Of Saints & Shepherds

Quick Facts

• Pronunciation: ho-dā-go’s
• Strongs Concordance: #G3595
  • a leader of the way, a guide
  • a teacher of the ignorant and inexperienced
• Appears 5 times in 5 verses in the New Testament
• Common translations
  • “guide” (4x)
  • “leader” (1x)

How and where hodēgos is used in the New Testament

1. Matthew 15:14 NASB – “14 “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.””

2. Matthew 23:16, 24 NASB – “16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ … 24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

3. Acts 1:16 NASB – “16 “Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.”

4. Romans 2:19 NASB – “19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,”

My observations and perspective

In the five times that hodēgos is used in the New Testament, it is almost speaking in derogatory fashion and directed at those who have placed themselves in the position of leading or guiding other people spiritually. The one exception to this refers to Judas guiding the accusers of Jesus to his location in order to arrest him.

No local church leader today would likely want to use hodēgos as the basis for trying to establish themselves as a leader of others. Though if they did, in many cases it would be fitting as they would be behaving similarly to those in the above verses.