Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood. Acts 20:28
On the shores of Galilee, as the Lord Jesus breakfasted with His disciples after His resurrection, He held a most interesting and important conversation with Peter. Each time He asked Peter whether he loved Him, and Peter answered in the affirmative, the Lord Jesus responded with ‘Feed My sheep’, or ‘Feed My lambs’. In the days that followed Pentecost, Peter and the other disciples, now called the apostles, found themselves deeply involved in feeding the flock. Because the New Testament was not yet written, their familiarity with the person and teachings of the Lord Jesus was critical to the guidance of those early believers. As thousands responded to the Gospel message, the Christians needed to be instructed and shepherded. And as the Gospel expanded beyond the borders of Jerusalem and Palestine, as new companies of believers were established, the need for more teachers and shepherds grew, patterning themselves on the work of the apostles. Our text points out that there was a great need – as there is today – for not only the flock to be taught and guarded, but also for the shepherds themselves to be preserved.
The first expression of our text is important: take heed therefore unto yourselves. Paul is addressing the elders of the Ephesian Assembly. These were men with a good grounding in the doctrines of Scripture and with a sincere care for the Lord’s people. And Paul wanted them to remain that way. He knew that if these men became careless or indifferent, or even perverted from the truth, that the flock itself would be in danger, just as a shepherd dog is no protection to his master’s sheep while he is off chasing rabbits. A shepherd must keep the flock as his first priority, whether a shepherd of sheep or a shepherd of the Lord’s people. So Paul admonishes the Ephesus elders, and all elders today, to take heed unto themselves.
Taking heed unto themselves meant that the elders were to be the men that God intended them to be. This meant that they should pattern their lives after the character of the Lord Jesus. Paul had this in mind when he later wrote: Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). God has given us the characters of godly men to follow and to learn from. And He has given us the characters of those who have failed in their responsibilities, that we might learn not to be like them.
Those who would guide or teach the Lord’s people must take heed unto themselves before they can be a help to the Assembly. So must we all. – Jim MacIntosh