Why It Is Good to Be a Little Flock (Luke 12:32)
In this passage from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is teaching his disciples about how they should live for him in difficult situations. In the context he is showing them how to deal with anxiety (v. 22ff.). Anxiety can be hard to avoid, and there are numerous reasons that can cause anxiety and worry. There is no doubt that anxiety has increased greatly throughout this time of pandemic. One reason for the anxiety is that no one can provide guaranteed blessings in the middle of the concern and at the end of the trouble. Apart from one person, that is, and he is Jesus.
Without really thinking about it, we often tell someone that they should not be worried, because words often can be easy to say. But Jesus never used pointless words. Indeed, all that he said about anxiety was based on his work on the cross when he purchased innumerable blessings for needy people.
The description of believers
In this verse, Jesus describes his disciples as a ‘little flock’. Why does he do so? An obvious answer is seen in the fact that it was literally true at that time. Jesus did not have many disciples when he was here on earth. He had recently sent out seventy of them to preach throughout the country. During his years on earth, the largest number of his disciples that was recorded is the five hundred that he met with in Galilee after his resurrection from the dead.
The disciples were not only little in number; they were also little in influence. There was no prospect of them becoming influential in the everyday things of life. Not that Jesus regarded that as a problem. Lack of numbers are not a matter of concern in the heavenly kingdom in the sense that a greater figure means more influence. Sometimes, the impression is given that somehow the church was more powerful in the past because of its greater number of professing Christians. It may have had more power, but any power it possessed had nothing to do with its numerical status. The only influence that the church can have is through the power of the risen Saviour, and it is often the case that the church has more power when it grows in times of persecution and opposition, when it is more difficult to profess being a disciple of Jesus.
The use of the adjective ‘little’ was often a term of endearment. Such a use has connections with regarding people as children. Jesus often called his disciples by such terms, and each time he was stressing his love for them. His love for them was eternal in the sense that it had no beginning. It was also eternal in the sense that he had received them lovingly from the Father as a gift of his love. His love had brought him down to this world in order to live and die on their behalf. In a short time, he would reveal his love for them when he died on the cross. And after that amazing display of his affection for them he would reveal his love throughout their lives on earth before taking them to heaven, where he continues to reveal his love to them. Moreover, in the future, he will yet show his love for them in the new heaven and new earth, in the world of glory.
Jesus also describes his people as a flock. He obviously wanted them to see themselves as sheep. What ideas come to mind when we think of this imagery? One idea is that sheep are often in peril because of the many predators they have. Danger was around all the time. The sheep of Jesus face the predators of the devil, the world and the flesh. They need protection constantly.
A second idea connected to the imagery of sheep is that of pasture. They only eat a certain kind of food and there are many kinds of food that they will not eat. The food that they eat is also chewed slowly by them, a practice that is a good picture of meditation. Many times in the Bible the illustration of eating is often connected to activities that are good for our souls. Of course, there are things in the world that are not good for the building up of healthy Christians, and if they eat the wrong spiritual food they will end up not behaving like Christians should. It is a basic truth in the Christian life that we become like what we absorb into our souls.
A flock also needs a shepherd. In many countries, shepherds spend all their time concerned with the needs of their flocks. Believers have the most wonderful of shepherds – Jesus, the one who describes himself as the Good Shepherd who was prepared to die for them on the cross. Moreover, the Bible describes him as the One who sought for them when they were like lost sheep, wandering far away from God. No doubt, we can all recall where we were when Jesus found us. Wherever we were, we were lost. A lost sheep has no possible credit for it being found. We were lost, but Jesus found us.
The delight of the Father
Jesus informs the disciples that the heavenly Father’s attitude and action towards them is one of good pleasure. This is surprising, in one sense, because they are sinners whereas he is holy. Yet in trying to grasp the significance of what the Father thought, we recognise that this was his eternal plan. His attitude and action concerning them did not commence when they became followers of Jesus. Rather it has always been his plan, indeed his only plan.
