I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among you and will not treat the flock with tenderness,

Acts 20:28-30.

 4. (a) In time, what happened in keeping with Paul’s warning at Acts 20:29, 30? (b) What questions now merit consideration?

⁴ In time, apostate “oppressive wolves” appeared and did “not treat the flock with tenderness.” But how glad we are that elders among Jehovah’s Witnesses do not practice such tyranny! Yet, what kind of treatment can fellow believers expect to receive from these spirit-appointed overseers? And how can such appointees show tender regard for Jehovah’s sheep?

Not to Lord It Over the Flock

 5. (a) How do worldly leaders often treat their subjects? (b) How did Jesus show that tyranny has no place among his followers?

⁵ We can rightly expect Christian elders to treat us in a compassionate way. They are not like worldly rulers, who often lord it over their subjects. For instance, it is reported that the Frankish king Charlemagne (who ruled 768-814 C.E.) “compelled the Saxons, under pain of death, to receive baptism, condemned to the severest punishments the breakers of Lent, and everywhere substituted force for persuasion.” (The History of the Christian Church, by William Jones)