When you hear the word “pastor,” what immediately comes to mind? What related words jump out at you? Can you list four or five right now? Perhaps words like “teaching,” “preaching” or “church” – possibly even “marriage” or “funeral” – may come to mind. Or words such as “prayer,” “ministry,” “small group” or others may arise for you. What scriptures come up for you, when you hear the word “pastor”? Perhaps Paul’s exhortation to Timothy to be ready, in season and out of season, to preach the word (2 Tim 4:2)? Perhaps the qualifications of leaders (elders) in letters to Titus (1:6–9) and Timothy (1 Tim 3:2–7)? Or the mention of pastors among the five types of key leaders listed in Ephesians 4:11? What scriptures from the Old Testament come to mind, if any?
It’s not that any of what we’ve just listed is wrong, per se. It’s not. But is it the full picture? And have we put front and center the most important aspects of what it means to be a “pastor”? And how does being a pastor relate to the over-arching scope of the Scriptures? To answer some of these questions, let’s begin by taking a look at what the word “pastor” in Greek means.
So what’s in a name, anyway? In Greek the word that typically gets translated as “pastor” is poimen (ποιμήν). This words means, literally, “shepherd.” It is the word most commonly used in the New Testament for “shepherd.” Is that important? Certainly. When an ancient Greek-speaking person heard the word poimen, an image would immediately come to mind. The same effect would happen, today, if we were to introduce a (preaching) church leader, saying “This is our shepherd.” One gets, immediately, a picture of a caring individual who tends to a flock of precious, needy sheep.
Knowing just this one thing changes a lot in our understanding. Now what Scriptures come to mind, as we think about “pastors”?
How about Jesus’ reinstatement of Peter, after the resurrection, imploring him to feed his sheep (John 21:15–17)? As a pastor, Peter was learning, to love Jesus means to feed his sheep.
Or how about Jesus’ encouraging words to his “little flock” not to be afraid – for God longs to give them the kingdom (Luke 12:32)? Jesus sets the role model for pastors to encourage their flocks about God’s good intentions for them.
Or what about the deep compassion Jesus has on the crowds, because they seem to him like harassed sheep without a shepherd (Matt 9:36)? His compassion motivates him to pray to God for more workers to be sent out. Following Jesus’ approach, a pastor would see crowds, even those being misled, with compassion, as needy, harassed sheep.
Surely, we can’t forget about the Good Shepherd (John 10:1–27)? The shepherd loves his sheep very much: he would rather die, when danger rears its ugly head, than let his precious little flock suffer harm. This is a potent example for pastors – Jesus’ own suffering and death, on behalf of his flock.
And what of Simon Peter’s encouragement to leaders to carefully tend the flock as under-shepherds, following the example of Jesus, the Chief Shepherd? Peter writes, “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (1 Pet 5:1–4, ESV). To be an elder is to “shepherd” or “pastor” others. And this, Peter makes clear, is to gently lead others, especially by offering to go first and setting the example of the direction that the flock should be going in.
What about Paul’s encouragement to the Ephesian elders that, as “overseers” they should carefully “shepherd” (Greek: poimainein – ποιμαίνειν) God’s church (Acts 20:28). This action word is closely related to the noun “pastor” / “shepherd” (poimen – ποιμήν). Those shepherding should, in particular, protect the “flock” (poimnion – ποίμνιον) against fierce wolves that will try to devour sheep, causing divisions in Christ’s body (Acts 20:29). (As you can see, in Greek the word for “pastor” is closely related to the word for “flock,” as well.)
How about Jude’s warning that there are false teachers in his day who are like shepherds that just feed themselves (Jude 12)? A true shepherd must care deeply about the health and well-being of the sheep, not just himself.
Finally, we can add, even the birth of the Great Shepherd was heralded by shepherds (Luke 2). Only they were found worthy to experience an angelic visitation that night, announcing Messiah’s birth, with the sign that the Messiah would himself be found lying in an animal feeding trough. God indelibly punctuated the greatest leader’s birth with the notion of him being honoured by those of humble stature, those who slept, as it were, without a home. They experienced hardships, to tend their flocks. They stayed faithfully by the side of their flocks, protecting them. In these ways, of course, the shepherds prefigured what Jesus himself would most be like in his own ministry.
Here’s another question. What Old Testament passages come to mind, now that we are thinking of “pastor” correctly as shepherd? Psalm 23, no doubt. God himself is a great shepherd. He takes care of our needs and makes sure we have a good drink and get fed. He leads us even in the most trying of times. And he stays faithfully with us.
