The Sheep and Their Shepherd
Hebrews 13:17-19
April 24, 2017
Well I think we can all agree that
This is probably the most important verse in the entire Bible!
Actually I can tell you that this is a pretty difficult verse to preach
And yet one that I can definitely tell you needs to be better understood.
You would be amazed if I told you
How many people from other churches I have come and talk to me
About how they don’t like their pastor.
You might also be surprised to know that I NEVER see this
As an opportunity to grab a new church member.
I’ve figured out, and so have many of you,
That ungrateful grumblers who fail to understand
The importance of submission and selflessness
Don’t make for healthy churches.
The writer of Hebrews knew this too.
We are now in the practical section of the book of Hebrews.
• We spent 12 chapters on theology, and now he closes the letter with a chapter of practical application and it has been tremendously valuable.
Thus far we’ve been given 3 really good pieces of advice.
1) Don’t let your difficult circumstances cause you to revert to some sort of self-preservation mode. “Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers…Remember the prisoners…and those who are ill-treated.”
We were reminded that no amount of hardship
Is justification to neglect our most important command, which is to love.
2) Be careful about the obvious temptations that will wreck your faith. “Marriage is to be held in honor among all…for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” And “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money.”
Satan is the god of this world who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Don’t eat the deer corn, it will wreck your life!
3) Make a conscious decision to follow Jesus even though it appears costly. “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.”
We were called to consider the cost, then look to the reward and make a conscious decision to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
So the advice thus far has been profitable in many respects.
• It is profitable to your brother whom you are called to love
• It is profitable to your life since you avoid temptation
• It is profitable to your eternity since you inherit an eternal city
And here the writer continues with what is profitable to you
And that is for you to obey and submit to your leaders.
In fact the writer says that A FAILURE TO do this, or making the job of your leader grievous “would be unprofitable for you.”
This PASSAGE ISN’T ABOUT the leaders
Getting some sort of perceived deserved recognition.
This PASSAGE IS ABOUT you understanding God’s order
And what is in the best interest of your spiritual well-being.
Now, as you look at this section of practical application the writer asks for two responses for those who lead you.
#1 SUBMISSION
Hebrews 13:17
I know we live in a culture that thinks “submission”
Is probably the dirtiest word you can say.
The Bible outlines 7 areas where submission is important
Our culture rejects all 7, and the even the church questions some of them.
1) Children to parents
2) Wives to husbands
3) Employees to their bosses (slaves to masters)
4) Citizens to the governing authorities
5) Believers to one another
6) The church to Christ
7) The church to her earthly leaders
Lost people reject every single one of those.
Never have we seen a culture where
• Feminism,
• Child hood disobedience,
• Workplace grumbling,
• Disrespect of civil government,
• And lack of a fear of God
HAVE THRIVED LIKE OUR CULTURE.
People hate submission.
The danger is that it has become such the norm for our society
That this mindset is even CREEPING INTO THE CHURCH,
Where it has absolutely no place.
Submission is foundational to Christian living.
In order to be a Christian we are called to submit to Christ as Lord,
And this entails then honoring every level of authority which He institutes.
• It is Christ who gave authority to parents over their children
• It is Christ who gave authority to husbands over their wives
• It is Christ who gave authority to civil government
• It is Christ who gave authority to bosses over their employees
• It is Christ who gave authority to overseers over their congregation
To reject any level of this authority is to reject Christ’s authority.
That’s just the way it is.
Here the writer zones in on the particular area of submission
Dealing with believers to their earthly leaders.
And there are 4 reasons given here why you should submit to them.
1) THEIR POSITION (17a)
“Obey your leaders and submit to them,”
You are called to submit to them because they are “your leaders”
Romans 13:1 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”
That verse certainly refers to civil government but the underlying principle is still the same which is that “there is no authority except from God”
If they are your leader, it is not a mistake.
And incidentally there is NO CLAUSE HERE GIVEN
Regarding how good of a leader they are.
To be fair, Scripture does give explanation
Regarding how to deal with a sinning leader.
1 Timothy 5:19-20 “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.”
Now that refers to a leader who is continuing in sin.
That leader is to receive public rebuke.
But simply not agreeing with the way your leader does something
Is NOT grounds for grumbling or rebellion.
Authority all trickles down from God, and therefore must be respected.
IT IS NOT THE PERSON, IT IS THE POSITION.
John MacArthur wrote:
“Someday God will rule all the earth through His Son, the King of kings, but in the meanwhile He rules His church through godly men. Submission to these men, therefore, is submission to God…In many churches today, the congregation rules the leaders. This sort of government is foreign to the New Testament. Church leaders are not to be tyrants, because they do not rule for themselves but for God. But the command is unqualified: Obey your leaders, and submit to them. It is the right of such men, under God and in meekness and humility, to determine the direction of the church, to preside over it, to teach the word in it, to reprove, rebuke, and exhort (Titus 2:15). They are to “shepherd the flock of God…exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to [their] charge, but proving to be examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2-3). Pastor’s and elders are undershepherds, who serve under the “Chief Shepherd”
(MacArthur, John; The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Hebrews [Moody Press, Chicago, Ill; 1985] pg.444-445)
I know in America we love democracy and majority vote
And all of that sort of idea.
