Sheep vs. Wolves
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16
Jesus was speaking to His disciples to instruct them into how they should proceed when they went out among the people to witness for Him and to teach people the ways of God. Jesus knew that they would face opposition, sometimes hostile opposition because there were folks who would not accept Jesus as God’s Son, and were fine with the way things were, that is, fine with their own sin. There is a good bit of talk on television and on line about how conservatives (mainly Christians) must be convinced to accept the ungodly policies planned to be instituted by the new ruling party. I thought perhaps in studying some of the things that Jesus taught His disciples about dealing with the opposition, we might benefit by learning some ways that could help us in the near future. Since these are Jesus’ ideas, we can have confidence in them.
We don’t have any way of knowing what, exactly, was going on in the minds of the disciples as they listened to the words of Jesus, but He knew what they were thinking. Many people of Israel expected Jesus to be a conquering hero that would free them from Roman rule, and the disciples were also in that same frame of mind. After all, up until now they had not experienced any real hardship or “in your face” rejection. As long as Jesus was with them, He was the One who absorbed the attacks by the Pharisees and others who hated Him and wanted to be rid of Him. However, Jesus was fully aware of what His disciples would face when He would no longer be with them physically. He didn’t want them to be shocked or surprised at the difficulties they would meet as they set out on their life’s mission to spread the gospel. He wanted them to be aware of the high cost of discipleship. His words were also to strengthen their faith. When they would begin to suffer for Christ, they would know they were on the “right track”.
Jesus contrasted His disciples with the lost world by referring to them as sheep among wolves. Unless a sheep is kept under the watchful care of the shepherd, it will be tragically lost to the wolves who would devour it unmercifully. The disciples need not worry for Jesus would always “have their back”. Jesus told the disciples to be “wise as serpents”. Why would Jesus use the analogy of a serpent, a snake? A serpent’s wisdom is centered around the need to protect itself from harm and danger. A snake usually only strikes to defend itself. The disciples would be hunted down just as snakes are looked upon as something that needs to be destroyed. As the old saying goes, “The only good snake is a dead snake”. The disciples would have to learn “when to hold them and when to fold them”. They were to display keen judgment in all situations.
Not only were they to have the wisdom of a serpent, Jesus said they were to be “harmless as doves”. A dove, while it is larger in size than sparrows, blue jays, or robins, is a very peace loving bird. I have watched them at my birdfeeder. They seem very docile and apt to mind their own business, but I have seen them, after being harassed by another bird, take a stand, not harming the other bird, but intimidating it to fly away. The dove is also symbolic of the Holy Spirit which does His work quietly and effectually within the heart of those who respond to His prompting. One of the main attributes of a dove is meekness, defined as “strength under control”. The disciples were to keep their emotions in check, keep a “cool head”, and be determined to do their best for Jesus.
Jesus then warned them about some of the specific trials they would face for preaching the gospel. Men, who opposed them and their words, would arrest them and bring them before councils. They would not know who they could trust among men. Even the “religious” men, those that had “a form of godliness” (II Timothy 3:5), were just as hateful and revengeful as those who professed no religious affiliation of any kind. The Apostle Paul was beaten on orders of these “religious” leaders (II Corinthians 11:24). Jesus warned His disciples in John 16:1-3 that, because the “religious” leaders did not really know His Father nor Him, their thinking was so twisted that they believed killing any of the disciples would be doing God a favor. They would be brought before councils, not of their peers who would more likely be fair and balanced in their judgments, but rather before those who were already prejudiced against them. The disciples would, as we say, “have the deck stacked against them”. This was exactly the way that Jesus was treated when He was arrested, thus He was well aware of the difficulties that lay ahead for His disciples and for any who follow Him right up to our present day.
The more that I study God’s word, the more relevant it becomes to us in these times of uncertainty and turmoil. We must stand for righteous, but we have to use wisdom in planning our offense and peace in conducting our defense. After all, “…if God be for us, who can be against us?”