Jesus is thought to have been a carpenter who was taught those skills by his earthly father Joseph. I am sure if that was His trade, he must have built things very well, but why then do we always refer to Jesus as the Good Shepherd – one that tends the flock? Well, because Jesus referred to himself as the Good Shepherd. John 10:11. That was the work His Heavenly Father gave Him. Jesus is the Shepherd that tends His sheep – the people of His pasture.
David, a shepherd before he became king of Israel, wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Ps. 23-1. King David knew from his own experience that shepherds were responsible to guide and direct the sheep and keep them safe.
That is what I have been thinking about recently – shepherds tending the flock. I read that at least two different pastors from a large church founded in Australia with worldwide congregations have gone astray. The church’s shepherds had gone astray. Why? Because the shepherds need to heed their Shepherd, too. Just as real sheep sometimes are too stubbornly independent to obey their earthly shepherds, these pastors, as sheep of the Good Shepherd, were not obeying His directions to keep them safe.
Mindfully following the character and direction of the Good Shepherd, our earthly shepherds are to guide their flocks toward what will do them good and not harm them. The earthly shepherds are to be pointing us toward our heavenly Father in whom we must ultimately have our allegiance and obedience.
What then happens when our earthly shepherds step out of the will of the Father? Just like the rest of us who sin, they not only need to seek repentance but to turn from their wicked ways. The problem arises when, just like the rest of us, those disobedient shepherds hope they won’t get caught in their sin and they just continue on with life, pretending as if nothing has occurred. We are a stubborn bunch of sheep for sure.
Life doesn’t just go on after we have sinned if we are Christians. We need to admit where we turned off the path, ask God to graciously restore us and to put us back on the right path. It is especially critical that our shepherds are in line always with God’s will.
James 3:1 tells us, “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” We see that God holds our earthly shepherds to a higher standard than He does the general congregation.
The call of God to be a leader in the church doesn’t mean the job will be easy or without temptation. As we know from King David’s life, giving into temptation can be extremely detrimental in a position of leadership. When David sinned through adultery and murder, a prophet of God was called to confront him. How humiliating. However, David was perfectly humbled when he finally repented and acknowledged that not only God knew of his sin, but it was also known by everyone around him.
Just as David and these wayward pastors, we all prefer to keep our sin behind closed doors, but God takes into the light what is done in the darkness. Eph. 5:13.
For this reason, we, as people of the pasture, are called by God to lift up our leaders in prayer. Not just our church leaders, but all our leaders – our president and every authority we are under, including our bosses. In 1 Tim. 2:1-3, Paul says, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”
This call to prayer is as much for the sheep as for the shepherds. We see at the ending of the verse that the reason we pray for our leaders is so that we may live in peace, godliness, and holiness.
We should keep this call to prayer in mind whenever we see a leader either in church or otherwise failing to uphold the commands of the Good Shepherd. If we haven’t been praying already, that moment of revelation is the time to start. Our leaders in and out of the church are in place at God’s command and at God’s command we are to lift them and their actions up before Him.
I encourage everyone in the church body to diligently lift up our leaders and particularly our pastors, so that they may be able to put off the temptations of the world – the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. I pray that our pastors are praying the same over us, their sheep.
Our goal for the purity of ourselves and our church leaders in particular is also the goal of our Savior.
“Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Eph. 5:23.
I pray that each of us will diligently follow the Good Shepherd until we are all safely home in the fold.
ED. NOTE: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.
