Feed My Sheep

Over the last few weeks, I have learned firsthand the intimacy and urgency of the request “If you love me…feed my sheep” made by Jesus to his disciple, Peter, in the Gospels of Matthew and John. Circumstances of health have left me unable to watch over my flock for a time, and I have had to entrust them to another’s care.

To one who is not a shepherd, “Feed my sheep” seems like a simple request to make sure their stomachs are full…but it is so much more. The significance of this humble request is more explicitly revealed in Ezekiel, chapter 34. Feeding sheep entails: caring for the weak, binding the wounded, seeking the lost, protecting them, defending them, assuring their peace of mind, visiting them, watching over them, guiding them, folding them (keeping the flock together) and managing them with tenderness and kindness. You see, “feeding” does not just mean to satisfy their physical hunger – but all of their needs. To meet all of their needs, you must know them, intimately.

Feeding sheep cannot be accomplished as a daily chore – it is an ongoing labor of love. In John, chapter 10 verse 13, Jesus said that a hired man has no concern for the sheep; he will abandon them when he sees a wolf approach. By contrast, the good shepherd will lay down his life for them. In biblical days, a shepherd was usually the youngest of the household, and the sheep did not belong to him. He shepherded out of love, loyalty and obedience to his father. How well he fulfilled this duty was a measure of his integrity, and determined the survival and success of his family. Shepherding was not a casual task, it was a sacred trust.

What would make sheep so valuable that a shepherd would give his life for them? In the Old Testament, sheep were not only a family’s sustenance, their source of food, milk and clothing, but of means of reconciliation with God through sacrifice. A sheep provided for both their physical and spiritual needs.

Since sheep have no means of defending themselves, a shepherd is responsible for them day and night. Though equipped with a rod, the most important aspect of his success was intimate acquaintance – love. The shepherd knows his sheep, and the sheep know him. They will not follow a stranger. How many times do we miss the key word in that passage? “Follow.” A shepherd doesn’t drive his sheep. A dog drives sheep. A shepherd calls sheep – and recognizing his voice - they follow. A rod requires contact with an individual sheep (or predator) where a voice can carry across the distance to move an entire flock away from danger. A stranger simply cannot step in and fill the shepherd’s role without becoming as familiar to the sheep as the shepherd. You cannot shepherd without love and trust.

Yesterday I was able to visit my sheep. Though they had food to eat, they were starving. They were hungry for my voice, my touch, my concern, my leading. Having a stranger meet their physical needs had not satisfied them. I realized that asking someone to feed my sheep in my absence is asking them to love my sheep as I love them…to be not the person they are, but who I am for my flock.

It gives me great pause to consider that in first epistle of Peter, chapter 5 verse 2, we are told to “Care for the flock of God entrusted to (us). Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly – not for what (we) will get out of it, but because we are eager to serve God…so that when the head Shepherd returns…”

I have not just been given my flock to care for in this life, but I have been entrusted to feed my Father's sheep.

For the people placed around me, how accurate of a reflection am I of Christ and his care for them? Will I have been a stranger or a shepherd in his absence? If the head Shepherd were to return to his flock, would he find his sheep scattered and hungry?

“Feed my sheep.” It seems like a humble request…but it is a sacred trust, far more demanding and noble than we imagine, and impossible to do without surrendering ourselves and conforming to his likeness...Do we love him enough?

Feed My Sheep
by David Humpal

I would give my all to God
My life is in God’s hands
I would do a mighty work
Across the foreign lands
But God gently said to me
Feed my lambs

If God asked to give to him
My wealth or riches deep
I’d obey his every wish
Each promise I would keep
But God calmly said to me
Tend my sheep

Every mountain I would climb
However high or steep
Every canyon I would cross
However wide or deep
But God softly said to me
Feed my sheep


Your prayers during this time would be greatly appreciated. Of course a return to health would be a blessing, but however he chooses to glorify Himself in my life, I would pray to be His humble servant.