Shepherds and Sheep

Read 1 Peter 5:1–11 before proceeding. Keep your Bible open throughout this session.

And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

— 1 Peter 5:4

An Apostle Speaks to Elders

Peter now turns to a specific group within the congregations he has been addressing. So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. The address is striking. Peter, one of the original twelve apostles, identifies himself here as a fellow elder. He does not stand apart from the elders of the churches. He stands with them. He speaks to them as one who shares in their calling, who understands the weight of shepherding God’s people, who has walked in the office he is now describing.

The word elder — presbyteros in Greek — is the word from which we get the English words presbyter and priest. In the New Testament Church, it was the standard word for those who held the pastoral office. Peter uses it for the office he himself holds, even though he is an apostle with a unique calling. Although Peter’s apostolic office is unique and foundational, he here writes fraternally as a fellow elder, standing beside the pastors he exhorts. He shares in the basic ministry of Word and Sacrament that every pastor shares. And he speaks to his fellow elders out of that shared calling, not out of a superior position above them.

Peter’s credentials for giving this exhortation are two. First, he is a witness of the sufferings of Christ. He was there. He walked with Jesus through the last week of His earthly ministry. He was in the upper room. He was in Gethsemane. He denied Christ three times and was restored. He was likely among those who watched the crucifixion from a distance. He stood at the empty tomb. He received the risen Lord’s commission to feed His sheep. Second, he is a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. Peter shares in the hope he has been describing throughout the letter. He is not writing from a position of superiority; he is writing from shared expectation. Both of these credentials ground his exhortation — his eyewitness of the Master and his shared hope with those he is addressing.

In this session we will walk through Peter’s brief but essential teaching on the pastoral office. We will examine his exhortation to the elders — to shepherd the flock of God willingly, not for shameful gain, not domineering, but as examples. We will look at his counsel to the younger, and to all members of the congregation, to clothe themselves with humility. We will hear his warning about the devil prowling like a roaring lion, and his call to resist him firm in the faith. And we will close with one of the most beautiful pastoral benedictions in the New Testament — the God of all grace, who has called us to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us after we have suffered a little while.

Shepherd the Flock

Peter’s central command to the elders is direct. Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you, not for shameful gain but eagerly, not domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock.

The image of shepherding runs throughout Scripture. The Lord is the Shepherd of Israel in the Psalms. The wicked shepherds of Israel are condemned in Ezekiel 34 for feeding themselves rather than the flock. Jesus identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. And after the resurrection, He commands Peter three times to feed His sheep — the very commission Peter is now passing on to those who share the shepherding office under him. Peter writes as one who received the call to shepherd directly from the Lord, and he extends that same call to the elders of the churches.

The Flock of God

Notice whose flock it is. The flock of God. The shepherds are not owners of the sheep. They are stewards of what belongs to Another. Every congregation belongs to God — not to the pastor, not to the elders, not to any denominational body, not to any powerful member. God’s flock is entrusted to the care of undershepherds, but the sheep are always His, and the shepherds will give account for how they have cared for what is not their own.

This framing is liberating and sobering at once. Liberating, because it frees the pastor from the burden of believing the congregation depends ultimately on him. Sobering, because it reminds him that his work will be reviewed by the true owner. The shepherd who remembers that the sheep belong to God takes his work seriously without becoming frantic. He serves the flock with care because it belongs to the One who gave it to him to tend. And he trusts the outcome to the One who alone is ultimately responsible for the flock’s safety.

Three Contrasts

Peter gives his instruction in three contrasting pairs. Not under compulsion but willingly. Not for shameful gain but eagerly. Not domineering but as examples. Each of these contrasts addresses a specific temptation that faces those in pastoral office.

