Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
John 21:15

We’ll be taking a slightly different approach to our text today. While most scholars tend to look at this in the context of Jesus restoring Peter, we will look at Christ’s conference of the role of shepherd on Peter, and consequently on the Church. However, our general dissociation from shepherding and ranching in the modern world can lend to our misunderstanding this text. So first we’ll examine sheep and shepherds, then dive into what this means for us today.

Of what do you first think when you think of sheep? They appear to be rather stupid animals because they are so flighty and typically stick to the flock. (Wikipedia notes that a University of Illinois study found them to be on the same level of cows in IQ.) The flocking nature also lends well to following the voice of their shepherd. Sheep are a prey species and therefore have to be tended and guarded to keep them alive. Unlike other prey species, most do not have natural defensive abilities and are already prone to ailments and infections such that even should a sheep survive an attack, the sheep would likely die from infections.

In a biblical context, sheep were historically used as food, currency and sacrifice in many cultures. Sheep were prized, and large flocks denoted great wealth. Jesus used sheep often in his teaching to refer to his true followers (e.g. Matthew 9:36, Matthew 10:16, Matthew 12:11-12, Matthew 18:12, Matthew 25:31-46). In other words, we are sheep.

Now, what image springs to mind when you think of a shepherd? My first thought is of David, the youngest of all his brothers, sitting alone with his father’s flocks and defending them against both lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34-37). David is of course exciting, but what about Rachel? Jacob first encounters her leading Laban’s sheep to the well, so not only men but women, too, were shepherds (Genesis 29:9). During his earthly ministry, Jesus claimed to be the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18). He was also the Lamb of God, the lamb who was slain (Genesis 22:8; Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:19; Revelation 5:12, 7:17). In other words, Jesus Christ is our Shepherd, because He was the lamb who was slain and was raised again to give us eternal life (1 Peter 1:19-21).

So here we’ve come to learn that we, the followers of Christ are sheep, and Christ himself is the Good Shepherd. We hear his voice and follow him. Jesus said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). But Christ has been raised and glorified, and we now anxiously await his return. He has called us to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13-16). We are his body here on earth (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). And in our text, he has told Peter to tend and feed his sheep.

What then does this mean? Are we to be shepherds of the flock of God? Yes, but we are not The Shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the chief shepherd whom all the flock of God hear and follow. We are to lead the flock to Jesus, and like the Good Shepherd, we are to find the lost sheep and return them to the flock (Luke 15:3-7). This command is somewhat a parallel to the command in Matthew, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). In the pursuit of shepherding and disciple-making, it is always our job to lead people to Christ, not to us. We ourselves are also mere sheep, following the Good Shepherd.

Now the question becomes two: “Who is your flock?” and “How do you recognize the lost sheep?” These are more challenging questions, though some of us already know at least part of the answer to both. First, we know the answer is not everyone who does not yet know the Lord. Jesus spoke of sheep versus goats (Matthew 25:33) and of wheat versus weeds (Matthew 13:24-30; Luke 3:17). There are some in this world who are meant for destruction; however, we cannot know that just by looking (Jeremiah 17:10). Therefore, we must trust the Helper to whom Christ entrusted us; the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). So the Spirit will speak to us of those whom we should pursue as lost sheep, but we must listen. We must love the Lord and seek him diligently, for we are his. We must abide in him, then we may ask anything and know we will receive it and in this way glorify the Father and the Son (John 15:7-11). To abide in Christ, we must keep his commandments, and we keep his commandments by trusting in his Holy Spirit and in his power to keep us for himself (John 10:28). So in our abiding, we will be able to ask and to know, but we must abide.

Finally, the last question: “What will this cost me?” Just as Jesus laid down his life, so we are to be willing to lay down our own lives. This is indeed how Christ ends his series of three questions to Peter, by telling him the kind of death he was to die (John 21:18-19). We have laid them down to death with Christ in our baptism (Romans 6:4). What prevents us from doing likewise now? There is no greater thing than to live for Christ (Philippians 1:21). He is our resurrection, our promise of eternal life (John 11:25-26). Jesus said, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11, 17-18) and “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Are you willing?

Granted, in our day, we are not likely to be asked to give up our lives on a daily basis. Given this, what prevents you from reaching out to your neighbor, co-worker, family or friend? What keeps you from asking tough questions of your brothers and sisters in Christ? Are you waiting for someone to shepherd you first? We should not wait for someone else to pour into us, for we have been “equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). However, we should seek someone to shepherd us, for this is good and right. We all need others to help us hold course, to stand firm (Ephesians 6:13). We are not asked to do this alone or to somehow rise above our brothers and sisters in Christ, for in Christ we are equals (1 Corinthians 12:21-22).