Difference between revisions of "Pastor"

<p> PASTOR, [[Shepherd]] </p> <p> A well-known office of the Lord Jesus Christ. The [[Holy]] Ghost delights to set forth Jesus under this lovely character in all his word. Sometimes he represents him as the Great Shepherd, (&nbsp;Hebrews 13:20) —and sometimes he calls him the Good Shepherd, which giveth his life for the sheep, (&nbsp;John 10:11) —and by his servant the prophet Zechariah, he calls him JEHOVAH'S Shepherd, (&nbsp;Zechariah 13:7) —and by Peter, the Chief Shepherd, holding him forth to the under pastors of his flock as a glorious pattern for them to follow, assuring them that when the Chief Shepherd shall appear "they shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." (&nbsp;1 Peter 5:4) And to distinguish him from every other, and as the only Shepherd of JEHOVAH, to whom the flock is given, and who alone was, and is, able to purchase it with his blood, and to preserve it by his power, by his servant the prophet Ezekiel, he is expressly called the one Shepherd; "I will set up one Shepherd over them, and he shall feed them." (&nbsp;Ezekiel 34:23) </p> <p> The Holy Ghost hath not only thus delighted to mark the sweet features of his character, but hath given the several features also of his office. "He shall feed his flock" (saith the Lord, by the prophet Isaiah, &nbsp;Isaiah 40:11) "like a shepherd." And how is that? Surely, from a knowledge of their persons, their wants, their desires, their abilities, Jesus graciously makes suitable provision for every one, and for all. It is his flock the church, both from the Father's gift, his own purchase, the conquests of his grace, and the voluntary willingness of his people in the day of his power. "He calleth his own sheep by name:" they shall all pass (saith the Holy Ghost, by the prophet Jeremiah, &nbsp;Jeremiah 33:13) "under the hands of him that telleth them." Hence, from a knowledge of their number, their persons, their wants, and necessities, it is impossible that one can be overlooked, forgotten, neglected, or lost. He saith himself, "My sheep shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand." Oh, the precious office and character of the Lord Jesus as the [[Pastor]] and Shepherd of his people! He feeds, he protects, he heals, he watches over, restores when wandering, and gathers them out from all places whither they have wandered in the cloudy and dark day, and leads them in the paths of righteousness, for his name's sake. </p> <p> Jesus hath his under pastors also, by whom he feeds and directs his flock; hence the Lord, by Jeremiah, promised,"I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which, shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." (&nbsp;Jeremiah 3:15) And a whole chapter is spent by the prophet Ezekiel, (&nbsp;Ezekiel 34:1-31, in reproving the evil pastors who abused their office, and fed themselves of the flock, and not their people. Sometimes princes and governors are called pastors; thus David is said to have been taken from the sheepfold to be ruler over the Lord's people Israel. (&nbsp;2 Samuel 7:8) </p>

<p> Pastor (1). This name is connected with traditions of the Roman church which though accepted as historical by Baronius and other writers including [[Cardinal]] Wiseman (Fabiola p. 189) must be rejected as mythical. These traditions relate to the origin of two of the oldest of the Roman tituli those of St. [[Pudentiana]] and St. Praxedis which still give titles to cardinals and the former of which claims to be the most ancient church in the world. The story is that Peter when at Rome dwelt in the house of the senator [[Pudens]] in the vicus Patricius and there held divine service his altar being then the only one at Rome. Pudens is evidently intended as the same who is mentioned 2Ti_4:21. His mother's name is said to have been [[Priscilla]] and it is plainly intended to identify her with the lady who gave to an ancient cemetery at Rome its name. The story relates that Pudens on the death of his wife converted his house into a church and put it under the charge of the priest Pastor from whom it was known us "titulus Pastoris." This titulus is named in more than one document but in all the name may have been derived from the story. Thus in the Acts of [[Nemesius]] pope [[Stephen]] is said to have held a baptism there (Baronius a.d. 257 n. 23). Our story relates that the baptistery had been placed there by pope [[Pius]] I. who often exercised the episcopal functions in this church. Here the two daughters of Pudens Pudentiana and Praxedis having given all their goods to the poor dedicated themselves to the service of God. This church under the name of [[Ecclesia]] Pudentiana is mentioned in an inscription of a.d. 384 and there are epitaphs of priests tituli Pudentis of a.d. 489 and 528 (de Rossi Bull. 1867 n. 60; 1883 p. 107). The original authority for the story appears to be a letter purporting to be written by Pastor to Timothy (see Boll AA. SS. May 19 iv. 299). He informs Timothy of the death of his brother Novatus who during his illness had been visited by Praxedis then the only surviving sisters. He obtains Timothy's consent to the application of the property of Novatus to religious uses according to the direction of Praxedis; and baths possessed by Novatus in the vicus Lateritius are converted into a second titulus now known as of St. Praxedis. This titulus is mentioned in an epitaph of a.d. 491 (de Rossi Bull. 1882 p. 65); and priests of both tituli sign in the Roman council of 499. On this letter are founded false letters of pope Pius I. to [[Justus]] of [[Vienna]] given in Baronius (Ann. 166 i.) a forgery later than the Isodorian Decretals. Those who maintain the genuineness of the letter of Pastor are met by the chronological difficulty of connecting Pudens with both St. Paul and Pius I. It has been argued that such longevity is not impossible; and it has been suggested that Praxedis and Pudentiana were not grand-daughters of Pudens. But the spuriousness of the whole story has been abundantly shown by Tillemont (ii. 286 615). </p> <p> [G.S.] </p>

