The Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew‬ ‭7:15-20‬)

What is the fruit Jesus is talking about that we are to look for in order to identify someone’s true intentions? Paul describes the fruit of the Holy Spirit as love, joy, peace, forbearance, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Galatians 5:22-23). It therefore follows that these are the attributes of human character that should be brought to bear by one who follows Christ in pursuit of God’s will.  

 However, the wolf in sheep’s clothing is the one who does evil in the name of good, and even in the name of God himself.  The wolf uses what Paul called the acts of the flesh such as anger, hatred, division, jealousy, and selfish ambition (Galatians 5: 19-21), among others, to achieve this so-called “good” worldy end. Once this “good” end is achieved he will then justify his use of the means of the flesh by pointing to the “good” outcome of his admittedly evil but “necessary” actions. If the goal is achieved he will tell you that surely such a wonderful outcome must be blessed by God, right? 

Similar logic was used by Satan when he took Jesus on top of a mountain and offered him all of the kingdoms of the world if he would simply bow down to him (Mathew 4: 1-11). Satan tried to convince Jesus that his act of disobedience by worshiping him would surely be justified by the Father because of the worldly good that would come from his decision. He did this by pointing out that all Jesus had to do to solve the world’s problems was to take control of the earthly kingdoms and force his will on them (worldy good), even if it disrupted God’s plan of salvation for man (God’s will). Think of all the suffering, including his own, which could have been avoided over the last 2,000 years if Jesus would have taken this insidious offer. Surely the Father would have blessed this, right? 

However, Jesus did go on to accomplish his mission of salvation by achieving something in a way which looked like a horrible failure to the world. I doubt that anyone who saw the bloody and lifeless body of Christ hanging there on the cross at Calvary thought this was a good outcome at that moment. Jesus was showing us that obedience to the Father, even unto death, is the only path to an end that is truly good and honorable to God.  

His example of ultimate humility also reveals to us that sometimes we have to lose according to the world in order to win in God’s kingdom. Using the attributes of the Spirit will not always give you a victory in the eyes of the world, but it will always give you a victory in the kingdom of God. An end which appears good and worthy to the world is considered as rotten fruit of a dead tree if it is achieved through the use of hatred, envy, rage, divisiveness, and selfish ambition to accomplish that end. Don’t let Satan corrupt God’s wonderful plan in your life for a short term worldly victory. Remember, God is all about the means.