Shepherd Well Series

Shepherd Well

Acts 20:25-38

In his book, “They Smell Like Sheep,” Dr. Lynn Anderson relates an event that happened when he was in Palestine on a Holy Land tour with his wife. He said as the bus stopped alongside the road and looked into the countryside where many sheep were gathered, the tour guide began to give a heart-warming portrayal of the ancient shepherd/sheep relationship. He expounded on how the shepherd builds a relationship with his sheep—how he feeds them and cares for them. He pointed out that the shepherd doesn’t drive the sheep but leads them, and that the shepherd does not need to be harsh with them, because they hear his voice and follow.

He then explained how on a previous tour things had backfired. In the midst of spinning his pastoral tale, he suddenly realized he had lost his audience. They were all staring out the bus window at a guy chasing a ‘herd’ of sheep. He was throwing rocks at them, whacking them with sticks, and siccing the sheep dog on them. The sheep-driving man in the field had torpedoed the guide’s enchanting story. He jumped off the bus, ran into the field, and accosted the man, ‘Do you understand what you have just done to me?’ he asked. ‘I was spinning a charming story about the gentle ways of shepherds, and here you are mistreating and assaulting these sheep! What is going on?’ The man responded, ‘You’ve got me all wrong. I’m not a shepherd. I’m a butcher’”

The point is most of us are not very familiar with the practices of shepherds and the characteristics of sheep. But the Bible repeatedly uses the metaphor of sheep and shepherds to describe spiritual relationships in the kingdom of God.

In probably the most famous of all the Psalms, Psalm 23, David describes the Creator of the universe as a caring shepherd, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Psalm 23:1

Later in Psalm 100 he describes God’s people as sheep: Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:3

The prophet Isaiah describes the sinfulness of every human being in terms of wandering sheep: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

In one of the 7 “I Am” statements of Jesus he profoundly proclaimed, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11

Matthew describes Jesus’ compassion for the lost using this metaphor as well: When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36

That’s just a small sampling of the many, many Bible passages that utilize the sheep/shepherd metaphor to describe the relationship between God and his children. But the Bible also uses this metaphor to describe another relationship in the kingdom of God, and that is the relationship that exists between church elders and a congregation. In fact notice how Peter instructs church elders in 1 Peter 5: So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder… shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight. 1 Peter 5:1-2

Peter instructs the elders of the church to shepherd the flock. Who is the flock? The church, the congregation. And who is charged with the responsibility of shepherding that flock? The elders in that church.

Well in our ongoing series through the book of Acts we find ourselves in Acts 20. And in this section of Luke’s historical chronicle of the early church we find the apostle Paul on the shores of the beach in Miletus. He has called for the elders of the church in Ephesus, 14 miles away, to join him on that beach. When they arrive he gives them some parting words of instruction as they lead the congregation God has put under their care.

Last week we looked at the first half of the message he gave to them, and in that section Paul put himself forward as an example for them. He looked back at how he lived among them, and reminded them how he ministered to them. And then he looked ahead and described the confidence with which he was approaching the future; a future that would include attacks, assaults and imprisonments. He was in effect saying what he said to the church in Corinth, follow my example as I follow Christ.

Today as we get to the second half of this speech on the beach, Paul is going to give some specific instructions for them to follow. And these instructions all fall under the heading, shepherd well. Just as Peter instructed church elders by using the metaphor of a shepherd and flock; so too Paul grabs that same illustrative tool to instruct the elders of the church in Ephesus. And Paul tells these elders of the church in Ephesus to Shepherd Well. Let's read Acts 20:25-38: 25And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.