“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore, be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
This is a brief Bible study. (Just so you’ll know. Smiley-face here.)
For Christian workers, one of the most significant Scripture passages is the commission the Lord gave His disciples just before sending them out on a short-term assignment. This is found in Matthew 10 and Luke 10. In Luke’s account, the commissioning takes 16 verses, but in Matthew’s, it’s a full 42 verses–so therefore, my favorite, since it’s far more helpful.
At that point the 12 apostles were something like seminary students, preachers in training with diverse backgrounds and limited experience. (Some of us used to stand on the street corners in the French Quarter preaching. And, we roamed up and down the sidewalks with handfuls of tracts talking to strangers. We were in boot camp, learning how to talk to people about Jesus.) That’s what was happening with these disciples.
Matthew’s account of the commissioning divides into two sections…..
I. Matthew 10:1-15 gives temporary one-time only instructions.
How do we know these were temporary, for that time only? By the context.
–The Lord directs the disciples (the 12 plus another 70, according to Luke 10:1) not to go to Gentiles, for instance, a condition reversed later in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
–They were to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, etc., instructions not part of the Great Commission as stated in Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47-48, and John 20:21, as well as Acts 1:8 (the spurious ending of Mark’s Gospel notwithstanding).
–And in particular, Matthew 10:9-10 tells disciples to do this completely by faith, living “off the land” as we say. But in Luke 22:35-36, Jesus reverses this, telling them to take money, if you have a sword bring it along, if you don’t have one, go get one, and so forth.
Therefore, we conclude that Matthew 10:1-15 is in a category by itself, intended for that single missionary endeavor.
Those who study their Bible seriously and do not take it as a book of magic know the importance of studying a text in context, meaning in its full surroundings. That’s how we know that Matthew 10:1-15 are not instructions for us today.
II. Matthew 10:16-42 gives instructions for the Lord’s disciples for all time.
The information, promises, cautions, and instructions found here have never been rescinded and are repeated in one form or other throughout the New Testament. As a minister on the front lines for Jesus, I have found myself returning to this section of the Word again and again.
“I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore, be shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.” How’s that for one sentence with four animal metaphors! Sheep are victims and wolves are carnivores; serpents are subtle (see Genesis 3:1) or “crafty.” The KJV says “be wise as serpents.” The point is to use your head, and not to be stupid or naive, not gullible or sitting ducks for the enemy. But, on the other hand, we are to be innocent (“harmless”–KJV) as doves, and not pugilistic.
Say, Lord? Excuse me. Do you know what wolves do to sheep?
He does indeed. Jesus was fully aware of the meaning of this metaphor. His people are not sent out as warriors to kill and maim, to aggressively wage warfare against people, but as sheep or doves, and thus defenseless and vulnerable. We are sent forth armed with “left-handed power,” meaning the power of love and humility, service and kindness.
1) What you may expect from men (10:17-18)….
Men will deliver you to courts. Even the religious ones will have you whipped in their houses of worship, thinking they’re serving God. You will be put on trial before the highest authorities.
Why? As a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
Caesar ain’t coming to our revival. So we have to get the gospel to him, and the best way to do that is to have one of us arrested and put on trial before him.
2) What you may expect from God (10:19-20)…..
Do not become anxious over what to say. That will be given you. After all, it will be the Holy Spirit speaking, not you. Many a martyred believer has lived the truth of this. The testimony of the radiant believer was used by the Holy Spirit to capture someone watching the sad scene. (In Acts 7:58, Saul of Tarsus watches the death of Stephen and is never the same.)
3) What you may expect from everyone, good or bad (10:21-23)…
Family members will betray you. You will be hated by all on account of My name. They will run you out of cities. When that happens, go on to the next one.
Workers for the Lord have sometimes gone out naively expecting everyone to welcome them and greet them with appreciation. When they find themselves in the crosshairs of evil people and turned upon by those they trusted, they feel betrayed as though the Lord has not kept His promises. The fault was theirs for not knowing the Word they went forth to share.
Question: What do these two puzzling statements mean?
—“The one who has endured to the end shall be saved.” I don’t know. I know a lot of interpretations, but none are very satisfactory.
—“You will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.” Again, I’m not sure. On the surface, it appears to belong to the earlier portion, verses 1-15. But there is no way to know for sure.
