Word of the Week
October 5, 2024
Poimainō: Pastoral Job Description
. . . shepherd the flock of God among you . . . .
1 Peter 5:2 NASB2020
You can be a shepherd without every coming near a wooly lamb.
Oh, we all know about the kind of shepherds who spend their days corralling literal sheep, but there is another kind of flock that you may tend, even in the city. Moms spend their days keeping track of their kids. Bosses try to watch over their employees. Teachers do their best to make sure their students thrive.
We learned last week that the pastor of a church is also called a shepherd. He serves on behalf of the great Shepherd who owns the flock, serving Him by looking out for the welfare of a congregation of people who belong to Jesus.
But we left one question unanswered: What does a shepherd do?
To learn the answer, let’s look at a Greek word that describes the duties of a shepherd.
Last week we viewed the Greek noun for “shepherd” – poimēn. This week we shift to the related Greek noun pomainō (poy-MYE-noh) that means “to do the work of a shepherd.”
The word appears 11 times in the New Testament, and a survey of its usage reveals that there are at least three things that a shepherd should do for the sheep under his care.
- Shepherds feed their sheep
When Peter and a few other disciples decided to spend the night in a fruitless fishing expedition, Jesus showed up on the shoreline, telling them where to land a huge catch of fish. When they finished emptying their nets, He served them a breakfast of fish and bread. Afterwards, He sat down with Peter and asked him three times, “Do you love Me?” Each time Peter answered, the Lord replied with a new set of instructions: “Shepherd My sheep”(John 21:16).
Peter had probably assumed that his career in Christ’s service was over, blasted by his cowardly denial. But Jesus still had plans for him as a caretaker for the church. What did this involve? In verses 15 and 17, the Lord switched verbs. Instead of pomainō, He used boskō (BAHSS-koh), which means “to tend, to feed.” A capable shepherd had to know where to take the flock where they could find sufficient greenery to graze. That was Peter’s job as a spiritual shepherd: leading people to the place where they could find nourishment for their souls in the Word of God and the influence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had just provided a literal breakfast; now it was Peter’s job to keep the flock of God well fed.
- Shepherds lead their sheep
Decades later, Peter had wise words of instruction for the leaders of the growing churches in five Roman provinces. The key phrase? “Shepherd the flock of God among you” (1 Peter 5:2).
Check the context and it will be clear that the job of a shepherd involves leadership. They set the direction, they make decisions, and they determine what happens in the church. They have a certain amount of authority (under the headship of Christ); that’s why Peter warns against any move toward a domineering approach (verse 3). In verse 5, the apostle urges younger believers to respect the authority of the older authorities.
Shepherding is not a passive activity, just watching the sheep wander off wherever they wish. It takes responsibility to assure that the flock goes in the direction that will allow them to flourish.
- Shepherds defend their sheep
Paul paused in his journey to Jerusalem to gather the leaders from the church at Ephesus for a farewell charge. What was his highest priority instruction? “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). It was to act like shepherds!
And what did that entail? Paul proceeded in the next verse to warn of “savage wolves” that would show up, “not sparing the flock” (verse 29). Shepherds defends the sheep from predators!
Jesus is the true Shepherd
In John 10, Jesus calls himself “the good shepherd.” Even though He doesn’t use this verb, he clearly sets the pattern that all human shepherds should follow.
- He feeds His sheep – they will “find pasture” (John 10:9).
- He leads His sheep – they hear His voice and follow Him (John 10:27).
- He defends His sheep – He lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11).
Jesus the Shepherd in Revelation
Look at the climax of revelation in the book of Revelation, and you will see the Lord Jesus in action as the ultimate Shepherd.
- The Lamb will shepherd His people and guide them to springs of the water of life (Revelation 7:17).
- Borrowing from Psalm 2:9, the book declares that the Son will poimainō the nations with a rod of iron. When Christ returns, he will do more than merely make suggestions to the nations of the world. He will lay down the law! In fact, He will descend from heaven with a sword to strike down the nations arrayed against Him; He will poimainō them with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15; see also Revelation 2:27; 12:8).
In other words, the divine Shepherd will protect His sheep by destroying their enemies. When Psalm 23 says, “Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me,” it moves immediately to a mention of “my enemies.” Perhaps the rod is a comfort because the shepherd uses it to drive off the enemies.
If God has put you in charge of a little flock, whether it is a church, a family, a corporation, or a country, you can do no better than to take Christ as your example.
Q/A:
Q – Why do you give us the Greek words in English letters rather than using the Greek alphabet?
A – First, the Web site software that I use does not handle other alphabets well. More importantly, I have purposely designed this Web site to be understandable for people who haven’t studied Greek. Using the Greek alphabet would be a needless barrier to them. And people who do have a more advanced grasp of the language should be able to figure out the Greek words without undue difficulty.
For the record, here is a chart of the match-up between the Greek alphabet and the English letters that I use:
Alpha = a
Beta = b
Gamma = g
Delta = d
Epsilon = e
Zeta = z
Eta = ē
Theta = th
Iota = i
Kappa = k
Lambda = l
Mu = m
Nu = n
Xi = x
Omicron = o
Pi = p
Rho = r
Sigma = s
Tau = t
Upsilon = u
Phi = ph
Chi = ch
Psi = ps
Omega = ō
Rough breathing = h
Coming Up
Having trouble figuring out what God is up to? Ephesians 3 tells you why we hit a wall when we try to “unscrew the inscrutable.” Join us next week for a Greek word that gives the right approach.
©Ezra Project 2024
3 Responses
Thank you for this good explanation of what a pastor should be doing. It helped me understand better.
In Revelation 2:4 did the church of Ephesus leave something they loved at first or did they leave off love (for Christ and others) that should have been first? What does the original Greek text actually indicate?
In reading several commentaries it might seem the second generation of Ephesians had deviated from Paul’s praise of their love of the brethren for a love of orthodoxy and teaching . I hope this is helpful.