“I am sending you out among wolves.”
Matthew 10:16
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

Matthew 7:15
We all know and fear wolves. But some can be clever. How do you recognize a “wolf” when you see one?
I think we can all probably answer that question. We need to pay attention to their behavior and not their façade. We don’t need a manual on wolf behavior to recognize when wolves are in our presence. Wolves have a certain identifiable personality, certain identifiable features, and a predatory nature. Not only that but they generally hunt in packs. If you see one, there will be more. The idea of the “lone wolf” actually is a fallacy for most part. If a wolf leaves a pack, it’s usually to form its own pack or to find a mate. Wolves are social animals. They typically surround their prey from all sides. That said, it takes a careful and caring shepherd to care for sheep in the open hills, especially in the dark of night.
In our scripture for today, the problem isn’t failing to recognize wolves. The problem is that, for perhaps a multitude of reasons, the “sheep” are unable to protect themselves. They need a shepherd to look out for them, one who will recognize wolves, stand up to them, look out for the sheep, and sacrifice whatever is necessary on their behalf to keep them safe.
The scriptures are full of wolves! References to wolves, and real wolves! Not exactly the kind in the Red Riding Hood Story, in which a wolf masquerades as Red’s grandmother, but the tale comes close to Jesus’ warning about the Pharisees! Not the one in the story of the Three Pigs, although Jesus also tells a story about building your house upon rock, so that it can’t be “blown down!” In fact, many of our old folk tales have creative roots in the stories of scripture. But the opposite is also true.
In about 500 BCE, the ancient Greek literary ethicist, Aesop, told a story of a “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.” In the tale, a wily wolf tries to trick a flock of sheep by donning a fleece. However, a shepherd looking for a sheep to kill for sacrifice ends up killing the wolf instead.
“‘The intended lesson was that “frauds and liars are always discovered, eventually, and pay for their actions accordingly.’ The moral is sometimes also told as, ‘The evil doer often comes to harm through his own deceit.’”
Although sometimes that is true, the opposite can also occur and wolves can prevail, at least for a time. Sometimes, by the time they are discovered, it’s much too late. Enter….the need for a shepherd!
Jesus would use this fable in his own teaching many years later in Matthew 7:15. However, in Jesus’ story, the shepherd is the hero! The good shepherd, that is, the one who truly cares about the sheep and doesn’t himself run away from or enable the wolves.
Why are wolves so terrifying?
Popular in Israel and Palestine, wolves terrorize flocks and shepherds with their predatory ways, particularly at night when the shepherd and sheep can’t see. As a metaphor, wolves describe the worst in human behavior. In Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Ezekiel, Genesis, and throughout all four of the gospels, wolves are symbols of fierce, lone, animalistic, cunning, and evil beings who would prey upon those of faith, especially the weakest and most naive. By weak and naive, we mean not just physically but also weak in faith, identity, or moral compass. Cain is one example. In Genesis, God tells Cain that “sin is crouching at his door.” Like a wolf, Cain’s jealousy and rage threaten to overtake him and will consume his soul, if he isn’t careful. As we know, Cain wasn’t careful! He spilled the blood of his brother due to his wolfish temper!
But this wouldn’t be the last time blood would be spilled throughout the Hebrew scriptures. And it wouldn’t be the last time that shepherds, those who were supposed to be watching out for the sheep of Israel, failed at their jobs! Or enabled a wolfish spirit instead of the Spirit of God to guide their actions!
Sheep may not be simply naïve though. In some cases, they may be weak in power, status, ability, or agency. Perhaps they’ve been marginalized to the extent that they find themselves at the mercy of wolves who determine their fate. Without a shepherd, they lie surrounded, helpless, and without hope. Fearful, they can trust the wrong people or succumb to their own weak spirits, sometimes become victim to a wolfish “divide and conquer.”
Throughout scripture, we see “shepherds,” leaders of God’s people, who, smitten with power or a “weak spirit” of their own, end up enabling wolves or becoming wolves themselves, disguised in sheep’s wool.
Throughout scripture, we see sheep who are innocent at heart smitten with leaders who lead them astray with their own selfish motives.