Psalm 95 declares that those set apart by God and true to him are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Some of the greatest leaders of all time had their beginnings among flocks of sheep (and other herds of animals). Of course, there is David. But also, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his sons. All tended sheep and goats.
And how can we forget Moses? After trying to deliver his people in his own strength, God put him in a 40-year training school – as a shepherd! Later, God appeared to him, revealing his great call on his life, when Moses was tending sheep (Exod 3:1). And for his entire career, Moses would use his shepherd’s staff as the symbol of his leadership and authority. This is a different kind of leader. He is willing to offer up his own life to save his people from judgment (Exod 32:31–32)!
David, too, is called by God while he is tending sheep (1 Sam 16:11). Many times, God reminds David and others that their faithful king was drawn from tending sheep, to care for the people of Israel (ex. 2 Sam 7:8). Like Moses, David would also rather undergo suffering himself rather than see the punishment that God was bringing upon the nation (1 Chron 21:17).
Alternatively, in Psalm 2, we see a different aspect of David’s shepherding. As the Psalmist celebrates God’s call of David to be king in Jerusalem, God promises David all of the nations of the earth as his inheritance — he is to “shepherd” them with an iron staff (Psalm 2:9). There is great hope for every nation. But, this image depicts that, ultimately, there will be punishment for those nations that do not choose to follow God’s ways, but rebel against God and his “anointed one.” This anointed one is Jesus, the gentle Messiah.
A prophecy from Isaiah describes how God leads his sheep tenderly, even carrying the young ones in his arms and not rushing the mother sheep, full of milk (Isa 40:11). This aptly depicts Jesus, does it not? Our shepherd is merciful, knows the needs of his sheep well, and meets each of us exactly where we’re at.
When Moses sees the land of Canaan, from the top of Mount Nebo, knowing he is not permitted to enter, he acts as a shepherd. Rather than complain about his lot in life, he prays that the Lord to raise up and establish a new leader in his place, lest Israel be left like a flock of sheep without a shepherd (Num 27:17). This is a great leader who is more concerned with the flock than with his personal privileges and legacy. (God chooses Joshua, not one of Moses’ children.)
Ezekiel prophesies that the leaders in his day are like evil shepherds, who only feed themselves, but do not care for the needs of the sheep (Ezek 34:10). The sheep ended up scattered, because they were as though without a shepherd. As a result, Ezekiel declares, God himself will shepherd the sheep properly. He will seek out the lost and bring them back. He will bind up the injured sheep and strengthen the weak.
When a faithful prophet of the Lord, Micaiah son of Imlah, finally prophesies the ultimate punishment for Ahab, the most wicked king in Israel up until that time, he speaks of him as a shepherd, albeit a failed one. Micaiah says that in a vision he has seen all of Israel scattered like sheep without a shepherd (1 Kings 22:17). In a short time, Ahab dies in battle.
In another vein, elsewhere Zechariah prophesies about our Messiah, Jesus, saying that God himself will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered (Zech 13:7). In fact, Jesus states this very prophecy on the night he is betrayed, foretelling his coming death (Matt 26:31; Mark 14:27). Jesus receives the punishment that is reserved for wicked leaders of God’s people.
Do you see how many scriptures come together when we simply begin to think of the term “pastor” in its original meaning?
But it is not just that reams of scriptural passages come to mind. There is an interconnectedness of the image of shepherd that God uses throughout all the pages of Scripture. First of all God himself, but also Moses, David, Jesus, Peter and so many others are all shepherds. It is, perhaps, one of the ruling metaphors in the Scripture, especially as a pertains to leading others. But that interwoven tapestry, that nexus of meaning, is simply lost on us, when we hear the English word “pastor.”
Years ago, “pastor” would have been mentally connected to “pasture.” So, a rural and, well, pastoral image would have come to mind. But today, for most of us, that is no longer the case (unless, perhaps, you are a linguist or language enthusiast or typically conscious about word origins). And, today, if the association does come up in one’s mind, it would likely be just for a moment of intentional reflection, but not persistently or automatically.
But, you don’t have to be a linguist to know a language. You just have to be human. We are all made in God’s image. And God is a God who speaks. In fact, speech is one of God’s chief characteristics. It is one of ours, too.
This brief look at the word poimen (ποιμήν) is but one example. There are many… many more. And when you read the New Testament in its original Greek, as your basic means of approaching the text, then you will find again and again that your knowledge of the Scriptures is greatly enriched and amplified. There is also an exponential effect, as gems of insights coalesce together and build upon one another. And if you put into practice what you learn, by the power of God’s Spirit, you will certainly achieve the ultimate goal – you will know God better!
It is well worth your investment of time to learn biblical Greek. Come learn with us at ΟΜΙΛΕΙΝ!