When, in the aftermath of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks invited German officers to train their army, they came. But as Mustafa Kemal—later known as Atatürk—discovered, the Germans would not lay down their lives for the Turkish cause (Mango, 2002).
It reminds me of the words of Jesus of Nazareth about loyalty among his followers. He is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. A hired hand would not. But who exactly is this “hired hand”? What can we know about these dayworkers, and what might that tell us about Jesus himself?
The Biblical Passage
Let’s begin with the verse in the Gospel of John 10:11–13 (NIV):
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 The hired hand (misthotos) is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep.
So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.
Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand (misthotos) and cares nothing for the sheep.”
It’s a beautiful passage, part of a larger section that still speaks to both heart and imagination. Have you ever seen shepherds in places like Greece or Turkey, where they still walk with rods and staffs, just as Psalm 23 describes?
The Shepherd and the Hired Hand
In this pericope, Jesus uses several images to clarify his role in God’s household: he is both the shepherd and the gate. Others are thieves, robbers, strangers, and, finally, hired hands. The true measure of a messenger in salvation history is loyalty. The one who runs away when danger comes is an imposter; the one who stays and defends the sheep is the one we’ve been waiting for.
My goal here is not to discuss the historical authenticity of the story but to examine Jesus’ use of the word misthotos—“hired hand.” I first noticed it in the Greek text (Nestle-Aland 28).
The Word Misthotos
The Gospel of John has often been marginalized in historical Jesus studies, but that is changing (see Charlesworth & Pruszinski, 2020). We cannot ignore its value. The word misthotos appears only twice in the New Testament and carries a secular tone in the Old Testament as well. In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (LXX), it’s used for “dayworker” or “hired laborer,” derived from misthos meaning “wage,” “payment,” or even “soldier’s pay.”
Misthos = labor, payment, wage, rent, or pledge (OT & NT)
Misthios = salary or dayworker (Luke 15)
Misthotos = worker, dayworker, or hired hand
In John’s Gospel, misthotos can be read as “hired hand,” “shepherd’s servant,” or “sheep boy.”
In Mark 1:20, it refers to the “hired men” working on a fishing boat. The tos behind misthos resulting in the one acting out the activity reminds me of Turkish. The one who makes the coffee is not kahve but the kahvecı and the postman is postacı. Likewise, misthotos seems to be the labourer, not the labour.
A Secular and Military Meaning
In the Greco-Roman world, misthotos was also used for mercenaries or hired soldiers. Ancient sources mention misthotoi as mercenary groups and misthotos as a single hired man. One story tells of a misthotos named Nicholas who refused to be treated as a slave while working in a monastery, highlighting the distinction between hired hands and servants. Another account describes a free apprentice who fled after being mistreated by his master, Elias the Younger.
The historian Josephus, writing around the time of Jesus, also used misthotos when referring to a soldier’s wage. So the word carried connotations not just of day laborers but of mercenaries and hired fighters.
Whether Jesus intentionally invoked that military sense is uncertain, but he surely knew the social and economic realities of his time. His parables reveal a deep awareness of the working world. See the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20) or the tenants in the vineyard (Matthew 21).
The Real Point
My point is this: Jesus of Nazareth was not a naïve preacher of love or a detached mystic.
He was deeply aware of the realities of daily life. When he called himself the good shepherd, he knew exactly what that meant. Probably the people knew as well. The image of a shepherd as a model of true leadership has been known for centuries, such as the book Isaiah testifies.
The grace of God is revealed through the simplicity of shepherd life. As I write this, I see a man outside walking by with a rod, the sheep following close behind. They know his voice and turn left or right at his command. Jesus knew this image well. This is the kind of relationship he desired. Leadership, even in church, comes to us in various ways. But what is the mark of true leadership?
A hired man—a temporary hand—would never lay down his life for sheep that weren’t his. But the shepherd, who feeds them, nurtures them, and leads them, will. They are his and he is theirs.
Did Jesus reimageine the words of the prophet Isaiah, who once said:
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart;
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.
— (Isaiah 40:11)
Closing Reflection
Jesus knew the cost of loyalty and he embodied it. In contrast to mercenaries who fight for pay, or hired men who flee when danger comes, the good shepherd stays. He knows his sheep by name and they know his voice. That, in the end, is the difference between those who work for reward and those who love enough to give everything.
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