How frustrating it must have been for God to see his people continually misled, misled, or misused by those who took oaths to take care of them. It’s no wonder, God makes his own oath, as told by the prophet Ezekiel. Listen to what God vows to do:
The Lord GOD says, “I myself will be their Shepherd. I will search for my sheep and take care of them. If a shepherd is with his sheep when they begin to wander away, he will go searching for them. In the same way I will search for my sheep. I will save them and bring them back from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. I will bring them back from those nations. I will gather them from those countries and bring them back to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the places where people live. I will lead them to grassy fields. They will go to the place high on the mountains of Israel and lie down on good ground and eat the grass. They will eat in rich grassland on the mountains of Israel. Yes, I will feed my flock, and I will lead them to a place of rest.” This is what the Lord GOD said. “I will search for the lost sheep. I will bring back the sheep that were scattered and put bandages on the sheep that were hurt. I will make the weak sheep strong, but I will destroy the fat and powerful shepherds. I will feed them the punishment they deserve.” This is what the Lord GOD says: “And you, my flock, I will judge between one sheep and another. I will judge between the male sheep and the male goats. You can eat the grass growing on the good land. So why do you also crush the grass that other sheep want to eat? You can drink plenty of clear water. So why do you also stir the water that other sheep want to drink? My flock must eat the grass you crushed with your feet, and they must drink the water you stir with your feet!” So the Lord GOD says to them: “I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep! You push with your side and shoulder. You knock down all the weak sheep with your horns. You push until you have forced them away, so I will save my flock. They will not be caught by wild animals anymore. I will judge between one sheep and another. Then I will put one shepherd over them, my servant David. He will feed them and be their shepherd. Then I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David will be the ruler living among them. I, the LORD, have spoken. “And I will make a peace agreement with my sheep. I will take harmful animals away from the land. Then the sheep can be safe in the desert and sleep in the woods. I will bless the sheep and the places around my hill. I will cause the rains to fall at the right time and will shower them with blessings. And the trees growing in the field will produce their fruit. The earth will give its harvest, so the sheep will be safe on their land. I will break the yokes on them and save them from the power of the people who made them slaves. Then they will know that I am the LORD. They will not be caught like an animal by the nations anymore. Those animals will not eat them anymore. No, they will live safely. No one will make them afraid. I will give them some land that will make a good garden. Then they will not suffer from hunger in that land or suffer the insults from the nations anymore. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God. The family of Israel will know that I am with them and that they are my people.” This is what the Lord GOD said! “You are my sheep, the sheep of my grassland. You are only human beings, and I am your God.” This is what the Lord GOD said.
(Ezekiel 34:11-31 ERV)
God’s plan to remedy the plight of his “sheep” as Isaiah would tell us would be to take over the role of “Shepherd” himself! Enter Jesus –stage right.
Sometimes, people see the role of shepherds as a serene, carefree, dreamy, cushy job. After all, they get to spend their days wandering the beautiful hills.
The reality is not that peaceful!
Sheep must be continually guided and cared for, watched, and taught. But more than that, a good shepherd needs to be skilled at self-preservation, as well as a kind of “martial arts!” Shepherds were the “tough guys” of the hills. They had to fight off all kinds of predators from lions to bears to snakes to wolves! They often used rocks and a powerful sling to battle these ferocious creatures. To back down or run away would be to sacrifice the sheep to the hungry wolves.
Instead, the responsible shepherd needed to stand between wolf and flock and guard and protect the fold. Hence the stories of David. God chooses a shepherd to lead Israel for a reason! And even he, at times, nearly succumbs to the lure of a wolfish hunger. Yet in the end, he prevails. Against Goliath, and against his own inner passions.
Jesus would be the ultimate in Shepherd excellence. He even instructed his own disciples in “how to handle wolf attacks!” in Matthew 10:16: “I am sending you out among wolves!”
When Jesus was surrounded and “attacked” in the dark of night by a group of wolfish, power-hungry officials, he would indeed end up sacrificing his life for the sheep.
Jesus stood up an objected to a culture in which some had power and others none. He objected to rules that kept people unprotected and at the mercy of those who would abuse their trust. He stood tall in the face of injustices and soothed the fears and insecurities of those without power, even those confused about who to follow. He cultivated trust because he spoke with the voice of God!
And he saved God’s sheep by laying down his life for their sake. He ensured God’s victory not just from the pack but from the sins that create their aggression, so that one day “wolf could lay down with lamb” (Isaiah 11:6), and no one would accuse another.
Jesus, in his great gift of life, advocated for a different world in which all would follow him and be part of a peaceful fold.
We are all sheep. You are. I am. Every person God created good in his eyes. Every person with potential to be the creature God meant him or her to be.
And in the face of wolves, within ourselves or within the world, we are also those sheep, every person rejected from the “pack,” every person helpless emotionally, spiritually, or physically, or without power or status to protect themselves, every person suffering from their own weaknesses or desires, every person caught in the snares of sin, every person sidelined by the aggression of others, every person unable to stand up to the systemic aggression, or the power of their own addictions in the world in which they live.
Jesus stood up for every person without fail and without exception. And he laid down his life for their benefit to protect the folds –God’s folds.
Today still, sin may “crouch at our door,” but when Jesus dwells in our house, our foundation is strong, and our soul is safe. Others may seek to persecute or harangue us for no reason other than who we are. But when Jesus is in our hearts, we never need to fear.
So whos’ afraid of the big, bad wolf?
No one who puts their trust in Jesus.
For “surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”