The Lord warns us against the opposition we shall meet as we pass through this world. He speaks of the thief, the hireling, and the wolf. Already the Lord has told us that the thief does not enter by the door; he breaks into the house secretly, unawares, to rob (John 10:1). Later we are warned by Jude against certain men who "crept in unnoticed" amongst the people of God (Jude 4); and Peter warns against false prophets who secretly shall bring in destructive heresies (2 Peter 2:1).

The hireling does not necessarily teach false doctrine, but he serves for wages. Peter warns us against shepherding the flock of God for "dishonest gain" (1 Peter 5:2) and that there will arise those who "by covetousness" will "exploit" the saints (2 Peter 2:3). Christendom has largely fallen into the snare of the hireling. The hireling may profess to tend the sheep, but his motive is self. Thus, when danger arises, he thinks of his own safety and flees.

The wolf comes to the flock in sheep's clothing. He makes a fair profession by which the saints are deceived. So the apostle Paul can warn us that, after his departure, wolves would enter in among the saints, "not sparing the flock" (Matthew 7:15: Acts 20:29). The wolf cannot seize the sheep out of the hand of the Shepherd, but he can seize and scatter the sheep. Alas! what havoc these have wrought in the Christian profession! It is only as we give Christ His place as the Shepherd of the sheep that we shall escape their depredations.

In contrast to the thief that robs, Christ came to give life, and to give it abundantly in all its fulness. In contrast to the hireling, who thinks only of himself and flees in the presence of danger, the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. He is not only the Shepherd of the sheep separating them from the Jewish fold (John 10:3), but He is also the good Shepherd devoted to the sheep. We may fail in following Him, but He will never fail in devotedness to the sheep. This devoted love is seen in the Lord giving His life to save the sheep from the thief and the wolf.

We find in Christ our one resource in the presence of all we have to meet. We have the blessed assurance that the One who loves us unto death is the One who knows us through and through-- as the Lord can say, "I am the good Shepherd and know my sheep" (John 10:14). He had been the object of the Father's love as He passed through this world. In the same way the sheep are the objects of the Lord's love and care as they pass through this wilderness.