WWUTT 1992 Sheep Amidst the Wolves (Matthew 10:16-27)

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Jesus said to his disciples, behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.

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So be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. The one who endures to the end will be saved when we understand the text.

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This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible study in the word of Christ that men and women of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

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Tell your friends about our ministry at www .utt .com. Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.

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Thank you, Becky. In our study of the Gospel of Matthew, we've been reading through Jesus' second discourse, sending out the 12 disciples in Matthew chapter 10.

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Picking up where we left off yesterday, I'm gonna start reading in verse 16 and we'll go through verse 27 out of the

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Legacy Standard Bible. Hear the word of the Lord. Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.

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So be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues.

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And you will even be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them and to the

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Gentiles. But when they deliver you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say, for it will be given to you in that hour what you are to say.

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For it is not you who speak, but the spirit of your father who speaks in you.

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And brother will betray brother to death and a father his child, and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

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And you will be hated by all because of my name. But it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

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But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next. For truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the

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Son of Man comes. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.

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It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher and the slave like his master.

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If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household.

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Therefore do not fear them for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.

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What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light. And what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops."

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So we come back to verse 16 here, where Jesus, after telling his disciples exactly what they're to take and where it is that they are to go, he gives this warning, "'Behold,

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I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. So be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.'"

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Now I've heard various ministers try to give historical context here. This is what a serpent was thought of in the

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Middle East at that time. Here's what they thought of doves. But I don't think you need to know the historical context to understand the point that Jesus was making.

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What is the most well -known serpent in scripture? It's Satan in the Garden of Eden, right?

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Tempting Eve to eat the fruit that God told them not to eat. What's the most well -known dove in scripture?

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Well, you might think of the dove we've already read about in the Gospel of Matthew when Jesus came up from his baptism and the

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Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove. So with Jesus telling his disciples to be shrewd as serpents, it's as though he's telling them be able to think like your enemy.

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Know what your enemy's arguments are, those who are in opposition to the gospel.

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Satan and his schemes and his wiles, what he does, know how he works and therefore how his messengers work.

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And this will make you wise to his ways that you may know how to respond to them or avoid his tricks, things of that nature.

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This is what Jesus means by being shrewd as serpents. You actually have four animals that are mentioned here.

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Jesus says, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. So be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.

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We know that Jesus refers to his disciples as sheep. This even goes back to the Old Testament.

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Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Isaiah 53, all we like sheep have gone astray.

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We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

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And so here Jesus refers to his own disciples as sheep. I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.

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It is a dangerous place for a disciple to go out into, but nonetheless, the disciples are to go.

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And we've been called even to take the message of Christ to the world, as we'll read about in the

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Great Commission, which comes up at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. But here he's sending his disciples out as sheep in the midst of wolves, be as shrewd as serpents, be able to think like your enemy to avoid your enemy, and also innocent as doves.

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You might be able to think like your enemy, but don't do what your enemy does. Be innocent, just as the

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Holy Spirit is pure. So we who are spiritual, who walk in the spirit, must keep ourselves pure, free from the temptations of the world and the appetites of our flesh.

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So Jesus commissioning his disciples in this way, and then going on to explain further those kinds of things that they're going to face, so that he details here what he means by sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves.

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Beware of many, says in verse 17, for they will deliver you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues.

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And you will even be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them and to the

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Gentiles. So when this happens, when you're arrested and you're brought before these governing officials, that's what's supposed to happen.

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And you will testify of the Lord Jesus Christ when you appear in their courts.

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In Acts chapter five, the disciples are arrested, they are tried, and then they are beaten and let go.

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Acts chapter five, verse 40, after calling the apostles in and beating them, they commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus and then release them.

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So they went on their way from the presence of the Sanhedrin rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for the name.

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The apostles rejoiced that they suffered. They were persecuted for the sake of Christ.

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We know that the apostle Paul was persecuted heavily and he even got the chance to appear before governing officials, even testifying to the

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Gentiles, a testimony to them and to the Gentiles of Christ, whom they proclaimed.

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Verse 19, back to Matthew 10 now. But when they deliver you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say, for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.

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Now the word there for do not worry means do not be divided, do not be anxious in some translations.

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So if you're divided about this, if you're concerned about what it is that you're gonna say, then you might end up saying the wrong thing.

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Jesus puts them at ease, gives them comfort. It will be the Spirit that is speaking through you when you are in those situations that they would not be anxious, but continue to trust in God who is with them even in those moments that they are arrested and persecuted.

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Jesus says, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

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And indeed, the testimony of the apostles was not the testimony of any man, but it was the testimony of God through these men.

