“And He [Jesus] gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” Eph. 4:11. While evangelists are traveling preachers who proclaim the Gospel of Christ to sinners, pastors are shepherds of the flock, those who look after the believing children, the sheep within the fold. The word means a feeder, a shepherd. There is nothing more suggestive of kind care and loving attention than the word and office of pastor or shepherd. The familiar Bible reader will at once recall the life of Jacob, with its fourteen years of hard service for Laban in cold and heat, in sun and frost, in rain and drought; of Moses, who served forty years in the deserts of Midian, keeping the flock of his father-in-law, and there learning lessons of man’s littleness and God’s greatness, thus becoming fitted to care for the feeble and young and wounded in the flock, in order that he might be a true shepherd over Israel. David also had the spirit of a true shepherd, not only in tender love and care for the flock, but in protecting them from the beasts of prey which infested the land. Said he to Saul: “Thy servant kept his father’s sheep; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.” I Sam. 17:34, 35, R.V. David periled his life; he gave it for the sheep. He was vigilant, watchful. He did not wait for the wounded sheep to come to Him; he went to it. The sheep were bound up in his life. This was emblematic of the Spirit of Christ. He is the true Shepherd, the good Shepherd of the sheep, the flock of God. He loves them; for He gave His life for them, that His life might be in them. Thus they know Him, and He knows them, as so beautifully set forth in the tenth chapter of John: “I am the good Shepherd; and I know Mine own, and Mine own know Me, even as the Father knoweth Me, and I know the Father.” Verses 14, 15, R.V. He does not capture His sheep by force; He wins them by His love. And after He has won them by His love, He does not drive them, or coerce them; “He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him; for they know His voice.” Every step of the pathway is marked by His footprints. This is the spirit and work of the true pastor, or shepherd, of Christ. This is the work He has given His under shepherds, or pastors, to do,—to give their lives for God’s work, which is the salvation and care of His flock. The food which they are to feed the flock is the Word of God. “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.” “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” Acts 20:28, 32. “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed; feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” I Peter 5:1–4. They are not to place the food too high. The babes are to be given “the sincere milk of the Word;” the older ones are to be fed with “strong meat.” “Things new and old,” “meat in due season,” are to be given to the flock. “Feed My sheep;” “Feed My lambs,” are the commands of our Lord. Tenderly care for the wounded, the lame, the helpless, the sick; gather in the straying. But how unlike this is the work of the false shepherd, thus depicted by the prophet:— “Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds: Wo be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed; but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. . . . My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill; yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.” Eze. 34:2–6. “Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.” Verses 18, 19. How manifest this has been in professed Christianity,—pastors who feed themselves, not the flock; who do not strengthen the feeble, nor heal the sick, nor bind up the broken-hearted, nor seek those driven away or lost; but, instead of this, the help of civil law is sought, and the people are ruled by force, and scattered! The pastures of the Word upon which the flock is to be fed are trodden down by false shepherds, and the pure waters of truth fouled—perverted—by their feet, leaving only corrupted food and drink for the flock. We see now the work of the false pastors, and its results. We see the scattering of the flock. God would also have us see the gathering. The under shepherd should preach, not himself, but Christ Jesus the Lord, that all the flock might know and see and hear the one Shepherd and be gathered unto Him. So God will have it. “Therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even my servant David [Christ]; He shall feed them, and He shall be their shepherd.” Verses 22, 23. Only those who thus know Christ can appreciate the beautiful psalm:— “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul;
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yea, tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me;
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Evangelists and pastors are both precious gifts, oftentimes united in one man, but rarely to a high degree. When in two individuals, the superficial Christian, the worldling in the church, the souls of little experience, generally appreciate the work of the evangelist most. There is a certain amount of impulse and dash generally attending his work which easily win friends. His object is to win men from unbelief to faith in Christ, the easiest part of Gospel work generally. The pastor’s work is more difficult. It is to build up, to perfect the work of the evangelist. It means closer work, heavier strain on the material undergoing finishing, finer polish. Against this the superficial heart rebels. The evangelist and pastor are compared, with criticism of the latter. The former is thought to be superior. He is flattered, urged to be pastor, altho not fitted for it. If he accepts, the church suffers a great wrong, and the man’s efforts are crippled. Praise God for the evangelist who, through the grace of the Gospel, brings us to Christ. Thank God for the noble pastor who faithfully, patiently labors to help us to overcome all faults and imperfections of character, that he “may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”