We can also see that this fatherly intention is marked by equality in that its benefits are designed to be enjoyed by all of them. Whatever superiority or diversity of gifts might exist within and between the members of the flock, every one of them will receive the blessings of the kingdom. None of them will be denied a place within its privileges. Jesus, when he said this, knew that the disciples would deny him or doubt him at different times. Nevertheless, all of them will receive what the heavenly Father wants them to possess.
The words of Jesus in this verse point to the wonder of the doctrine of adoption into God’s family. He does not say that it is ‘the Father’s good pleasure’, but that it is ‘your Father’s good pleasure’. They could expect to receive the inheritance in the future because they are in the family of God now. They had been endowed permanently with this amazing privilege of being the children of God. There is no higher expression of grace. This is what God’s people have been redeemed for, to belong to his family and receive its amazing benefits.
In order to appreciate something of the wonder of this promise by the Saviour, we should remember how often he spoke about his relationship with the heavenly Father. He delighted to speak about the Father and his plans. So here we can see something of the energy and eagerness with which Jesus would have conveyed this verse. ‘This is what my Father planned and wanted.’
In what way is the Father going to give the kingdom to the disciples of Jesus? While there is no doubt that there will be degrees of glory, all of it will be given by grace. It is not purchased by the faithfulness of disciples. Instead, it is freely given to them by the heavenly Father. Their title to kingdom membership has been earned, but it has not been earned by them. Instead, it has been earned for them by Jesus through his life and death. The Father freely gives it to them because Jesus purchased the inheritance for them.
The destiny of believers
We see also in this verse the destiny of believers. The place to where they are heading (from the point of view of the disciples) is the place to which they are being brought by Jesus. After all, he is the Shepherd of the little flock. Normally, a flock is taken to a fold at the end of the day’s travels. The people of God are going to a heavenly fold, although the Bible has other names for it as well, names that reveal its size and splendour.
Whose kingdom is it? It is God’s kingdom, but it is not a kingdom that is going to be admired only. His people will not travel round it like tourists, taking in the sights, but not knowing what it is like to live there. Rather they are going to be residents with full right of access to all its resources at any time.
What is the kingdom? What will not be there? There will be no armies, no hospitals, no shops, no banks, no countries, no needs, no poverty, no classes, no police, no prisons, no sins, no regrets, no deaths, and numerous more absent features could be mentioned. What will be there? Love, joy, peace, sharing, permanence, satisfaction, purity, endless pleasures, and many more. Who will be there? The disciples, the redeemed, the faithful, the lovers of holiness; Jesus will be there, as will the heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit. The big question is, Will you be there?
The duty of believers
Since living in the kingdom is the destiny of true disciples, what is their duty now? Their duty is to have a correct view of the future and to cause it to affect their understanding of the present. Most fears arise from doing the opposite. There are many things in life that cause fear. Jesus knew that would be the case among his followers.
Christians have their own fears connected perhaps to lack of progress in their Christian living. They may also be apprehensive about what others will think of their witness. Other concerns they often have is that perhaps they will fall into temptation or that their prayers will not be answered. They can imagine at times that for some reason God will not keep his promises.
So the list of possible fears is very long. Yet the remedy is expressed in a few words by Jesus when he encourages them here not to fear. In the middle of trouble and concern, they should remind themselves of the many promises found in the Bible, including the promise that we have been thinking about. It is a good thing to say to ourselves every day, ‘Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’
Application
The fact is that wherever the church of Christ is found, it is always in a minority. This is the case in our area, in our city, in our country. Where is the church of Christ in a majority? This means that wherever the church of Christ is found, it is a miracle of grace. It is God who has brought its members from the state of spiritual death into the state of spiritual life. If we are in the family, it is all down to God’s distinguishing, undeserved grace.
A second application is that Jesus wanted the minds of his disciples to be focussed on the great future that their Father has planned for them. It is very easy to spend our time looking at the present and wondering what is taking place. A more comforting response is to look ahead to the time when all of the divine family will be with the Lord in the Father’s house. That is when and where we will know the fullness of blessing.