1 Peter 2:25

1 Peter 2:25 ‘For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.'

‘For' -Again, reminding us why Jesus endured such suffering. He paid the price for our own selfishness.

‘were continually straying like sheep' -Denoting. habitual condition. 1.. good description of sin. Sin happens when we insist upon doing things our own way (Isaiah 2:6). 2. Many lost people are like sheep, i.e. just blindly following the crowd without thinking much about where the crowd is headed (Matthew 9:36; Luke 15:4; Numbers 2:17; 1 Kings 2:17).

‘but now you have returned' -aorist tense, indicating that they had ‘turned' at. definite point in time, i.e. when they were born again (1 Peter 1:23 Mark 16:16).

‘Shepherd' -(Matthew 26:31; John 10:11; John 10:14; John 10:16; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4; Psalms 23:1 ff).

‘Guardian' -the same word as the term ‘bishop' or ‘overseer', i.e. to look over or watch.

‘of your souls' -POINTS TO NOTE: 1. The only ‘guardian' that the Christian has beyond this life, is Deity. Note that Peter didn't cite. list of ‘patron saints', who watch over the Christian. Jesus is the singular guardian of our souls. 2. ‘For slaves this was good news. They might be suffering, indeed, they might be suffering because of their faith. But they were not lost. Christ was with them, and they were under his care even if their present physical experiences were unpleasant.' (Davids p. 114) ‘With us, sheep are often left to themselves; but. do not remember ever to have seen in the East. flock of sheep without. shepherd. In such. landscape as Judaea, where. day's pasture is thinly scattered over an unfenced track of country, covered with delusive paths, still frequented by wild beasts, and rolling off into the desert, the man and his character are indispensable. On some high moor, across which at night the hyneas howl, when you meet him, sleepless, far-sighted, weather-beaten, armed, leaning upon his staff, and looking out over his scattered sheep, everyone of them on his heart, you understand why….Christ took him as the type of self-sacrifice…..Indeed, this word shepherd tells us most vividly of the ceaseless vigilance and the self-sacrificing love of God for us; who are His flock …(Psalms 110:3).' (Barclay p. 257)