What Does Jesus Want Out of Your Shepherd?

4th Sunday after Pentecost, 7/3/22 1 Peter 5:1-4 What Does Jesus Want Out of Your Shepherd? I. One who knows his sheep II. One who knows himself Whom can you trust? It’s unfortunate, but you might have to think about that for a while before you answer. We live in a world that has learned its lesson about putting trust in anyone or anything. And with good reason. Scandals have rocked every institution and every profession in our modern world. And our media are saturated with those accounts. So, we’ve learned to be wary about what anyone says and to be hesitant to place our complete confidence in anyone. And that includes pastors. Nearly four decades ago, public trust in pastors was nearly 70%. In other words, 70% of the people questioned responded that they felt they could trust pastors. Today, that has plummeted to just over 30%. And we all understand why. For decades some church bodies have buried the heinous sins of pastors and have even protected guilty clergymen. What’s more, you don’t have to look far or long to find a pastor who states something directly against what the Bible says or says something embarrassing that only brings shame to the church. I get it. We pastors have brought mistrust on ourselves. The bottom line is that, too often, pastors have failed to take to heart and follow what our Chief Shepherd says about the life and work of pastors here in his word. Today’s Bible readings have given specific instructions on how Jesus wants them to carry out their ministries. And since Jesus wants to bless his people through the work of pastors, it’s important that pastors and members listen to what Jesus says. Jesus wants his people to have shepherds. But just what does he want those shepherds to do? What does Jesus want out of your shepherd? Let’s focus on what Jesus says about the work of pastors here in today’s text from 1 Peter 5. I. We live in a worldwide, digital age. At your fingertips right now, you are able to access information from all over the world. If you want to gather some information on a certain topic, if you have a question you want answered, if you simply want to find out what’s on a restaurant’s menu, you “Google” it, and there it is. Incredible. But that reality, coupled with a distrust of pastors, has only encouraged people to do the same in spiritual matters. The thinking goes like this: “Why should I find a pastor to ask my spiritual question? I don’t trust pastors very much anyway, so I’ll just search for an answer on my own. In fact, why do I even need a pastor in my life?” The easy answer to that question is that Jesus, the Chief Shepherd, wants you to have a pastor. How do I know that? Because Jesus established the office of the public ministry for the good of his people. He doesn’t want people to be shepherd-less or to serve as their own spiritual shepherds. He wants someone who is qualified to watch over their spiritual welfare. Paul once wrote, “[Jesus] gave some to be apostles…and some to be pastors” (Eph. 4:11). So, back to our question, “What does he want out of them?” Listen to Peter’s directives to first century Christian pastors, “Serve as overseers…because you are willing, as God wants you to be; [be] eager to serve, [be] examples to the flock.” Peter emphasizes that pastors are to serve the people of their flocks, but he doesn’t get very specific. So, just what does Jesus want out of your shepherd? I can think of three main activities, all of which are described and encouraged in other portions of God’s word. First, he wants your shepherd to warn you. Jesus once declared that the path to heaven is narrow. That means there are wide berms of spiritual danger on either side of that narrow path, all the domain of Satan. Your pastor serves you by warning you of false teachings which all weaken faith in Jesus and have the potential of robbing you of your faith. There is no such thing as a harmless false teaching. Jesus also wants your shepherd to warn you about sin. Again, there is no such thing as a harmless sin. If a Christian comes to think and believe that a particular sinful way of living is actually OK, it’s the pastor’s duty to warn him or her. Again, his or her soul is at stake. Next, another duty Jesus gives to your shepherd is to protect you. If you haven’t noticed yet, you’re engaged in spiritual warfare and your enemy isn’t merely a godless society or powerful evil people; it’s none other than Satan himself and his daily goal is to devour you. Four verses after our text ends Peter describes him just that way—as a ferocious lion looking to devour you. But he’s no match for Jesus and the protection Jesus gives us is his all-powerful word. Your shepherd’s duty it to share God’s word with you to protect you from Satan’s