Shepherd the flock of God in your care, not under compulsion, but willingly; neither for love of dishonest gain, but eagerly;

(1 Pet. 5:1-3) If, now, all the “flock of God” were to be considered as “elders,” what would be the sense of Peter in speaking about the “older men among you”? Then, too, how could it be said that that flock of God was “in your care,” that is, in the care of the “older men”? How would they “shepherd the flock” if all the flock were “elders” and hence all shepherds?

2. Why must those addressed here by Peter have been officially “older men,” and with how many “older men” did the Jerusalem congregation start out on Pentecost of 33 C.E.?

² The apostle Peter classes himself as an “older man” with the “older men” whom he addresses. So, if Peter was an “older man” in an official sense, those whom he addresses were also officially “older men.”