<p> &nbsp;Ephesians 4:11 is the only passage in the NT in which ‘pastor’ occurs, although its Greek equivalent, ποιμήν, is frequent; everywhere else ποιμήν is rendered ‘shepherd.’ This exceptional translation is justified, because here only is ποιμήν used of some kind of Christian minister. It is used of Christ as ‘the great shepherd of the sheep’ (&nbsp;Hebrews 13:20 from LXX_ of &nbsp;Isaiah 63:11), as ‘the Shepherd and [[Bishop]] of your souls’ (&nbsp;1 Peter 2:25), and as ‘the chief Shepherd’ (&nbsp;1 Peter 5:4)-expressions suggested by Himself (&nbsp;John 10:11; &nbsp;John 10:14). But the metaphor is obvious, and is frequent from [[Homer]] onwards. The cognate verb ποιμαίνειν is used of tending Christian flocks; in Christ’s charge to St. Peter (&nbsp;John 21:16), in St. Peter’s charge to his ‘fellow-elders’ (&nbsp;1 Peter 5:2), and in St. Paul’s charge at [[Miletus]] to the elders of the Church at [[Ephesus]] (&nbsp;Acts 20:28). In &nbsp;Ephesians 4:11, while ‘apostles’ and ‘prophets’ and ‘evangelists’ have each a separate article, ‘pastors and teachers’ are coupled by a common article, and probably form only one group, distinguished by being attached to particular congregations, whereas ‘apostles,’ ‘prophets,’ and ‘evangelists’ were itinerant preachers and missionaries. But ‘pastors’ and ‘teachers’ are not convertible terms; almost all ‘pastors’ would be ‘teachers,’ but not all ‘teachers’ were ‘pastors.’ </p> <p> Literature.-See [[Commentaries]] on &nbsp;Ephesians 4:11, esp. J. A. Robinson (1903) and B. F. Westcott (1906); A. Harnack, The [[Mission]] and [[Expansion]] of Christianity2, Eng. tr._, 1908, i. 336-346. </p> <p> A. Plummer. </p>

<div> '''1: ποιμήν ''' (Strong'S #4166 — Noun Masculine — poimen — poy-mane' ) </div> <p> "a shepherd, one who tends herds or flocks" (not merely one who feeds them), is used metaphorically of Christian "pastors," &nbsp;Ephesians 4:11 . "Pastors" guide as well as feed the flock; cp. &nbsp;Acts 20:28 , which, with ver. 17, indicates that this was the service committed to elders (overseers or bishops); so also in &nbsp;1 Peter 5:1,2 , "tend the flock ... exercising the oversight," RV; this involves tender care and vigilant superintendence. See Shepherd. </p>

<p> (רֹעֶה, ''Roch,'' from רָעָה, ''To Feed,'' &nbsp;Jeremiah 2:8; &nbsp;Jeremiah 3:15; &nbsp;Jeremiah 10:21; &nbsp;Jeremiah 12:10; &nbsp;Jeremiah 17:16; &nbsp;Jeremiah 22:22; &nbsp;Jeremiah 23:1-2; ποιμήν, &nbsp;Ephesians 4:11), ''A Shepherd'' (as elsewhere rendered). Besides this literal sense, the word is' employed figuratively in the [[Scriptures]] in somewhat the same way as it is now used to denote a stated minister appointed to watch over and instruct a congregation. (See Shepherd). </p>