In 1 Peter 5:1-6 Jesus is given the title: the Chief Shepherd. I have not given a lot of thought to Jesus as pastor, but this text points us in that direction. I think this designation for Jesus gives us a fresh and wonderful look into his character and work on our behalf. What sort of glory do we see in Jesus when we recognize him as our perfect pastor?
- He became a man to gather his sheep. He was born to be a pastor.
- He bought the church with his own blood. It was his pastor’s heart that drove him to the cross to purchase all his sheep. He is a pastor who bleeds for his flock.
- He is the chief/head pastor of the church. This means that the church is under his ownership, authority, direction, and care. The church belongs to no one but Jesus.
- He is the perfect exegete and preacher of Scripture. He always understood accurately and proclaimed faithfully the word of God. He never failed in his calling as a preacher. In this vein he is also the perfect hearer of God’s word. He always understood and obeyed what God said.
- He is the best pastoral counselor there has ever been (I take the Spirit’s role of counseling to be a continuation of Christ’s work—he is another paraclete fulfilling the work of the Son—he is the Spirit of Christ doing Christ’s bidding, taking of Christ’s and giving to us). He fully understands and sympathizes with all our weaknesses. He is filled with wisdom instruct us. He is filled with compassion to comfort us. He is filled with grace to forgive us. He is filled with power to bring about transformation.
- He constantly and consistently prays for us and his prayers are always effective and powerful because he is the truly righteous man whose prayers availeth much.
- As the perfect pastor he stands to justify every undershepherd that strives to imitate him. He is the perfect righteousness of every preacher. Preaching, counseling, praying, studying, and writing do not make one right with the Father—the perfect pastor does