"The charge to Peter was 'Feed my sheep;' not 'Try experiments on my rats,' or even, 'Teach my performing dogs new tricks.'" — C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm
Jesus' charge to Peter included what to do and for whom to do it -- feed (what) Jesus' sheep (for whom). The action is "feed" and the object is "sheep." Not to be neglected is the possessive pronoun "My" in order to remind Who commands the shepherds and to Whom belong the patients. It matters that the verb is feed. This is a careful, caring thing to do. Nourishment is intimate. It is what fathers are called to provide for their offspring and mothers to their infants. It matters that the direct object is sheep. These are people who need provision and protection. It matters that the pronoun is My. It matters Whose they are. These aren't just any sheep. These are His.
This charge, however, also presupposes where to get what he needs. Peter was not charged to make the grass grow, but he was charged to lead the sheep to it. Peter could not himself provide what the sheep needed, but he could guide them to where it was. In other words, Jesus presupposed Peter would not try to teach His sheep to eat rocks. In commanding Peter to feed the sheep, Jesus was promising to provide the food.
Jesus' charge equates His people with His sheep and His shepherds with their providers and protectors. They are not called sheep so that he can easily discount them, but that he may be counted upon to care for them. The imagery is not meant to demean His people, but to provide greater meaning to His pastors. God's people are not rats to be experimented on for research purposes or dogs to be trained to entertain the elderly. God's people are sheep to be tended to and protected from wolves, not preyed upon as play things or offered up as sacrifices by sheep with master's degrees.
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