4) What you should expect from yourself (10:24ff)….
–Expect to be treated the way they treated Jesus(10:24-25). The servant is no better than his master, the pupil no better than his teacher. You see how they treated Jesus, so get ready because you’re next. (The implication is we should not complain. He told us from the first. I love the example of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail. Acts 16:25. Some of us would have been accusing the Lord of betraying us. “O Lord, where are you? Why have you left us? Why have you allowed these people to treat us this way when all we were doing was trying to help?” Instead, Paul and Silas honor the Lord in the middle of their suffering and God uses it. Like Caesar and his officials, the jailer and prisoners were listening in and hearing the gospel.
–Expect to be bold and confident, unafraid. Do not fear these people for three reasons…
a) Do not fear because there is nothing hidden that is not going to be revealed (10:26)
b) Do not fear because the worst they can do is send you to Heaven (10:28)
c) Do not fear because you are of great value to your Heavenly Father (10:31).
–Expect to confess Jesus publically and not to be His undercover agent or secret disciple (10:32-33). “Whoever confesses me here, I will confess before the Father; whoever denies me here, I will also deny before the Father.”
–Expect the immediate results of your ministry to be division, not peace. (10:34-39). But what about the angels’ prediction about “peace on earth” in Luke 2:14? Answer: Before the peace of Christ rules in mens’ hearts, it will divide them, as they oppose the Truth and resist Him. But to those who submit to Christ, “the peace of God which passes understanding” will be their reality (Philippians 4:6).
5) You may expect Christ’s personal involvement in all you do. (10:37-42)
It’s all about Jesus–loving Him supremely, serving Him steadfastly, doing all that we do for Him.
What does it mean to “take up your cross and follow after me”? (See a restatement of this in Matthew 16:24.) Entire books have been written on this. The short answer is it’s whatever specific assignment, work, burden, difficulties the Lord asks you to bear for His purposes.
We are to “lose our lives for His sake” (v. 39). It’s all for Jesus. I think about Baker James Cauthen. In 1939, he pastored an exciting church in Fort Worth and was being acclaimed as a young David Platt (smiley-face here; Southern Baptists will get the allusion) with a glorious future. But when he and wife Eloise resigned to go to China as missionaries, people said they were throwing it all away. Literally, “losing their lives.” After all, such a vast country and they just one couple. What could they do? Answer: In 1954, the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board asked Dr. Cauthen to head up the entire worldwide ministry, a work he carried on with great distinction for 25 years. I had the privilege of serving as a board member for 3 of his last years, and count it a wonderful honor.
“He who receives you receives me” (v.40). Stop and reflect on that. Similarly, in Luke 10:16, Jesus said, “The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me….”
How heavy is that? However people treat the Lord’s servant, He takes personally and enters it on the record as though they were doing the same thing to Him. That is both wonderful and scary at the same time. Those who bless their preacher and love and pray for him are doing the same for Jesus. Those who attack and undermine the servant of the Lord are being penciled in on the Lord’s appointment calendar, and on Judgment Day you do not want to be standing anywhere near them.
In Hebrews 6:10, we read: “God is not unjust so as to forget the work which you have done and the love you have shown to His name in having ministered to the saints and in still ministering.” What you do for His servants–preachers or missionaries or the lowliest believer–Jesus takes personally and promises to reward.
6) You may expect to be rewarded in surprising ways (10:41-42).
When we participate in the work of a prophet, we will receive a share of the same reward given him, whatever that turns out to be. Even if our participation is as small as “a cup of cold water to drink” (v.42), it still counts. So, let none say their gift is too small and insignificant.
Reward is a huge incentive to everyone and figures large in the teaching of our Lord. (To be sure, some insist that if we are ministering for personal reward, our service is in vain and unworthy. They are dead wrong and such teaching is unscriptural.) See Luke 14:14.
Let us give to assist people who are doing the work of the Lord. Help to send future missionaries and pastors to Bible college and to seminary. Buy a sack of groceries or a suit of clothes for the struggling minister. Give an automobile to the faithful servant of the Lord who needs one.
In so doing, you are sending Jesus to school, feeding Him, buying Him a suit of clothes, and giving Him a car.
I’m dead serious. We have His word on it.
There is so much more to this chapter, but this is enough as an introduction. I pray you will learn to love this passage and will live in it for the rest of your earthly days.