But the church has never been a democracy.
The church is a theocracy.
Jesus is King, He has absolute and total authority.
And that authority then trickles down through those He gives it to.
So submission to “your leaders” is in fact submission to Christ.
You submit because of their position.
2) THEIR PURPOSE (17b)
“for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.”
In short, you submit to them and obey them
Because their entire purpose is to protect your soul.
Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:16 “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
Paul told the Ephesian elders:
Acts 20:28 “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.”
When Jesus was about to ascend to return to the Father, He looked at Peter and three times said:
• “Tend My lambs”
• “Shepherd My sheep”
• “Tend My sheep”
The role is a protective one.
Let me illustrate this to you.
There are 3 pastoral epistles in the New Testament (that is epistles written to pastors about their role to the flock) (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus)
TURN TO: 1 Timothy 1
(READ 1 Timothy 1:1-7)
Do you see the danger there?
The church at Ephesus was falling prey to bad doctrine.
And listen, bad doctrine condemns people to hell.
It is the truth that sets you free.
Jeremiah 10:21 “For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.”
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
Bad doctrine destroys people and the church at Ephesus was being fed it.
Paul sent Timothy in to “keep watch over” the souls of the Ephesians
By correcting the bad doctrine there.
TURN TO: TITUS
(READ Titus 1:1-4-16)
Did you catch where Paul told Titus to appoint elders (leaders)?
Why?
Because according to verse 10 there are “many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers…who must be silenced”
It’s like sending someone out to watch over your flock of sheep
Because there are coyotes who are seeking to eat them.
You send a shepherd out to the flock to protect the sheep.
This is the purpose of the elder or overseer or leader,
However you want to put it.
“they keep watch over your souls”
The sheep should always submit to the direction of the shepherd
Because the shepherd has the best interest of the sheep in mind.
You get the idea.
You should submit to and obey your leaders
Because Christ made them your leaders
And because their entire purpose is to protect you from destruction.
Now that DOESN’T MEAN that they just have cart blanch autonomy.
The writer is clear they are “those who will give an account.”
Make no mistake, Christ is watching, and Christ will judge.
James said:
James 3:1 “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”
Peter said:
1 Peter 5:1-4 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”
The implication there being that Christ is watching
And will reward accordingly.
In fact, we’ve already seen Jesus do this once.
You can read Ezekiel 34 about how God promised to punish the selfish shepherds who didn’t care about the flock.
Jesus did this when He came.
Remember Matthew 9?
Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”
The shepherds of Israel had scalped and discarded the sheep of Israel.
Now you tell me, when Jesus came, who was He the hardest on?
It was the shepherds who had neglected the flock.
In Zechariah 11 it speaks of how Jesus would respond
To those false shepherds when He would come.
Zechariah 11:8 “Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me.”
Boy that was true.
He attacked them and they hated Him for it.
The point is:
JESUS WILL DEMAND AN ACCOUNT.
That means He forces shepherds to do their job properly,
And He expects that the sheep will follow them.
You should submit to them because of their position and because of their purpose.
3) THEIR PLEASURE (17c)
“Let them do this with joy and not with grief,”
Are you kidding me?
You mean I’m told to submit to my leaders just so they can have a better day?
That is precisely what the writer says.
You ought to make the job of your leader a job that they can enjoy.
How do you do this?
• No, it’s not money…
• No, it’s not fame or prestige…
• No, it’s not banquets and honor…
Those are what pleases the false prophets.
That’s what the false shepherds of Israel were after.
Matthew 23:5-7 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”
If it takes money or fame to make your shepherd joyful
You’ve got a bad shepherd.
Scripture is clear how you bring joy to your leader.
3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”
Philippians 2:1-4 “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Obedience is the greatest joy
And this is what the writer is referring to.
Don’t make life miserable on your leader
By continually refusing to walk in submission and obedience.
Tell me parents, do you enjoy parenting more when your kids are obedient or when they are rebellious?
It’s the same idea here.
You should submit to and obey your leaders because of
Their Position, because of their Purpose and for their Pleasure.
These people have taken on an enormous responsibility (your soul) and you should hope that they can enjoy the job.
But here is the main reason that you should pay attention to.
4) YOUR PROFIT (17d)
“for this would be unprofitable for you.”
I remember a few years ago there was A DRIVE FOR OUR MILITARY when they were fighting in Irag and Afganistan to provide window units for the soldiers in the desert.
My dad bought one and said, “Well, I like to sleep with an air conditioner I figure those people fighting for us like it to.”
Do you want the job of a soldier to be so miserable
That no one wants to do it?
Of course not. We want them to be able to enjoy it as much as possible.
The job itself is going to be hard enough.
