What the Bible says about Under-Shepherd
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Although Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd and the Chief Shepherd, He is not the church's only shepherd. From the days of ancient Israel up through the New Covenant church era, He has also appointed under-shepherds to watch over His physical or spiritual flock—and this will continue into the Millennium (Numbers 27:15-17; II Samuel 5:2; 7:7; I Chronicles 11:2; 17:6; Psalm 78:70-72; Isaiah 44:28; Ezekiel 34:23; 37:24; John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28; I Peter 5:2-4). The Chief Shepherd provides the pattern for His under-shepherds, and thus He gifts them to carry out their responsibilities in a way that reflects His own shepherding. Notice some of the attributes of a godly shepherd:
» He cares for his sheep to the point of giving his own life for them (II Samuel 24:17; John 10:11, 13).
» He knows his sheep (John 10:14).
» He is known by his sheep (John 10:14).
» He feeds his flock (Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:23; John 21:15, 17).
» He pays special attention to the young (Isaiah 40:11; John 21:15).
» He gathers his flock when they become scattered (Jeremiah 31:10; Ezekiel 34:12).
» He oversees the flock willingly rather than by compulsion (I Peter 5:2).
» He is not greedy for money, but eager to serve (I Peter 5:2).
» He serves by example rather than force (Ezekiel 34:4; I Peter 5:3; see Matthew 25:20-28).
» He seeks out the lost sheep (Deuteronomy 22:1; Ezekiel 34:16; Psalm 119:176; Matthew 10:6; 18:10-14; Luke 15:1-7).
» He protects the sheep (I Samuel 17:34-36).
On the other hand, false shepherds also exist, those whom God has not appointed. Jesus describes a person who tries to access the sheep without going through Him as "a thief and a robber" (John 10:1, 8). The thief comes "to steal, to kill, and to destroy" (John 10:10), though these actions may not be apparent on the surface. He also describes "hirelings," whose care is not for the sheep but for their own safety and security (John 10:12-13). Rather than laying down their lives for them, such hirelings abandon the sheep at the very time they need help the most.
God also calls attention to His appointed shepherds who have become derelict in their duties. In Jeremiah 23:1, the One who became Jesus Christ pronounces a "woe" on "shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture," who have "scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them" (verse 2). He says in Jeremiah 50:6, "My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray . . .." Jeremiah 10:21 speaks of shepherds who "have become dull-hearted, and have not sought the LORD," and the result is that "they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered."
Likewise, Ezekiel mentions shepherds who feed themselves rather than the flock (Ezekiel 34:2-3), who rule with "cruelty and force" rather than strengthening, healing, binding what is broken, bringing back what was driven away, and seeking what was lost (verse 4). Though the most immediate application in these verses is to the physical leaders of the nations of Israel, it also applies in antitype to the shepherds of God's spiritual flock.
Even though under-shepherds do not always perfectly emulate the Good Shepherd, He has nevertheless established their roles and offices, and He has specifically gifted them to serve in this way. This is the order that Jesus Christ has ordained. Yet, our carnal tendency may be to either abuse or rebel against this order—either to become too dependent on an under-shepherd or to reject human shepherds altogether, believing that we are better off on our own, finding our own food, and determining our own paths.
David C. Grabbe
The Shepherd's Guidance (Part Two)
Sometimes, circumstances conspire to scatter Christians into small groups or even from all contact with other believers and from the ministry Jesus Christ gives to the church to equip them and encourage their growth—in the biblical metaphor, leaving the sheep without a shepherd. However, if sheep should choose to become "without a shepherd," they are rejecting one of the Chief Shepherd's major gifts to His flock, willfully taking themselves outside of His established order.
Sheep may choose to do this, reasoning that Christ is their Shepherd, which is certainly true. It is likewise true that our relationship with God is individual, without a man in the middle. Nevertheless, none of this nullifies the fact that Christ has gifted human shepherds to aid in bringing all the sheep "to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13). By implication, the only time a sheep of His pasture does not need an under-shepherd is when he has grown completely into the image of the Lamb of God.
Our Savior oversees the under-shepherds, holding them accountable for failures in their responsibilities, which there will be simply because they are human. However, to purposefully become a "sheep without a shepherd" is to put oneself in serious danger, for the Christian is then likely to turn to his own way, develop bad spiritual habits, become stuck in a rut, make himself a prey for Satan, and ultimately become malnourished and spiritually diseased. He may not even realize his life is in danger—until it is too late.
Christ clearly establishes that, rather than wandering away from God's shepherds, the sheep have the responsibility to submit to the godly shepherds, not considering them infallible, by any means, but comparing their instruction with what God has already established in His Word. As I Corinthians 11:1 teaches, sheep are to follow a shepherd's faith only as it complements and corresponds with the teachings of Jesus. As Acts 5:29 points out, "[W]e ought to obey God rather than men," whenever the two are not in alignment.
David C. Grabbe
The Shepherd's Guidance (Part Three)Related Topics: Human Shepherds | Jesus Christ as Shepherd | Obeying God rather than men | Submitting to Elders | The Shepherd's Guidance | Under-Shepherd