1 Peter 5:4

5:1-4 The apostle Peter does not command, but exhorts. He does not claim power to rule over all pastors and churches. It was the peculiar honour of Peter and a few more, to be witnesses of Christ's sufferings; but it is the privilege of all true Christians to partake of the glory that shall be revealed. These poor, dispersed, suffering Christians, were the flock of God, redeemed to God by the great Shepherd, living in holy love and communion, according to the will of God. They are also dignified with the title of God's heritage or clergy; his peculiar lot, chosen for his own people, to enjoy his special favour, and to do him special service. Christ is the chief Shepherd of the whole flock and heritage of God. And all faithful ministers will receive a crown of unfading glory, infinitely better and more honourable than all the authority, wealth, and pleasure of the world.

{7} And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. (7) That the shepherds' minds are not overcome either with the wickedness of men, or their cruelty, he warns them to continually look at the chief shepherd, and the crown which is laid up for them in heaven.

The chief Shepherd (ἀρχιποίμενος) Only here in New Testament. In harmony with 1 Peter 5:2. "The last thing Peter could have dreamed of as possible would be its misapplication to himself or his so-called successors" (Cook). Compare Hebrews 13:20, great Shepherd; and John 10:11, John 10:14, good Shepherd. Also, Ezekiel 34:15, Ezekiel 34:16, Ezekiel 34:23. Ye shall receive See on receiving, 1 Peter 1:9. Crown (στέφανον) From στέφω, to put round, encircle. It is the crown of victory in the games; of military valor; the marriage wreath, or the festal garland, woven of leaves or made of gold in imitation of leaves. Thus it is distinguished from the royal crown, which is διάδημα, of which diadem is a transcript. In Paul, στέφανος is always used of the conqueror's crown, not of the king's (1 Corinthians 9:24-26; 2 Timothy 2:5). Though it is urged that Peter would not have employed a reference to the crown of the victors in the games, because of the abhorrence of the Palestinian Jews for heathen spectacles, yet the reference to the crown of leaves seems to be determined by the epithet unfading, as compared with garlands of earthly leaves. The crown of thorns woven for Jesus is called στέφανος with reference rather to its being twined than to its being a caricature of a kingly crown.

And when the chief Shepherd; the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Prince of pastors, called the great Shepherd of the sheep, Hebrews 13:20 , as here the chief Shepherd, not only for his supereminent dignity over all other pastors, but because of the power he hath over them, they being all subject to his authority, receiving their charge from him, and exercising their office in his name, and being accountable to him for their administrations. Shall appear: see 1 Peter 1:7,13 4:13 . Ye shall receive; or, carry away, viz. from Christ, who, as the Judge, shall award it to you. A crown of glory; either, a glorious crown; or, that glory which shall be as a crown to you. It is called a crown of righteousness, 2 Timothy 4:8 ; a crown of life, Jam 1:12 . That fadeth not away; in opposition to those crowns which were given to conquerors in war, and in public games, which were made of perishable flowers or herbs: see 1 Peter 1:4 1 Corinthians 9:25 .

1 Peter 5:4 . φανερωθέντος τοῦ ἀρχιποίμενος , at the manifestation of the chief Shepherd, i.e. , Christ, ἀρχιποίμην is the equivalent of ὁ ποίμην ὁ μέγας of Hebrews 13:20 , being formed on them analogy of ἀρχιερεύς = בהן הגדל ; else it occurs only as Symmachus’ rendering of נקד (LXX, νωκηδ ) in 2 Kings 3:4 and in a papyrus. Cf. appeal to Jehovah, ὁ ποιμαίνων τὸν Ἰσραὴλ … ἐμφάνηθι of Psalm 80:1 — τὸν … στέφανον = the crown of life which He promised ( Jam 1:12 ). The metaphor is probably derived from the wreath of fading flowers presented to the victor in the games ( cf. ἀμαράντινον ); but it may also be due to the conception of the future age as a banquet, at which the guests were crowned with garlands (Sap. 1 Peter 2:8 , στεψώμεθα ῥόδων κάλυξιν πρὶν ἢ μαρανθῆναι ). See on 1 Peter 1:4 .

