Shepherd the Flock of God Part 1
1 Peter 5:1The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version NIV=New International Version
The Apostle Peter now shifts his focus onto those men that have been appointed elders of the Churches of God. Peter declares himself to be an elder along with them and he never proclaims himself (in this first letter ✉️ or his second letter ✉️) to be the chief elder above or over all the other elders appointed by God in the various Churches like @Ephesus or @Corinth or @Colosse, etc., for Peter remembered the Words of our Lord Jesus during the time He gave a scathing baptism to the Scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew Chapter 23. Peter (as well as the other Apostles our Lord chose) were probably reverent to the leaders of their Jewish Nation, that is, those in the Sanhedrin (The supreme judicial and ecclesiastical council of ancient Jerusalem). Those men and others who were lower in Authority than they at local Synagogues round and about the land of Israel were all held in high regard, for they were the men who were suppose to be the experts in the understanding of the Torah (the scroll 📜 of parchment on which the first five books 📚 of Hebrew Scripture is written) above all other Jews. But when our Lord Jesus spoke of these men, here is what He said of because He knew all men (John 2:24), "Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others." (Matthew 23:1-7) (NIV). Some of the Jews at this time may have thought 🤔 this way of these men, but I believe the large percentage of the Jewish population revered these men and perhaps were shocked 😲 at the way our Lord Jesus spoke of them. Our Lord Jesus went on further to call these leaders of Israel hypocrites, that means, actors and pretenders playing a role or a part in a play. This was probably shocking to many of the multitudes hearing these words from Christ Jesus our Lord. So, Peter who not only heard them and listened 👂to them, but he believed them and always remembered how our Lord Jesus saw those leaders of Israel so he wrote these to all the current elders of the Church of God speaking of himself as only a fellow elder and not wanting any leader in Christ True Church to be like the men who led the Jewish Nation, "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:" (1 Peter 5:1) (KJV). The Apostle Peter exhorted/beseeched these men with great desire for them to lead the flock of God truthfully and humbly remembering what our Lord Jesus said to them in opposition to what those hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees were doing with these words, "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth 🌍 your father; for One is your Father, He who is in Heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Matthew 23:8-12) (NKJV). Here is what F.B. Meyer had to say of 1 Peter 5:1, "According to these words Peter, though he stood at a distance, must have been an eyewitness of the Savior's death. He is careful to speak of the glory in the same breath 🫁 as the sufferings, because if we endure the one, we shall share the other. Positions of influence in the Church in those days involved grave risks, but the Apostle believed that love 💕 to Christ would induce men to take the place of under-shepherds to the flock of God, and that they would use their power with gentleness, humility and holy consistency."
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray 🙏 this from your heart ❤️ to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn 🛞 from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart ❤️ and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen!!!
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