1 Peter 5:1–5 (NKJV)
1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords 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 does not fade away. 5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
The command to “love your neighbor” is to be carried out in every vocation. In today’s lesson, the first application of this command is made to presbyters (that is, “elders”), which is just another word in the New Testament for pastors (that is, “shepherds”), whom Peter also addresses as “bishops” (that is, “overseers”). Yes, all pastors are bishops, overseers, charged by the Good Shepherd to love their flocks by shepherding them well, tending to them with care and compassion, preaching and teaching what their sheep need to hear and learn. They are to do it willingly and eagerly. They are not to rule their sheep as lords but are to be examples to them of genuine love and humble service.
Peter then moves on to the young and teaches them what love looks like for them. It looks like submitting to their “elders,” which includes both pastors and older people in general. The world and the flesh teach young people to do the opposite, to look down on their elders and to exalt themselves, as if they were wiser and more capable than anyone who ever came before, as if their elders were of little value to society. But Peter warns that those who exalt themselves in their own minds will be humbled by God.
Indeed, God is looking for humility as one of the chief traits in all His children. He calls on all of us to submit to one another and to be “clothed with humility.” That involves listening. It involves gentleness. It means considering the needs of others ahead of our own needs and actively looking out for their wellbeing. When Christians live like this, it is truly a “good and pleasant” thing (cf. Ps. 133).
Let us pray: Our Father in heaven, we thank You for sending Your Son, our Good Shepherd, to save us from our sins and to set for us the perfect example of humble service. Grant us Your Holy Spirit, that we may imitate Jesus at all times, in whose name we pray. Amen.