Not Under Compulsion but Willingly

The first temptation is to treat the office as a grudging obligation. Some men enter pastoral ministry because it was expected of them, because they felt pressured, because they could not find another calling they wanted more. Peter rules this out. The pastor must serve willingly — freely, gladly, as a matter of chosen love, not as a matter of imposed duty. The pastor who serves only because he feels he has to cannot serve well. The sheep sense the difference. They know whether their shepherd is there because he wants to be there, and the knowing shapes how they receive his ministry. As God would have you, Peter adds. The willingness is itself in keeping with God’s own way of working — God does not serve us under compulsion, and neither should His undershepherds.

Not for Shameful Gain but Eagerly

The second temptation is to use the pastoral office as a vehicle for personal gain. This has been a perennial temptation across Christian history, and Peter names it directly. Some pastors have entered the office for the income, for the status, for the power, for the benefits that accrue to those in religious leadership. Peter says no. The pastor serves eagerly — ready to serve, excited to serve, glad to serve — not for shameful gain. The qualification shameful is important. Paul says elsewhere that the laborer deserves his wages, and the pastor who receives compensation for his work is not sinning in receiving it. What Peter forbids is gain as the motivating factor, gain pursued through ministry, gain sought through the exploitation of the sheep. This is shameful. The pastor serves the flock, and the flock supports the pastor, but the support is not the point. The point is the service.

Not Domineering but as Examples

The third temptation is to use the pastoral office as an occasion for personal power. Some pastors become domineering — ruling the congregation with a heavy hand, demanding submission, treating themselves as little kings of their little kingdoms. Peter rules this out. The pastor is not a ruler over the flock; he is an example within it. His authority is the authority of one who has gone before, not the authority of one who commands from above. He teaches by how he lives. He serves by setting the pattern. He leads by walking the way he wants the sheep to walk, not by driving them down a path he himself refuses to travel.

This is deeply Lutheran. The pastor has authority — the authority of the Word he preaches, the sacraments he administers, the office Christ gave to His Church. But this authority is not personal power. It is the authority of Christ, exercised through a man who is himself one of the sheep, himself under the Word, himself receiving the grace he proclaims. The pastor who forgets this and begins to act as if his authority is his own rather than Christ’s has stepped outside his calling. Peter’s counsel keeps the office in its proper place — authority in the Word, not in the person; leadership by example, not by domination.

The Chief Shepherd

Peter then names the ultimate horizon. When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. The title Chief Shepherd is significant. The elders are shepherds; but they are not the top of the hierarchy. Christ is the Chief Shepherd, and all under-shepherds answer to Him. When He appears — at His return in glory — those who have served faithfully will receive their reward: the unfading crown of glory.

The unfading qualifier recalls the imperishable inheritance of chapter one. What the elders receive at the appearance of the Chief Shepherd is not the passing glory of this age. It is the unfading crown, the reward that lasts into eternity. This is the horizon that sustains faithful pastoral ministry across the years. The pastor serves a flock that often does not appreciate him, walks through conflict that wears him down, bears burdens no one else sees, and receives, in this age, only fragmentary recognition. The unfading crown is the promise that the service will not have been in vain. The Chief Shepherd sees. The Chief Shepherd will reward. And the reward will not fade.

To the Younger

Peter now addresses the rest of the congregation. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. The word younger may refer to a specific age group — those younger than the elders — or it may refer more broadly to those who are not themselves in the pastoral office. In either case, the instruction is that those who are not elders should submit to those who are.

This is a structured community. Peter has spoken of the priesthood of the baptized (chapter two), but he does not conclude from this that all Christians hold equal authority in the congregation. The flock has shepherds. The younger receive the ministry of the elders. The congregation has structure, and the structure comes from Christ Himself. The Augsburg Confession Article V speaks of the office of the ministry as divinely instituted for the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments. Peter’s instruction is consistent with that article, which confesses that God instituted the office of preaching the Gospel and administering the sacraments. The broader biblical foundation for the office includes Matthew 28, John 20, Romans 10, and 1 Corinthians 4.

