1 Peter 5:1-7

To the Elders and the Flock

1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

"God opposes the proud

but shows favor to the humble and oppressed."

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.



Dig Deeper

Many years ago, while I was still a high school basketball coach, I had the opportunity to attend a coaching clinic that was being run by a coach who was, at the time, a major Division 1 college basketball coach that had achieved a fair amount of success and national recognition. On opening night he walked into a room full of high school basketball coaches, some from big programs, some from small schools. There was probably great truth to the fact that many in the room were a bit overwhelmed with the résumé of this man but it was also true that because he was such a big-time coach of a big-time college, that many were tempted to wonder what actual practical advice he might be able to offer. After all, how could he relate to the problems in coaching that come along with high schools that don’t have enough money, enough talent, or enough kids who are dedicated? As he came out, however, he began his talk by pointing out that although he was now a college coach, he was really nothing more than a long-time high school coach. He had been where we were, done what we were doing. In short, he knew what it was like. This immediately put him on common ground with all of the coaches and allowed everyone in the room to be able to hear what he had to say and know that he wasn’t just "talking down" to a bunch of little high school coaches. He was really just one of us.

Peter turns his attention, as the fifth chapter of this letter opens, to the elders of the church. In doing so, he begins with the same sort of common sense that that college coach had. He doesn’t mention his status as an apostle. Rather, he identifies himself with them. He is an elder and pastor just like they are. Peter knows what it’s like to do the day-to-day business of shepherding people and he knows what it’s like to be tempted with the uglier side of leadership. Not because he’s studied leadership academically or has talked to a lot of elders and learned about it, but because he is one. He was someone who could understand and relate to them, and someone to whom they could truly listen. He was, after all, really just one of them.

Peter does find common ground as he begins to address the elders. He appeals to them as a fellow elder just like them, but he is also a faithful witness of Christ’s sufferings. He is like them and can identify with them as someone who also knows what it’s like to be an elder, but he also has credibility as one who has and will continue to call them to sacrifice their own lives and live the life that Christ had called them to. Why does he have credibility? Because he was there. He’s not just calling them to live a lifestyle of which he knows nothing. He saw Christ’s sufferings firsthand and was called by the Master to live what he saw. He also, no doubt, had a sharp memory of denying Christ at His hour of need and being restored to the service of the King. Jesus exhorted him, in no uncertain terms, that if he truly understood what it meant to follow Christ and live a life for others, then Peter should demonstrate that by leading and feeding God’s sheep.

As one who will share with the elders and their sheep in the glory of the age to come, Peter calls them to be shepherds of God’s flock. Just as Peter has addressed various parts of the Christian community, as well as the whole congregation, and called them to live radically different from the world around them, he will now do the same to the leaders of the Church, the elders. The normative standard of leadership in Peter’s day was that rulers lorded their authority over those they led (Matt. 20:25; Mark 10:42; Luke 22:25). But Christians operate in a different reality than the world does. Christians are willing to suffer and put the interests of others first so as to benefit them because that is what Christ did for us. Thus, rather than leading because they were forced into it or using the position to pursue dishonest gain, they should lead because they are willing and eager to serve. Considering the persecution they were facing, it was quite possible that some would be extremely hesitant to lead not wanting to bring extra attention or hardship, yet that would be the response of someone thinking from a worldly point of view. Similarly, for those who had been persecuted and excluded from much of the economic activity of the community since becoming a Christian, it might have been a special temptation to take advantage of the giving spirit of the Christian community by serving their own interests.

As shepherd of Christ’s flock, the overseeing shepherds need to not engage in worldly attitudes of leadership like leading begrudgingly, or lording over others for our own benefit. That is the type of leadership in which the world engages. Leadership in the kingdom of God is just like everything else that Peter has been describing. It should be done for the benefit of others, and to be examples to the flock. Elders need not look for reward or recompense during the present age for they will, like all Christians, receive their vindication in the age to come, a crown of glory that will never fade away. Peter does not explain what precisely the crown of glory is but that it is not really the point of Peter’s writing. It may, however, have something to due with the increased responsibility in the age to come of judging and presiding over God’s restored creation (cf. Matt. 19:28; 25:21; 1 Pet. 2:9; 1 Cor. 6:2). Whatever the crown of glory is, God’s people can be sure that it is eternal and worth whatever temporal challenges we face in the present age.

Submission and service to others does not just apply to elders but to all members of God’s congregation. In the same way as elders have given up their lives for the benefit of the sheep, all those who are younger should also submit themselves to the elders. Some commentators believe that Peter here refers to younger elders who were recently appointed to the position, but it is probably much better understood as an exhortation to the entire congregation. The elders have put the interests of the people above their own, but the believers should clothe themselves with humility. God’s people have put off the old clothes of their old life and have clothed themselves with Christ (Gal. 3:27). The clothes of the Master are robes of humility towards one another. The life of the Christian is a life of continual and purposeful service one toward another.

Peter, doing what he does so often, backs up his point with a reference from the Old Testament. He quotes from Proverbs 3:34, "God opposes the proud but shows favor tot he humble and oppressed." In chapter James 4, James make a similar point to Christians who are fighting with one another. The similarity between Peter’s words here and James’ words likely reflect an early Christian tradition centered around encouraging Christians to humility based on the example of Christ and the reality of the assaults of Satan (1 Pet. 5:8; James 4:7). The Christian who tries to exalt himself or herself at the expense of others or just for their own benefit will find themselves pushing away God’s hand from their life. Just as Christ humbled himself for the sake of others and was raised up by the power of God, so will those who belong to Christ. Christians should humble themselves under God’s mighty hand that He might lift them up in due time according to His will. In the Old Testament, God’s mighty hand was seen in the plagues that befell Egypt (Ex. 3:19; 6:1; 13:3, 9, 14, 16). In the same way, God’s mighty hand should be seen in the persecutions that they in Asia Minor were suffering through. God had vindicated His people then, and He will do the same in their situation. Because this is the same mighty God of the Exodus, they can cast their anxiety on Him. The Israelites of Moses’ day submitted to God’s power and waited on His deliverance. Believers under the New Covenant can do the same. He cares for His children and will allow what is best for us, even if that means going through trials and persecutions that will make us more like Christ than we could ever be by just being comfortable or thinking of ourselves first.



Devotional Thought

Does this passage in 1 Peter 5 sound like you? Do you really clothe yourself in humility? Why does God call His people to live constantly in humility? What would it take for you to really realize the kind of humility in your life that is appropriate to the life of Christ in you? Who or what in your life poses the biggest challenge for you to be truly humble?