Sunday
Sunday
Paul Addresses the Ephesian Elders
Keep watch over … all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
Acts 20:28
On his way to Jerusalem Paul and his companions stopped at the port of Miletus and sent a message to the elders of the Ephesian church to meet them there. In addressing them, Paul developed the pastoral metaphor relating to shepherds, sheep, and wolves.
Firstly, he described the example of the shepherd, namely himself. There had been an extraordinary degree of thoroughness in his ministry. He had been thorough in his teaching (the whole counsel of God), thorough in his outreach (the whole population of Ephesus), and thorough in his methods (public in the hall of Tyrannus and private from house to house). Thus he had shared all possible truth with all possible people by all possible means. He could claim to be innocent of the blood of all people.
Secondly, Paul described the invasion of wolves (false teachers). Wolves hunt both singly and in packs, and sheep are defenseless against them. So the apostle urges the shepherds to be on their guard. For a double task is given to the shepherds of Christ’s flock, namely to feed the sheep and to rout the wolves, that is, to teach the truth and combat error. This emphasis is unpopular today. It is frequently said that we must always be positive in our teaching and never negative. But those who say this are in disagreement with our Lord Jesus and his apostles, who both refuted error themselves and urged us to do the same.
Thirdly, Paul emphasized the value of the sheep (the people). For they are the church of God the Father, purchased with the blood of Christ, while the Holy Spirit appoints their overseers. This splendid trinitarian truth should have a profound effect on our ministry. For sheep are not at all the clean and cuddly creatures they look from a distance but are subject to nasty pests. I hesitate to apply the metaphor too literally! But some church members are a great trial to their pastors (and vice versa). So how shall we persevere in loving and serving them? Answer: by remembering how precious they are—so valuable, in fact, that the three persons of the Trinity are all involved in caring for them.
For further reading: Acts 20:17–38