but he who serves for wages, and who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf seizes them and scatters the sheep.
The Lord has already spoken of the thief; now He names a second figure who looks far more respectable — a hired hand who works among the sheep but does not own them. The question is not whether he is wicked, but whose the sheep are, because when danger comes that one fact decides everything.
The hired hand, or hireling, is not accused of theft or false teaching. His problem is the reason he works — and that reason only shows itself under pressure.
The hireling does not necessarily teach false doctrine, but he serves for wages. Peter warns us against shepherding the flock of God for "shameful gain" (1 Peter 5:2). He also warns that some will arise who "in their greed" 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. So when danger arises, he thinks of his own safety and flees.
Another writer draws the line even more sharply: he may do genuine good, and still fail at the one moment that counts.
Thirdly, there is the Hireling (verse 12). He may serve the sheep in useful ways; may give them food and water. But he is not their owner; he does his duty in return for his wages. When an emergency comes, however, he fails. He considers his own interests rather than those of the sheep.
The Lord traces the flight back to one fact: the sheep do not belong to him. Ownership, not skill, makes a man stay.
The sheep are not the hireling's own, so he will not suffer to save them. But the Shepherd loves them with a never-dying love. He will face every foe and every question on their behalf. He became Man so that He might die for them. They lay under the condemnation of death, and only His death could deliver them from it.
One writer separates care for the fold from care for the sheep inside it.
He is not shepherd, but he has the sheep under his care… He is there for the gain from the sheep. He acts from this view, not from care for the sheep… Those who have been shepherds of the Church in name only have had this character — not devouring the sheep, but being unfaithful to them. If they have not been thieves, they have been "hirelings." Caring for the fold counts for nothing. What marks the true Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, is caring for the sheep, because they are His sheep.
The wolf is the danger the hireling runs from. One writer names him and marks the limit of his power.
The wolf is Satan himself, who acts through his servants, masquerading as "servants of righteousness." He is out to do all the damage to the sheep that he can. He cannot snatch them out of the Shepherd's hand — the same word this verse uses — but he can and does catch them in other ways, and scatter them. He has been only too successful in this evil work.
The failure is a failure of love. So what should drive service instead?
Here the Lord first describes not their trials, but the character of the man who claims what is not his own but Christ's. That man deserts them openly in the hour of danger… Divine love worked in God's purpose and will, and it worked in Christ's death too. Nothing is good or acceptable where love is not the motive. It is the true and only right spring of service — as the Lord said to the servant, now fully restored and reinstated after denying Him, "Feed My lambs — My sheep."
This is not only about bad leaders elsewhere. It is a mirror for the day when standing by God's people costs something.
Let us beware when difficulties arise among the people of God. We must not act on the principle of the hireling. That means thinking only of our own safety and comfort in our own path, and so deserting the sheep in the time of danger and distress.
The comfort of the passage is that the sheep's safety was never resting on the hired man in the first place.
The Lord Himself marks the difference between what the care of human shepherds achieves and the security His own care gives. Speaking of the security of His sheep, He says, "He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep," and, "the wolf snatches them and scatters them." But further on He says, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."
- Ownership decides. The hireling runs because the sheep are not his. Everything else in the verse follows from that.
- Ownership creates love. Christ owns the sheep and therefore faces the foe, giving His life where the hired man saves his own.
- Love produces service. Wages can buy the work; only love stays when the wolf comes. That is why the Lord told a restored servant, "Feed My sheep."
- Where love fails, the wolf works. He cannot pull a sheep from the Shepherd's hand. But he catches and scatters, and unfaithful shepherds leave the door open to him.
- Test yourself, then rest. Ask if you would leave God's people when it costs you. Then remember: their final safety is in a hand no one can snatch them from.
Now he who serves for wages flees because he serves for wages, and is not himself concerned about the sheep.
The Lord has just described a man who runs when the wolf comes. Here He gives the reason, and it goes to motive: the sheep mean nothing to a hired man.
The chapter has already spoken of thieves and robbers. The hireling is a different figure.
The contrast here is no longer only with a thief or a robber, with murderous intent or plainly selfish aims of the worst kind. There might be others marked by a milder form of human evil. They do not destroy the sheep, but they are out for themselves.
The danger is that this milder evil looks respectable. The hireling holds a real position over the flock:
Now we have another character, "the hireling"; not the thief, but the hireling. He is not shepherd, but he has the sheep under his care. This is a terrible state of things. The sheep are not his. He is there for the gain from the sheep. He acts from this view, not from care for the sheep.
His flight is not just cowardice. He works for wages, and nothing deeper ties him to the flock.
Here is a shepherd who is only looking after the sheep for his wages. He has no vital interest in the sheep. He does his duty, we hope, but in an emergency he is not going to sacrifice himself for the sheep. So when the wolf comes, he runs away. The sheep do not really belong to him, and he does not care for them. There is no link at all between him and the sheep he is meant to tend and watch.
Something does hold his interest, and danger reveals what it is.
Some men openly take the position of pastor of the flock of God for mere gain or social privileges. When persecution then puts those things at risk, such a man runs from his post. That shows he is at best only a hireling. The hireling cares for the fleece of the sheep, and not for the sheep themselves. Sadly, this is widely seen in Christendom today.
Darby draws the dividing line between the false shepherd and the true one at a single point — the object of the care.
The fold is in his power, and the sheep are merely the most helpless part of his prey. Still, he is not the wolf. He carries the name of shepherd, but he is not one; he is a hireling. He sees the wolf coming, and he runs away. Those who have carried the name of shepherd in the Church have had this character — not devouring the sheep, but unfaithful. If they have not been thieves, they have been hirelings. Caring for the fold is nothing. What marks the true Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, is caring for the sheep, because they are His sheep.
If wages cannot keep a man at his post, something else must. Kelly names it, and points to the moment the Lord restored Peter and gave him the sheep to feed.
Just as divine love worked in God's purpose and will, so it worked in Christ's death. Nothing is good or acceptable where love is not the motive. Love is the true and only right source of service. The Lord showed this to the servant He had fully restored and reinstated after his denial of Him: "Feed My lambs — My sheep." He does hold out the most glorious rewards to encourage a servant who is already on Christ's path and is quick to be cast down by its difficulties. But love alone is recognised as what makes him serve.
The hireling is not only a figure in church history. He is a principle any of us can act on.
When difficulties arise among the people of God, let us beware of acting on the principle of the hireling. That means thinking only of our own safety and comfort in our own path. It means deserting the sheep in the time of danger and distress.
The failure of human shepherds is real, yet it does not settle the fate of the flock. Darby sets the hireling's flight beside what the Lord says a few verses later.
The Lord Himself marks the difference between the care of human shepherds, with its effect, and the security His own care gives. Speaking of the safety of His sheep, He says the hireling runs away. He runs because he is a hireling and has no care for the sheep. The wolf then comes, seizes the sheep and scatters them. But further on He says that He gives them eternal life. They will never perish, and no one can snatch them out of His hand.
- Ownership — The hireling runs because the sheep were never his. No link ties him to them, so nothing holds him when danger comes.
- Motive — He is not a thief, only a self-seeker. He takes the pastor's place for gain or social privileges, not for the sheep.
- Object — He cares for the fleece, not the sheep. Caring for the fold is nothing; caring for the sheep, because they are Christ's, marks the true Shepherd.
- Love — Wages cannot hold a man at his post. Love alone is the right source of service, which is why the Lord told the restored Peter to feed His sheep.
- Safety — Human shepherds fail and the wolf scatters the flock, but the sheep the Lord holds will never perish, and no one can snatch them out of His hand.