This is what the writer is referring to here with your leaders.
Which pastor do you think is going to do a better and more faithful job for you, the one who enjoys it or the one who is grieved by it?
It really is common sense.
• Employees who enjoy their job always do a better job.
• Leaders who enjoy their followers always lead better.
Now, shepherds are called to shepherd regardless
Leaders are called to lead regardless
But it sure goes better when you allow them to enjoy their job.
And I certainly feel compelled at this point
To tell you how much I enjoy pastoring this church.
(The treasurer is a little mouthy, but other than that!)
I have no complaint, and that is good for you.
I’ve been in a church where I dreaded preaching the truth because I could anticipate the meeting that would occur during the coming week.
There were definite times of temptation to say,
“Maybe I’ll just leave that part out.”
It is good for a congregation when a pastor feels at liberty preach truth.
THAT’S JOYFUL FOR HIM AND GOOD FOR THEM.
So this is the first command: SUBMISSION
#2 SUPPLICATION
Hebrews 13:18-19
The second thing the writer wants from us is prayer.
He wants us to lift them up in prayer.
And there are two reasons why we should lift up our leaders in prayer
1) IT IS DESERVED (18)
“Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
This writer basically says, “We deserve your prayers”
“We have a good conscience” before God about how we have led you.
Now this doesn’t suggest that the leader is perfect,
It suggests that the leader has been faithful.
And a faithful leader deserves your support.
Paul was a man like this.
Acts 23:1 “Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.”
Now even Paul didn’t want you to think that meant he was perfect.
1 Corinthians 4:4 “For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.”
The point is, when a leader is faithful to follow God,
Then he has earned your support. It is deserved.
Think about Paul’s ministry.
He certainly was one who earned people’s support.
Galatians 1:10-12 “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”
IF WE WERE A PEOPLE UNDER PAUL, WOULDN’T WE OWE IT TO HIM TO PRAY FOR HIM?
Wouldn’t we owe it to him to continually lift him up to God?
• If you have a person who is willing to watch out for wolves…
• If you have a person who is willing to correct bad doctrine…
• If you have a person who is willing to lead you correctly…
• If you have a person who will enter that spiritual battle for you…
THEN THEY DESERVE YOUR PRAYER SUPPORT (they need it!)
We should pray for those who lead, it is deserved.
2) IT IS DESIRED (19)
“And I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you the sooner.”
Not only should our leaders be lifted up because they deserve it,
BUT BECAUSE THEY WANT IT.
This was certainly the request of Paul’s life.
1 Thessalonians 5:25 “Brethren, pray for us.”
Ephesians 6:19 “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,”
Colossians 4:2-3 “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;”
Paul wanted the people to pray for him
That he would have the strength to continue preaching the gospel.
Regardless of the fact that submission is required,
I don’t suppose any Christian leader will ever deal with
A completely submissive congregation.
Therefore it is all the more important that
Those who are submissive continue to pray for the man.
Good shepherds aren’t looking for money or fame & recognition
Good shepherds merely want to be faithful
To their role of protecting the flock.
But every shepherd knows that
THIS IS AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK BY HUMAN MEANS.
There are two main reasons for that.
1) Sheep are sinful and rebellious and hard-headed
2) Shepherds are sinful and rebellious and hard-headed
If this whole arrangement is going to work,
It is definitely going to take the intervention of God.
PRAYER IS THE ANSWER
Pray for these leaders, that is what they want.
• I want you to pray that I’ll be everything God intends for me to be.
• I want you to pray that God will confront the areas where I fall short.
• I want you to pray that God will burden my heart for the right things.
• I want you to pray that I won’t get discouraged or distracted or deceived
• I want you to pray that I will be bold and compassionate and merciful and faithful
• I want you to pray that I will stay focused on eternity
• I want you to pray that God will open my eyes to His direction
• I want you to pray that He will give me grace for every moment
LEADERS DESIRE YOUR PRAYERS.
So why wouldn’t you?
If this guy is going to watch over your soul, certainly you want him to have all the help from God that he can get!
Pray for this man and do it “all the more”
AND HERE the specific request was “so that I may be restored to you the sooner.”
Here we are confronted, for the first time,
That our writer may actually be in prison.
It may be that the only reason this was a letter instead of a sermon is because that is the only way our writer has to contact this church that he loved.
• His heart’s desire was to shepherd this flock
• His heart’s desire was to care for these sheep
• His heart’s desire was to watch over their souls
But for some reason he was not able to be there with them.
And for that he wants prayer.
Not prayer for his life to be easier,
But prayer for him to be able to care for them the way he desires.
AND THIS IS GOOD PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR THE CHURCH.
• You should pursue love regardless of the cost
• You should resist temptation as that which will wreck your life
• You should follow Jesus and bear His reproach
• You should obey your leaders and pray for them
BECAUSE ALL OF THOSE THINGS WILL PROFIT YOU!!!
This is a chapter filled with good advice
For living the best Christian life possible on this earth.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 “But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another.”
