Hello Yada,
Perhaps the following discourse may help shed some light on the passages quoted:
Yahuchanan Chapter 21
Verse 15
In this verse and the next two verses Yahushua commissions Petros to do three things – feed my lambs, tend my sheep, and feed my sheep. Now they may seem very similar. In fact the translators of the King James Version thought they were so close in meaning that they translated all three phrases similarly. But there are four different Greek words used for these six English words, and I think this indicates a threefold ministry which we will examine.
The Greek word used here in verse 15 for lambs is arnia (avrni,a) which means little lambs. Yahushua is about to give Petros, and us, a three-fold commission. Here is His first instruction – feed my lambs. Every church has little lambs. There are young children and there are new believers – both are lambs.
We have young children that need to be ministered to. We need to care for these young lives as much as we do the adults. They are just as important in God’s sight as any adult that comes through these doors.
But there are other lambs in Yahweh’s kingdom. There are those who are new in their commitment to MessiYah. Scripture calls them spiritual babes. We need to be willing to follow Yahushua's command to Petros and feed these lambs. Those who are new to MessiYah Yahushua need special attention. They need to learn about Yahweh and about Scripture. We need to be willing to spend the time to spiritually nourish them and help them realize that they are an important part of Yahweh’s family. So the first instruction that Yahushua gives us is to feed the little lambs – the children and the spiritual children.
Verse 16
A second time He said to him, "Shimown, son of Yahuchanan, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Adonai; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep."
The second instruction by Yahushua is to "tend my sheep." The Greek word for tend is poimanate (poima,nate). In 1887 Vincent wrote concerning this word, "the verb denotes all that is included in the office of a shepherd – guiding, guarding, folding...."
Yahushua tells us we must tend the sheep. Who are the sheep? Certainly it refers to those believers who are under our care. Phillip Keller was actually a shepherd. This is what he wrote about the shepherd’s responsibility of tending to his sheep, "He will go to no end of trouble and labor to supply them with the finest grazing, the richest pasturage, ample winter feed and clean water. He will spare himself no pains to provide shelter from storms, protection from ruthless enemies and the diseases and parasites to which sheep are so susceptible. ... From early dawn until late at night this utterly self-less shepherd is alert to the welfare of His flock. For the diligent shepherd rises early and goes out first thing every morning without fail to look over his flock. It is the initial, intimate contact of the day. With a practiced, searching, sympathetic eye he examines the sheep to see that they are fit and content and able to be on their feet. In an instant he can tell if they have been molested during the night – whether any are ill or if there are some which require special attention. Repeatedly throughout the day he casts his eye over the flock to make sure that all is well. Nor even at night is he oblivious to their needs. He sleeps as it were ‘with one eye and both ears open’ ready at the least sign of trouble to leap up and protect his own."
So let us not neglect our responsibility in caring for the family of Yahweh. We must be willing to minister to hurts, to encourage the disheartened, to pray for those who are sick, to help the needy, and to reach out to those who are drifting away. Let us never neglect the job that the Lord has given us to tend the sheep. We must not only care about them, but we must also take care of them.
Adam Clarke wrote, "...in John 21:16 he uses the word poimainoo, which signifies to tend a flock, not only to feed, but to take care of, guide, govern, defend, etc., by which he seems to intimate that it is not sufficient merely to offer the bread of life to the congregation of the Lord, but he must take care that the sheep be properly collected, attended to, regulated, guided, etc.; and it appears that Peter perfectly comprehended our Lord's meaning, and saw that it was a direction given not only to him, and to the rest of the disciples, but to all their successors in the Christian ministry; for himself says, 1 Peter 5:2: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight, not by constraint, but willingly...."
Verse 17
He said to him the third time, "Shimown, son of Yahuchanan, do you love me?" Petros was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Yahushua said to him, "Feed my sheep."
Now Jesus gives Petros a third command – feed my sheep. First He said to feed my lambs, then tend My sheep, and now feed My sheep. Too often churches tend to their flock but neglect to feed them. Many churches have fabulous programs to meet the needs of their members – programs for all ages, support groups, counseling groups, addictive behavior groups. They have times of fellowship and activities for the whole family. They tend their sheep well.
But Yahushua said we must also feed the sheep. We must be fed from the Word. We must learn about Yahweh and His nature, His attributes, His personality. We must be taught how to rely on the Set-Apart Spirit. We must go from the milk of a new believer to the meat of the Word. As Paul wrote in Hebrews 5:12-14, "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of Yahweh's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
How does this maturity come? It comes from being fed. As we learn from Yahweh’s word, we will grow in His grace. But how will the sheep grow if they are not being fed? That is our responsibility. We must be willing to not only tend the flock, but also feed it with spiritual food.
Adapted from Feed My Sheep by David Humpal
This passage is one of the reasons why I decided to engage in this forum. I have to move on, weaning from the milk and moving on to meat. Interacting with all of you here is part of my growth process, and I am thankful that you are all here on this journey led by the One MessiYah Yahushua. Yada, special thanks to you, brother!
