Sheep’s Clothing

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"Sheep's Clothing" By Diane Webb


John 15: 20 "Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also".


Jesus is providing insight to his disciples so they will know what to expect when he ascends back into heaven and they are left to continue his work on earth (with the help of the Holy Spirit). Jesus reminds them they can expect to be treated the same way he was. Jesus, in effect, tells them they cannot anticipate better conduct from those who persecuted him. On the other hand, those who accept Jesus and the teachings of Jesus will also accept the teachings of the apostles. Jesus, in essence, is saying, "remember me" and you will know who you can trust or depend on and who you cannot. You can't trust everyone and you can't depend on everyone even if you would like to--this is the message. Look at how they treated me (Jesus tells them)—look at how they accept and apply my teachings—and you will know who will treat you kindly and who will persecute you. Imagine standing there with the disciples and hearing Jesus repeat these things to you. The same words do apply to you today—as a disciple of Jesus. Look around and notice who accepts and applies the words of the Gospel and who rejects them—not necessarily in words but in practice. This observation will give you the same information it gave the disciples. You cannot expect to be treated with integrity by those who have rejected Christ. You can, however, anticipate being treated well by those who sincerely accept Christ's word and live accordingly. This is not to say everyone who uses "I am a Christian" is to be trusted. Many people employ this proclamation to make you trust them when they are untrustworthy. Jesus warns in Matthew 7: 15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves". A Christian shows their Christianity by their ways not their words. Anyone who has to tell you they are a Christian so you will know may be a wolf in sheep's clothing. Do not be gullible. So many of us see people the way we wish or hope they are instead of how they really are. We see the claws hanging out, out of the corner of our eye, but convince ourselves we don't. Instead, we chose to look at the smile on their face, the nice suit they are wearing, the cross on the wall, or the Bible they have sitting on the coffee table. The claws are still there even if we chose to ignore them. Little by little we are taken in by the disguise until it is too late. Once again we sit in bewilderment as to how we could have been fooled, hurt or betrayed yet again. "Why does this keep happening to me" we ask? This is the very reason Jesus found it important to warn his disciples—and us. If someone is disrespectful of Jesus, how in the world can you expect them to be respectful of you? The story of "Little Red Riding Hood" (Grimm) has two endings depending on which one you read. In one ending, Little Red Riding Hood pays attention to the clues she observes and escapes to find the wood cutter. In the other version, she ignores the evidence and ends up in the wolf's belly. The fact he was a wolf dressed as her grandmother did not change simply because she chose not to believe it. This is how it works with us. By paying attention to the signs (or red flags) we are better prepared to escape the ploy. By ignoring the evidence, we may be caught in the trap.


Dear heavenly Father, I pray today you will help me recognize wolves in sheep's clothing. Please help me see people and situations the way they really are instead of how I wish they were. I ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.