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Jesus goes on to say in verse 21, brother will betray brother to death and a father his child and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

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Now we don't have any accounts of anything like that against the apostles, but we have to believe that it surely happened.

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We don't know exactly what happened to all of the apostles, but we know that all of them except for John were martyred.

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John suffered, he was persecuted, but he died of old age as far as we know, the rest of them were martyred for their faith.

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Now I mentioned this yesterday when we read the names of the disciples, what we have in chapter 10 verses one through four, but I didn't mention much about how they were martyred.

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So this is what we understand according to church history. It's not the Bible that tells us the way that these disciples were martyred, but according to church tradition, here's the understanding.

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Peter, you probably know, you probably know how he died. He was crucified upside down.

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And there were even allusions or hints to the way that he was going to die made by Christ in the gospel of John, that his death would be similar to the way that Jesus died.

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So according to tradition and perhaps even hinted about in the scriptures, Peter was crucified, but he did not want to be crucified the way that his

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Lord was crucified, nor did he want anybody to think of him as being crucified or his crucifixion being the same as Jesus's crucifixion.

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So he requested to be crucified upside down. And it's understood that Peter's wife may have died the same way.

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She may have also been persecuted and was also crucified upside down. Peter's brother

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Andrew was also crucified. James, the brother of John was executed by the sword.

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Now we read about that one in Acts. James is the first apostle martyred, the first of the 12.

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Philip, it is believed that he was tortured and also crucified upside down.

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Bartholomew was skinned alive. And then he may have also been crucified upside down.

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James, Thaddeus and Simon, Simon the zealot, all of whom were crucified.

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Thomas, it is believed was speared to death while he was praying. And Matthew, who is the writer of our gospel here, it is believed that he was also speared to death.

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So these men did not acquire for themselves fame and fortune by starting a new religion.

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It cost them their lives to testify of the Christ whom they followed and saw risen from the dead.

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That's something that the disciples testified about in Acts chapter five, where they were told to be quiet.

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And they said, hey, whatever you guys have to do to us, whatever seems good to you, then do it. But we cannot help, but to testify to what we have seen and heard.

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Jesus Christ, who was crucified, buried and risen from the dead, ascended into heaven before their very eyes.

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They saw him alive for 40 days between his resurrection and his ascension into heaven.

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And so they testify to the gospel of Christ that everyone who believes in Jesus will not perish in the judgment of God, but everyone who believes will have everlasting life.

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And so Jesus promises them riches and reward, certainly, but not in this lifetime.

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It is the wealth that they receive in the kingdom of heaven when they join him there in glory.

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In the meantime, the hardships he warns them about, brother will betray brother to death, a father is child, children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.

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This is not only what happened or Jesus talking about what would happen to the 12, but it's certainly things that have happened to people, to Christians throughout history, members of their own family that have persecuted them or turned them over to the authorities.

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I have a brother who has accused me of abusing my wife and my children.

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Now, even if it could be proven to him that I have never laid a finger on them, he would still say the very fact that I'm raising my kids in a

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Christian home is abuse. And if he had some kind of authority, he would try to exercise it to remove my wife and kids from me.

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He's outright told me he thinks that he can love my wife and my children better than I do. This is the hatred that he has for God that he would hate his own flesh and blood brother who is a servant of Christ.

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Verse 22, you will be hated by all because of my name, Jesus says, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

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You know, the world is gonna hate us because we're followers of Jesus. The apostle

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John said in his first epistle, if they were of God, then they would listen to us.

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But because they're not of God, because they're of Satan, they listen to the world. They don't listen to the word of the apostles.

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We are all hated for the name of Christ, but the one who endures to the end who will be saved.

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If the world hates you because you're a Christian and you decide that that's just too hard, I can't do this because everybody hates me for being a

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Christian. So you leave Christianity to join with the world, that's Stockholm syndrome. You understand what

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Stockholm syndrome is? So Stockholm syndrome is when somebody gets kidnapped and then the person who's kidnapped ends up sympathizing with their kidnappers, even joining their kidnappers.

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Perhaps it's a woman who's been kidnapped and she falls in love with her kidnapper, you know, something like that. That's called

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Stockholm syndrome. So if you have the world who is persecuting you, making fun of you because you're a

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Christian and you decide this is too hard, so you leave the faith and join the world, Stockholm syndrome, what are you doing?

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You are aligning with those people who hated you and would persecute you and despised you and you decided to join them, but it's

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Jesus who is faithful to us to the very end. Polycarp, one of the early church fathers, when he was arrested and was going to be put to death in the

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Colosseum, and the soldiers that arrested Polycarp, they had great respect for him.

