" In the Old Testament, God's people are often referred to as sheep. "Israel is a scattered sheep" (Jer. 50:7) and, "All we like sheep have gone astray" (Isa. 53:6). Therefore when Jesus comes into the world He announces, "I am the good shepherd (poimena)" (Jn. 10:11). In this passage, Jesus clearly shows Himself to be the perfect Shepherd. In our ure, the current trend is to find your own path and to discover truth for yourself, to be independent. The idea of having someone watching over you and leading you is not very popular, and least of all directing your inner life. Because of this, many Christians have taken Jn. 10:11 to mean that Jesus is our only Shepherd, and that we need only look to him for care and direction. But this is a blatant contradiction to Scripture. We find that the New Testament is very clear about the need for human shepherds, and that this is one of the main functions of the church. The conversation that our risen Lord has with Peter in Jn. 21 is very important in this matter. Earlier in John's gospel we see Jesus clearly presented as the Shepherd of His people. But we find in Jn. 21 that Jesus is handing this responsibility to Peter. In verses 15 and 17 Jesus uses a word that plainly means to feed sheep. This alone would lead us to view the pastoral role as authoritative and unique. "A term like shepherd reminds us that even on the human level, some are responsible to lead while others follow, some have authority while others are called to respond to that authority." If there is a feeder, there are people being fed, and these roles are clearly distinct. Jesus the Great Shepherd of the sheep says to Peter in verse 16, "Tend (poimaine) My sheep". This is the verb form of the word shepherd, and the passage could easily be rendered, "Shepherd My sheep". So here we have a very clear passage in which Jesus places the work of shepherding His people upon the shoulders of men.
