Peter makes a dramatic personal appeal to those who are elders concerning how they are to shepherd the flock of God. He also specifically addresses younger men. His emphasis in this passage is humility: humble leadership, being humble toward one another in the fellowship, and the need to humble ourselves before God.

When Peter addresses elders, he knows what he is talking about. He too is an elder. Even more, he was an eyewitness of the sufferings of Christ. He himself knew what it meant to suffer for Christ (and he knew the suffering that came from denying Christ).

He urges elders to shepherd God's flock with the right motivations: not because they have to but because they want to; not to see what they could get out of it but to see how much they could give of themselves in service; not trying to lord it over others but being a fellow sheep following the Great Shepherd. The disciples to whom Peter was writing needed the right leadership to help them handle the situation they faced. They needed leaders who set the example of faithfulness under pressure. They needed shepherds who would keep them focused on Christ. They needed leaders who were concerned more with the needs of the sheep than with trying to exercise clout in their position.

He reminds young men to submit to their elders, because young men often think that they have a better way of doing things than the old folks do.

The byword needed to be humility. They needed to practice humility in the fellowship and to be humble toward God. They could turn their cares over to God, knowing that he knew, he cared, and that he would act.

The world was trying to humiliate them, but they could prevent that by humbling themselves before God. If they did humble themselves, they would not be destroyed by the world but would instead be stronger as a result of their sufferings.

1. Discuss what Peter's thoughts and feelings might have been as he looked back over his life from the time he met Christ until the time he wrote this letter, which would have been about thirty years later.

 

2. In 1 Peter 5:1-2, Peter uses three terms to refer to the same people: elders, shepherds, and overseers. How do these three terms describe different aspects of the work of an elder?

 

3. How have we today complicated the role of elder and perhaps even prevented them from carrying out the roles described in this passage? How might elders fail to fulfill these roles?

 

4. Describe how Peter had once been a hot-headed young man who had been humbled by his contact with Jesus. How does this help his words to young men in this passage carry more weight?

 

5. What are some specific ways that we can practice humility toward one another (5:5)?

 

6. How easy is it to humble yourself before someone who doesn't deserve such respect in your opinion? Do you have a right not to humble yourself before this person?

 

7. What are some anxieties that you are feeling? Can you trust God to be able to handle them? Why don't you do what verse 7 says right now? Remember: if you give your anxieties to God, you shouldn't try to take them back later.