Clothe Yourselves with Humility

But the instruction does not stop with submission to elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. The humility Peter calls for is not one-directional. It is for all of you — young and old, elder and layman, everyone. The congregation is to be marked by mutual humility, not a hierarchy in which the lower humbly submit while the higher demand.

The image of clothing yourselves with humility is vivid. Some commentators have suggested Peter may be drawing on the memory of Jesus girding Himself with a towel before washing the disciples’ feet. Humility is something the Christian puts on, like a garment. It is visible. It marks the one who wears it. And it is to be worn by all — the elder who leads, the younger who follows, every member of the congregation who lives in the fellowship of the baptized.

God Opposes the Proud

The reason Peter gives is drawn from Proverbs 3:34. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. This is a sobering truth. Pride is not simply an unattractive character trait; it places a person in direct opposition to God. The proud Christian is, in the very act of his pride, setting himself against the God who cannot tolerate what pride represents — the rejection of creaturely dependence, the attempt to stand on one’s own apart from grace. This is why pride is so dangerous in the Christian life. It does not just limit growth; it positions a person against the Giver of all growth.

The positive side is warmer. God gives grace to the humble. The humble person is the one who knows his dependence, who receives what he is given, who does not need to justify himself by achievement or comparison. To this person, grace flows freely. God delights to give to those who know they need to receive, and He gives abundantly. Every Christian who has grown into humility has found this — that the more deeply he becomes aware of his need, the more richly grace pours in.

The Mighty Hand of God

Peter gathers the humility teaching into a direct pastoral command. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.

The image of humbling oneself under the mighty hand of God is rich. God’s hand is mighty — strong, powerful, able to accomplish whatever He intends. The Christian places himself under this hand, not trying to escape it or manipulate it but simply receiving what God gives. And in God’s time — the proper time — the hand that humbles will also exalt. This is the pattern Peter has been teaching throughout the letter. Suffering comes first, then glory. Humbling comes first, then exaltation. The Christian who places himself in God’s hand for humbling can trust that the same hand will lift him up when the Lord’s time has come.

And the instruction is paired with one of the most beloved verses in the New Testament. Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. The verb cast is vivid — it is the throwing motion of unloading a heavy burden. The Christian who is humbling himself under God’s hand is also throwing his anxieties onto the Lord. He is not keeping them. He is not managing them. He is not trying to solve them by himself. He is casting them — all of them, without remainder — onto the one whose hand is mighty and whose heart is caring.

Because He cares for you, Peter adds. This is the ground of the casting. The God to whom the Christian is entrusting his anxieties is not a distant tyrant who does not care about the small things. He is a Father who cares, specifically and personally, for each of His children. Every anxiety the Christian carries — about his health, his family, his work, his church, his future — matters to God. And the Christian does not need to carry what God has said He will carry. Cast it. All of it. Because He cares for you.

The Roaring Lion

Peter now turns from the internal life of the congregation to the external adversary. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

The devil is real. Peter does not treat the Christian’s enemy as a metaphor for impersonal forces or psychological dynamics. The enemy is a person, with intent, with strategy, with hostility toward God’s people. And his activity is described in a striking image — a roaring lion, prowling, seeking someone to devour. The lion’s roar was, in the ancient world, a sound that froze the prey. The roar itself was part of the hunt. It paralyzed the target, making it easier to kill. Peter tells his readers that this is what the devil does. His intimidation, his accusations, his fear-producing tactics are all part of his hunt. He means to devour.

Be Sober-Minded and Watchful

Peter’s first instruction is internal. Be sober-minded; be watchful. The Christian who is sober-minded is the one who has not been intoxicated by the passions Peter listed earlier in the letter — sensuality, greed, the pursuit of worldly ambitions. The sober-minded Christian sees clearly. He is not living in a fog of self-indulgence that leaves him vulnerable to attack. The watchful Christian is the one who knows an enemy is real, who has been alerted to the danger, who is not lulled into assuming that everything is fine.

