespeaks of a familial blood tie.

It is commitment to their calling from Jesus Christ that motivates a good shepherd; they do all for Jesus’ sake, because they love Him, and this love-predicated commitment to Jesus shows them to be a good shepherd, naturally, in accord with the just-listed qualities of a good shepherd.

Lovest thou me Christian friend, asks Jesus; yea Lord, we surely all reply, like Peter did; then feed [love] my sheep, He surely says to us all, like He did to Peter. How blessed we are to have your all-embracing care and love Good Shepherd Jesus.

Praised be your Name great savior God.