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They said, if you'll just renounce your faith in Christ, we'll let you go. And Polycarp said, 80 and six years have

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I served Christ and he has never done me any wrong. How then could

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I blaspheme my King who saved me? And then turning his eyes to heaven, he said,

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I bless thee for considering me worthy of this day and this hour that I may be among the martyrs and drink the cup of my

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Lord, Jesus Christ. And indeed, Polycarp died that day. There are people who are going to hate us because of the love that we have for Jesus.

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And you've probably experienced this in your own life. Maybe people you love, members of your own family, friends, loved ones have turned their back on you, have hated you, even despised you because you love

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Christ, because you desire godliness. As Paul said to Timothy, those who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

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And then we also have this word from Peter in 1 Peter 4, the time is already passed for doing what the

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Gentiles do, pursuing a course of sensuality, lust, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.

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In all of this, they're surprised that you do not join them in their same flood of debauchery and they malign you.

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But they will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

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That's 1 Peter 4, verses three through five. People are gonna hate you just because you won't join them in their flood of debauchery.

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Just like the Sodomites hated Lot because he was a righteous man and would not do the things that they did.

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They just simply hated him for that. People will hate you because you desire holiness and they desire to live like devils in the world.

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But they're gonna have to give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead, and so will you. So if you leave your faith, if you leave

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Christ because of how hard it is, because people hate you for your faith and you join the world, well, something much worse will happen to you than just being ridiculed by the world.

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You will face the judgment of God. As Jesus said, if you deny me before men,

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I will deny you before my father. But as we have it said to us right here, the one who has endured to the end will be saved.

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You will be hated by all because of my name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

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Verse 23, Jesus says, but whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next for truly

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I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the son of man comes.

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Now there's a peculiar statement, but it does not have to mean that Jesus is referring to his second coming, that return of Christ that we're still waiting for.

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That's not what Jesus is talking about. There are three possibilities. Either Jesus is talking about his resurrection from the dead when the son of man comes.

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He could be talking about the day of Pentecost when he sends his spirit upon the disciples, the son of man comes, or it could be in reference to, it could be another way of saying the day of the

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Lord as a day of judgment, which is the day that God's judgment was poured out upon Jerusalem and even the destruction of the temple in AD 70 at the hands of Titus and the

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Roman army. That could also be the meaning of when the son of man comes and the disciples will not have gone into every city in the sense that they would not have gone into all of those cities and be persecuted in all of those cities.

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Whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel, not meaning that they would visit every single city, but that they would be persecuted in every single city until the son of man comes.

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Next few verses as we finish this up in verse 24, Jesus says a disciple is not above his teacher nor a slave above his master.

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It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher and the slave like his master.

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If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household.

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This is Jesus continuing to tell his disciples that they're gonna be hated for his namesake. They referred to Jesus as being satanic.

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So surely they're gonna say the same to you. I just had a comment thrown at me earlier this week where somebody had said that I was not a

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Christian and so I should not be concerning myself in Christian things. This was coming from a person who claimed to be a

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Christian themselves. What a scary thing to say to a fellow believer for God has said plainly that he will not tolerate those who try to tear down the household of God in 1

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Corinthians chapter four. But Jesus goes on to say in verse 26, therefore do not fear them for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.

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What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.

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Jesus had things that he shared with his disciples in private just as he was doing here but as they were gonna go out and proclaim it, they were gonna shout these things from the housetops that those who hear the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ would turn from their sin and put faith in Jesus and live.

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And we need to love others enough to tell them the gospel even if we know it means that they will probably hate us and turn on us because Jesus who suffered more than we will ever suffer, who suffered on our behalf, the very wrath of God poured out on him on the cross.

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Jesus who suffered for us has told us to do this and the one who endures to the end will be saved.

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So let us not be ashamed of the gospel, Romans 1 16 again, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

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Love others to desire that they would also put faith in Jesus Christ and live.

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Heavenly Father, as we wrap this up for today, I pray that you do give us boldness, you give us strength and you give us steadfastness that we continue in this faith to the very end.

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The one who endures to the end will be saved. We know it is by your hand that we have come to salvation and it is by your hand we will be brought into your glorious kingdom.

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So keep us steadfast in this and give us strength and courage to share the gospel with others so that they too would turn from their sin to the

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Lord Christ and be forgiven and have everlasting life. It's in the name of Jesus that we pray, amen.

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Pastor Gabe is the author of several books and Bible studies available in paperback or for your e -reader.

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For titles and more information, visit our website at www .wutt .com. Join us again tomorrow as we grow together in God's word when we understand the text.