4. And—"And so": as the result of "being ensamples" (1Pe 5:3). chief Shepherd—the title peculiarly Christ's own, not Peter's or the pope's. when … shall appear—Greek, "be manifested" (Col 3:4). Faith serves the Lord while still unseen. crown—Greek, "stephanos," a garland of victory, the prize in the Grecian games, woven of ivy, parsley, myrtle, olive, or oak. Our crown is distinguished from theirs in that it is "incorruptible" and "fadeth not away," as the leaves of theirs soon did. "The crown of life." Not a kingly "crown" (a different Greek word, diadema): the prerogative of the Lord Jesus (Re 19:12). glory—Greek, "the glory," namely, to be then revealed (1Pe 5:1; 1Pe 4:13). that fadeth not away—Greek, "amaranthine" (compare 1Pe 1:4).

4 . And when the chief Shepherd shall appear ] The word for “chief Shepherd” is not found elsewhere, and would seem therefore to have been coined by St Peter, to express the thought which had been impressed on his mind by his Lord’s words, “I am the good Shepherd” ( John 10:14 ). In his own work, as in that of all pastors of the Church, he saw the reproduction of that of which Christ had set the great example. For “shall appear” it would be better to read is manifested . a crown of glory that fadeth not away ] More accurately, as the Greek has the article, “ the crown of glory.” The four last words answer to the one Greek word, “amaranthine,” or “unfading,” the adjective being a cognate form of that in chap. 1 Peter 1:4 . The crown here is the wreath or chaplet of flowers worn by conquerors and heroes, as in 1 Corinthians 9:25 , James 1:12 , and differs from the “crowns” or diadems of Revelation 12:3 ; Revelation 19:12 , which were distinctively the badge of sovereignty. It is possible, as the adjective “amaranth” was applied to the kind of flowers which we know as “everlastings,” that there may be an allusive reference to the practice of using those flowers for wreaths that were placed in funerals upon the brows of the dead.

The word and the thought reappear in one of Milton’s noblest passages: “Immortal Amaranth, a flower which once In Paradise, hard by the tree of life, Began to bloom, but soon, for man’s offence To heaven removed, where first it grew, there grows And flowers aloft, shading the fount of life; And where the river of bliss through midst of Heaven Rolls o’er Elysian flowers her amber stream With these, that never fade, the spirits elect Bind their resplendent locks, inwreathed with beams.” Paradise Lost , III. 353–361.

Verse 4. - And when the chief Shepherd shall appear ; rather, is manifested . The word rendered "chief Shepherd" ἀρχιποίμην occurs only here; it reminds us of the Lord's description of himself as "the good Shepherd," and of the "great Shepherd of the sheep" ( Hebrews 13:20 ). Ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away . This is the true reward of the faithful presbyter, not power or filthy lucre. Literally, it is "the crown of glory," the promised glory, the glory of the Lord which he hath promised to his chosen. "The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them" ( John 17:22 ). The crown is the glory; the genitive seems to be one of apposition. The Greek word here rendered "that fadeth not away" ἀμαράντινος is not exactly the same with that so rendered in 1 Peter 1:4 ΧΧΧ ; taken literally, the words used here mean an amaranthine wreath - a wreath of amaranth flowers; the general meaning remains the same, "unfading." St. Peter is thinking, not of a kingly crown, but of the wreaths worn on festive occasions or bestowed on conquerors. 1 Peter 5:4

(4) And when the chief Shepherd shall appear. —Or, And at the chief Shepherd’s appearing. The “and” treats it as a simple natural consequence of acting as just indicated. The beautiful word for “chief Shepherd” seems to have been invented by St. Peter, and it has been apparently imitated in Hebrews 13:20 . How could an office be more honoured than by speaking of Christ as the chief bearer of that office? “A crown of glory that fadeth not away.—It might perhaps be more closely, though less beautifully, represented by the glorious crown of amaranth, or the amaranthine crown of glory. Amaranth is the name of a flower which, like our immortelles, does not lose its colour or form. St. Peter immediately adds “of glory,” lest we should think too literally of the wreath of immortelles.

And when the chief Shepherd shall appear - The prince of the pastors - the Lord Jesus Christ. "Peter, in the passage above, ranks himself with the elders; here he ranks Christ himself with the pastors" - Benson. See the notes at 1 Peter 2:25 . Compare Hebrews 13:20 . Ye shall receive a crown of glory - A glorious crown or diadem. Compare the notes at 2 Timothy 4:8. That fadeth not away - This is essentially the same word, though somewhat different in form, which occurs in 1 Peter 1:4. See the notes at that verse. The word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. Compare the notes at 1 Corinthians 9:25.