Anchor My Faith

The Hired Hand and the Wolf

Scripture: John 10:12-13

In the previous lesson we considered Jesus as the good shepherd. In this lesson we will look at those who are not good shepherds.

^{Jn 10:12} “He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³ He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”

A hired hand in this context is one of a lower position than a household servant and is more nearly what would be called a tramp-laborer. We learned that a good shepherd would give his life, if necessary, for his sheep in a time of danger, but the hired hand has no interest in the sheep, and cares for them only as far as to secure his own wages.

When the wolf comes the hired hand flees to safety and leaves the wolf to seek out a sheep, causing havoc in the flock as it scatters. In like manner, there are spiritual foes which seek out individual believers in an attempt to destroy them. This is clearly seen under persecution where the enemy will break into a home of a pastor or a home church meeting or even a church building holding a church service to injure or kill some in attendance.

To those Jesus is speaking to, the wolf is seen as the natural enemy of the sheep, and is a good example of all evil persons, who are the natural enemies of the sheep of Christ’s fold; those of us who are believers and born spiritually. In Matthew 7:15, Jesus refers to false prophets, who come in sheep’s clothing as ravenous wolves. In Matthew 10:16, Jesus sent his disciples out as sheep in the midst of wolves. In Acts 20:29, Paul said that after his departure fierce wolves would come in among them, not sparing the flock. From these verses we may determine that wolves represent all false teachers and foes to the truth. Here “the wolf” represents him who is the source from which they come. As all shepherds are related to the good shepherd, so are all wolves related to the wolf and the evil work they do.

Verse 13 is not necessary as it adds no new information. It is seen to strengthen the contrast with the good shepherd which we will cover next. Its purpose is to emphasize that the hired hand cares nothing for the sheep.

In our next lesson we will learn more about the good shepherd.

Conclusion

It is easier to identify these wolves under open persecution than it is here in the west. What form do they take on here in the west and how have they affected your walk with Jesus? Who are the hired hands today and how do they affect us?