This is a call to realism about the spiritual combat the Christian is in. Some Christians live as if there were no enemy — as if the devil were a figure from outdated theology, a relic of pre-modern thinking. Peter says no. The enemy is real, active, prowling. The Christian who does not take this seriously is making himself easier prey. The call to sober-mindedness and watchfulness is the call to take spiritual reality seriously, recognizing that the invisible war is as real as the visible one.

Resist Him, Firm in Your Faith

The positive instruction is to resist. But the resistance is specific. Resist him, firm in your faith. The Christian’s defense against the devil is not personal strength, cleverness, or spiritual technique. It is faith. The Christian stands firm by clinging to the promises of God, by trusting in what Christ has accomplished, by remembering the Baptism that has joined him to Christ, by continuing in the Word and Sacrament through which God gives Himself to His people. The devil’s attack is resisted by the exercise of the faith that the Holy Spirit has created through the means of grace.

This is deeply Lutheran. Luther himself wrote extensively on the devil’s activity, and the Lutheran tradition has always taken spiritual combat seriously without giving way to fascination with it. The defense is always the same — the Word, the promises, the Baptism, the Supper. When the devil accuses, the Christian turns to the forgiveness given in Baptism. When the devil tempts, the Christian turns to the Word that sustains him. When the devil stirs up fear, the Christian returns to the promise that Christ has overcome the world. Resistance is not strength on the Christian’s part; it is faithful use of what Christ has given.

Your Brotherhood Throughout the World

Peter gives one more pastoral word. Knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. The reader is not alone. What he is experiencing is not unique to him. Christians across the empire — and across the world — are facing the same kinds of trials, the same kinds of attacks, the same kinds of suffering. The Christian in Pontus is joined to the Christian in Galatia, who is joined to the Christian in Rome, who is joined to Peter himself. The suffering is shared.

This is a deeply encouraging word. In moments of isolation, when the Christian feels as if no one else is carrying the same weight, Peter reminds him that the whole Church is under the same kind of pressure. The body of believers across the world is in the same fight. The individual is not alone. He is one of many, and the many are united in Christ, bearing together what none of them could bear alone. For pastors and laymen alike, this solidarity across the global Church is real comfort, even when the local congregation feels overwhelmed.

The God of All Grace

Peter closes this section with one of the most beautiful benedictions in the New Testament. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Every phrase repays attention. After you have suffered a little while — the suffering is temporary, bounded, a little while from the perspective of eternity. The God of all grace — He is the source of every grace, and grace of every kind comes from Him. Who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ — the calling is not provisional; it is unto eternal glory, and the glory is in Christ. Will Himself — God does the work, not the Christian. Restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish — four verbs stacked up, describing the completeness of what God will do for His suffering people.

Four Verbs

Each of the four verbs adds something. Restore — to bring back to wholeness what has been damaged by suffering. Confirm — to make firm, to settle, to establish in place. Strengthen — to build up the strength that has been depleted. Establish — to put on a foundation that cannot be shaken. The God who does these things is not merely helping the Christian survive suffering. He is using the suffering itself as the means by which the Christian is restored, confirmed, strengthened, and established. What looks from the outside like a process of being worn down is, from the inside of God’s purpose, a process of being built up.

This is the deepest comfort of the letter. The Christian who has endured the fiery trial, who has been battered by the prowling lion, who has humbled himself under the mighty hand of God, is not being destroyed. He is being built. The same God who ordained the suffering is the God of all grace who will complete what He has begun. The end of the process is not exhaustion and defeat; it is restoration, confirmation, strengthening, and establishment in the eternal glory to which he has been called.

The Doxological Close

To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Peter closes the section as he began it — with worship. The God who has done all this, who will do all this, who has bound Himself to the suffering Christian by Baptism and promise and Word, is worthy of all dominion, forever and ever. Amen means so be it, let it be as you have said. And the Christian who has received this teaching responds with Peter — amen, yes, this is what we believe, this is what we trust, this is the God to whom we entrust our souls while doing good.