spiritual attacks. Thirdly, Jesus wants you to have a shepherd to comfort you. You live each day in a world full of sorrows, perhaps none greater than the death of a loved one. When your heart is burdened with sorrow of any sort, your shepherd exists to share the comfort of God’s word with you. But, couldn’t you just as well read what God’s word has to say about any of these situations in your life—when you need to be warned, protected, and comforted? Couldn’t you care for your own soul? You could, but Jesus wouldn’t advise it. Why not? He wants you to have a shepherd because, all by yourself, you’re an easy target. Sheep that are off on their own, away from the flock and their shepherd, don’t last long. Jesus knows that. That’s why he wants you to have a shepherd. What does Jesus want out of your shepherd? It boils down to this. He wants your shepherd to know what your spiritual needs are and to fill those needs with God’s word. Jesus wants your shepherd to know his sheep. Our world is increasingly becoming a do-it-yourself world. And I’m not talking about home projects. Think about it. How long has it been since you actually used your telephone to speak to someone in order to order something that you want to buy? You go to the web site, click on the item, put it in your virtual shopping cart, and checkout. You order it yourself. When is the last time you made a flight reservation or a hotel reservation by speaking to someone? You do it yourself online. And, at least we attempt to treat our physical ailments ourselves. Web MD might be the first place you go for help. You do it yourself. Don’t get me wrong. When it comes to your spiritual life, I urge you to read your Bible on your own, but don’t think you can completely go it alone. When you’ve decided to take a wrong path and your sinful nature is delighted that you’re doing so, who’s going to warn you? When apathy begins to lull you into spiritual slumber, who’s going to hit the alarm? When guilt or sorrow are crushing you, where will you find relief? The propensity to go it alone resides powerfully in each of us. And your Savior knows it. That’s why he died to redeem you to himself. He brought you into his kingdom by faith in him. He loves you too much to lose you. So, he gives you a shepherd who knows you and what you need spiritually. Cherish that relationship! II. I mentioned earlier that the public’s trust in pastors has taken a huge hit over the last 40 years and, to a large extent, it’s their own fault. I cringe every time I’m made aware of another scandal involving a pastor. So, what should pastors do? What does Jesus want out of shepherds? He wants them to take to heart these words from Peter, words in which he describes several deadly temptations. The first temptation is laziness. Several times in these four verses Peter urges pastors to serve others. That’s what a minister does. He ministers. He serves. But that takes effort. It takes commitment to the sheep under his care. It takes sacrifice. All the time. A much easier choice is laziness. I recall one of my seminary professors stating, “It’s easy to be lazy as a pastor.” Few people, if any, are checking on you and it’s easy to look busy. Jesus wants his shepherds to know themselves. The second temptation is greed. Peter comes right out and warns shepherds not to be greedy for money. I personally don’t know of any pastors whose greed has led them to steal money, but I do know plenty of pastors whose love for material things fills them with discontent over how they are compensated. It’s all the same—“serving” mainly for the compensation. It’s easy to fall into that sinful trap. Jesus wants shepherds to know themselves. And the third temptation is power. Peter calls out that sin with these words, “Not lording it over those entrusted to you.” Power corrupts. And absolute power corrupts absolutely, even in the church. Exercising power over others is the opposite of serving others. Jesus once told his disciples that whoever wants to follow him must be the servant of all. In our “me first” world, that’s not easy. Power is prized and serving is despised. And that’s the attitude that resides in our sinful nature. Jesus wants his shepherds to know that about themselves. Satan knows the damage that he can do to our congregation if he can get to me. I’m sure you’ve heard about or even experienced the spiritual damage done to a congregation when the pastor falls into a grievous sin. So, what can we do? I’ll pray for you, and you pray for me. I’ll watch over you, and you watch over me. I’ll encourage you, and you encourage me. And this is our only goal for doing so: “When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” May the Chief Shepherd bless his sheep with shepherds who serve him by serving his flock! Amen.