The Shepherd: Humble and Glorious

As Peter has done throughout the letter, he calls Christians to look to Christ, to be like Christ, to act like Christ. In this final chapter, he does this again, and we are to be like Jesus the Shepherd––humble and glorious. To imitate the Shepherd, Peter gives two primary exhortations. The elders are to shepherd the flock of God (vs. 1-4), and the flock of God is to resist the devil who is a roaring lion (vs. 8-9). How are church leaders to shepherd the flock and how is the flock to resist this lion? The answer lies in the middle verses, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (vs. 6). As the church follows our Chief Shepherd, we follow him both into his humility and into his glory.