Matt 10:16
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”
– English KJV
“᾿Ιδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων· γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ἀκέραιοι ὡς αἱ περιστεραί.”
– Greek Text
Here Jesus prepares to send the disciples into a world that is going to reject them. They needed to know how to handle this world, so Jesus instructed them and warned them of the coming trials. Although this verse is directed at the disciples we should read this as though Jesus spoke directly to each of us. In a very anti-Christian world, we need to know what lies ahead of us and how to survive what this world throws at us.
“Behold, I send you forth”
The first thing we notice is the authority given to us in the opening statement. The “I” is empathetic, therefore it can be read as follows: “It is I that send you forth”
Who sends us forth? Jesus.
Under who’s authority do we go forth? Jesus.
Therefore we are going into this world to preach the gospel under the authority of Jesus.
Who is the King of kings? Jesus.
Therefore there is no authority higher than the authority who sends us on this mission. This is important to understand because when we go out into this world we will realize, just like the disciples did, that the world is not always a friendly place. The message we bring can be received in many different ways. Some will accept it eagerly, others may be rude or even hostile. During trying times it helps to remember who it was that sent you on this mission. When you feel like giving up you need to remember who you are doing this for and ask yourself: “Did Jesus give up on me?”
“as sheep in the midst of wolves”
The disciples faced rejection and persecution by the Jewish nation, especially from the religious leaders, who would punish them with 39 lashes. Today we no longer face 39 lashes (thankfully), however, we face as much rejection and persecution as the disciples did, only in different forms.
We now face a world that has been indoctrinated by scientific theories that are portrayed as facts, yet are based on nothing more than dreams and imaginations. Many of these theories pull people away from Christianity and the truth of the Bible. We face a world with many different religions, each having devout followers, some of which willing to murder for their beliefs. We face a far more “informed” world, where people have difficult questions that we need to be able to answer.
We are as sheep in the midst of wolves. Jesus is actually saying: “I send you, inoffensive and harmless, into a cold, unfriendly and cruel world. Your innocence will not be your protection.”
Sheep are innocent and harmless creatures with no natural defenses. The predators are faster and stronger and they have much sharper claws and teeth. We need more than our innocence to protect us, therefore, Jesus gives us important advice as to how we can defend ourselves.
First Christ warns us about the wolves:
Who are the wolves?
These are people who are out to get Christians. They usually fall into one of four groups:
Atheists who argue that there is no God,
Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews and Muslims who convey false doctrine,
Buddhism, Unitarianism, Universalism and New Ageism that tries to avoid the subject of God and focus on inner power and personal experiences,
And Satanists who believe in our God but prefer to follow another master.
Why are they so vicious?
We are told a few verses on in Matthew (18 and 22) that :"Ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake.... And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake."
Have you ever noticed something like this: A room is filled with Christians, atheists and Muslims. The Muslims can be fasting and talking about Allah and no-one seems to take note or get distracted from their personal business… But just let one of the Christians audibly mention Jesus and the entire room goes awkward with strange or irritated looks from the others (even some of the Christians).
That is because the name “Allah” does not carry power, but “Jesus” does. Just drop Jesus into a conversation and see the effect…
Since the name of Jesus carries power it irritates those who do not understand the uncomfortable feeling that rises within them. They don’t like the feeling, either because they don’t believe in Christ or because they are, in reality, not really serving Him. The easiest way to get rid of that feeling is to make the guy who dropped the name quiet. They will try to make you feel rejected and persecuted just to stop you from mentioning Jesus again… so what is the best thing do? Say something about Jesus again!
It is important to remember to use the name Jesus rather than “Lord”. The Jews also use the word “Lord” and it doesn’t give the same effect or carry the same power. You can try it and see for yourself by mentioning “the Lord” and then later mentioning “Jesus” to compare the reactions. There is only one King of kings, only one Lord and Savior…mention Him by name.
“be ye therefore wise as serpents”
Sheep are defenseless animals. Jesus sends us as sheep into the midst of wolves, however, He gives us some very important advice.
We must be as wise as serpents. In ancient times serpents were regarded as very intelligent and cunning creatures. We need to adopt this attribute if we are going to survive in this world. We need to know what to say and when to say it. That is why it is important to have the basic knowledge before starting a debate. Before you go out to evangelize make sure you know the steps required to be saved. If you are going to talk to a Jehovah’s Witness make sure you know something about them (remember, they gather together on a weekly basis and learn how to debate Christians – if you are unsure about your doctrine and beliefs they can very easily take you out).
This is where having the Holy Spirit is a big advantage. We may know everything there is to know about a specific subject, but it is useless if we do not know when to apply that knowledge. The Holy Spirit can give us the wisdom needed to apply the knowledge we posses. Knowledge without wisdom is worthless. Jesus tells us to be wise and the Holy Spirit is ready and willing to help us, if we allow Him to.
“and harmless as doves”
Jesus includes a tiny condition in His advice. We have seen that knowledge is worthless without wisdom. Now Jesus takes it a step further by indicating that wisdom is worthless if we do not use it in a Christian way. If we use our wisdom to hurt people we are no better off than the Satanists are. Jesus showed in His life that avoiding arguments is a much wiser option that entering one. However, arguments are often unavoidable, so in these arguments we need to keep calm and collected and refrain from rude remarks or unfitting behavior.
The adjective translated as harmless is “akeraois”. In this context it can also be translated as “innocent”. We must be innocent as doves. Christ was innocent. We are made innocent through Christ. We are ambassadors for Christ and must therefore behave in such a manner.
We are not like the Islam nations that has direction from the Koran to dominate and conquer all nonbelievers. We do not mobilize our weaponry or suicide bombs to crush our enemies. Instead, Jesus sends us forth “as sheep in the midst of wolves” to carry the news of salvation through Christ to these wolves.
Notice the difference: Islam urges Muslims to be the wolves and if the sheep do not convert willingly they need to destroy the sheep.
I believe Jesus mentioned these words not only as advice but also with the intention of showing the clear difference between His teachings and that of the false prophet Mohammed. Anyone who read this verse should immediately pick up the contradiction between the message of Jesus and that of Mohammed. This verse alone proves that Mohammed is not from God.
Also notice the figurative meaning behind the verse:
In this verse Jesus is giving us an amazing opportunity through which He is humiliating the Devil. Satan was a serpent in the garden of Eden, however, he was anything but harmless as a dove. Jesus (figuratively) places us in the same position Satan was, however, He gives us the opportunity to do what Satan could not…to be wise as a serpent, yet innocent as doves. What a slap in the face of the devil!
We should all be jumping at this opportunity to show our old master the freedom and power we have in our new master, Jesus Christ.