Gathering the Threads

Peter has covered, in these eleven verses, the ministry of elders, the humility of the congregation, the reality of spiritual combat, and the final benediction of the letter. The elders are to shepherd the flock willingly, not for gain, not domineering, but as examples — looking always to the Chief Shepherd whose appearing will bring the unfading crown. The younger are to submit to the elders. All are to clothe themselves with humility, knowing that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. All are to humble themselves under God’s mighty hand, casting all their anxieties on Him, because He cares for them. All are to be sober-minded and watchful against the devil who prowls, resisting him firm in faith, knowing that their brotherhood throughout the world is experiencing the same kinds of suffering. And all are to trust the God of all grace to restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish them after they have suffered a little while.

For the Lutheran Christian, this passage is a classic biblical text on the pastoral office and its proper exercise. The pastor is not a priest standing between God and the people. He is a fellow elder, a shepherd of the flock that belongs to God, an example rather than a ruler, looking to the Chief Shepherd whose appearing will bring reward. The congregation is not a democracy of equal authorities; it has structure, and the structure is divinely given. But the structure is always ordered under the humility that is required of everyone — elders and younger alike — clothed with humility toward one another.

The warning about the devil is sobering but not terrifying. The lion roars, but the lion does not have the last word. Christ is the Chief Shepherd, who laid down His life for the sheep, who rose from the dead, who now reigns at the right hand of the Father, who will appear in glory to gather His flock. The devil cannot ultimately prevail against the Church that Christ has bought with His own blood. The Christian resists the lion firm in the faith, knowing that the outcome is secure. The God of all grace will complete what He has begun. The suffering is a little while. The restoration is eternal.

For Discussion

The following questions are for group discussion or personal reflection.

1. Peter addresses elders as a fellow elder, sharing their calling rather than standing above them. How does this shape your understanding of the pastoral office? Does it change the way you relate to your own pastor?

2. The three contrasts Peter gives — willingly not under compulsion, eagerly not for gain, as examples not domineering — describe the right exercise of pastoral ministry. Which of these contrasts do you think is most important for the Church today?

3. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Where in your life do you notice pride pulling at you? What would it look like to humble yourself under God’s mighty hand in that area?

4. Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. What anxieties are you currently carrying that you need to cast on the Lord? What keeps you from doing it?

5. The devil prowls like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. How seriously do you take this? What has your experience of spiritual opposition been, and how have you resisted?

6. The God of all grace will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little while. Which of these four verbs speaks most directly to what you currently need from the Lord?

Looking Ahead

Next week brings us to the end of our study in First Peter. The final section of the letter — 5:12–14 — contains Peter’s closing greetings and his identification of Silvanus as the one through whom he has written. This brief passage gives us the opportunity to look back across the whole letter, synthesizing what we have learned about elect exiles, the living hope, holiness, the royal priesthood, vocation, Baptism, the fiery trial, and the Chief Shepherd. We will gather the threads of the whole letter and see how they weave together into a single coherent vision of Christian life.

Before next session, read 1 Peter 5:12–14, and then read the whole letter through again in one sitting. This final reading will allow you to hear the letter as a unity, with all the themes we have been tracking in their proper places. As we close our study, we will want to remember not only the specific teachings of individual passages but the overall shape of what Peter has given to the Church — a pastoral letter for elect exiles, grounded in the living hope, calling us to faithful living under the Chief Shepherd until He appears in glory.

Closing Prayer

God of all grace, who have called us to Your eternal glory in Christ, we thank You for the Chief Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep and who will appear in glory to bring us the unfading crown. Grant to those who serve as elders in Your Church the willing, eager, exemplary ministry Peter describes. Clothe all of us with humility toward one another. Teach us to cast all our anxieties on You, knowing that You care for us. Make us sober-minded and watchful against the devil who prowls, resisting him firm in our faith. And after we have suffered a little while, restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us by Your mighty hand. To You be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.