Sheep Among Wolves

Introduction: Wisdom for Persecution

Jesus began this speech to his Apostles by sending them to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to bring to himself those who had long been in darkness, without a good shepherd to guide them, and proclaim to them that the Kingdom of God had finally come.

Now, Jesus begins to instruct them concerning the opposition to their message. Although he was previously speaking exclusively about the mission to the Israelites at that particular time in Jesus’ ministry on earth, he now begins to broaden the horizons of what will become the Great Commission given in Matthew 28. We see this in verse 18 which shows that they will not only face opposition in their ministry to the Jews, but also when they are sent out to the Gentiles they will face the same kind of opposition. Since this commission will extend to the Church as a whole, we can take these words to heart and realize that the same things will be experienced by Christians throughout church history.

How are we to go about delivering the message of the Gospel to the nations? What kind of opposition are we to expect and how are we to deal with this opposition? These are the questions are text answers, and as we see our culture become less and less friendly to Christianity and the teachings of Christ, we are in need of this instruction.

Jesus begins with a thesis statement that summerizes how we are to go about preaching the Gospel in this world. Two aspects are focused on, two characteristics we are to show. Innocent as doves, but wise as serpents.

What does this simile mean for us? We can understand the innocence of doves, their gentle and trusting nature, but what about wise as serpents? What’s interesting here is that the reference to serpents seems to be a reference to the serpent that tempted Eve in the garden. That serpent was said to be more cunning, or shrewd then any creature in the garden. How is it, we may ask, that we are to be like that serpent? Well, it is not that we are to be evil like the devil who deceived Eve, hence the reference to being as innocent as doves, but we are to be wise, careful, even cunning in the ways we preach the Gospel.

Grant Osborne:

Matthew Explanation of the Text

Here it means a shrewd, carefully calculated awareness of others, calling for a behavior that is circumspect and careful to represent the gospel in such a way as to bring people to God without provoking them.

We are to be careful to not offend people with anything but the Gospel. We are to think carefully about the ways we spread the Gospel and what would be helpful and relevant in our context. We are to keep an eye out for those opportunities which the Lord gives for us to share the good news, and we are to be careful of people who may seek to supplant and demolish our witness. In a word, we are to be smart about how we share the Gospel. We are not called to be fools in how we go about sharing the Gospel, knowing that danger and persecution will await us. Not that we should avoid all persecution, but we need not walk into it needlessly.

At the same time, we are to be innocent as doves. In our wisdom and cunning, we are to be blameless and not open to any charge that sticks. We are to be consistent with the message we preach, gentle with sinners, and in a certain way vulnerable in how we go about proclaiming Christ. This is a difficult balance to keep.

Wilkins writes,

Matthew Explanation of the Text

Without innocence the keenness of the snake is crafty, a devious menace; without keenness the innocence of a dove is naïve, helpless gullibility.

We don’t want to be crafty, as are the cults like Mormonism who deceive people into thinking they preach the same Gospel as evangelicals. On the other hand, we don’t want to be helpless or gullible. We need this balance. How do we achieve it? In our text, Jesus will be expanding on this by showing that if we trust God we are ready to encounter untrustworthy men. When we fear God, we need not fear hurtful men. When we love God above all else, we can endure rejection from those we love. This will make as as wise as serpents, but as innocent as doves.

Trust God, not Man

Jesus begins by telling his Apostles that he is Apostling or sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Chrysostom says that Jesus is preparing them for war against the devil. There is a great vulnerability there, being sheep among predators. Before, Jesus referenced the lost sheep of the house of Israel. They were like sheep without a shepherd. Now, the Apostles are send as sheep, but sheep with a shepherd who is with them. For Jesus would say in Matthew 28:20, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” These sheep are led by their shepherd into a wolves den. The wolves are those who hate our Lord Jesus Christ, who reject his Kingship, and who do not submit to his Lordship. They refuse the Gospel of saving faith through Jesus Christ, and they spurn his blood as an atonement for sins. These are enemies of the cross of Christ, some in sheep’s clothing (Matt 7:15) but all have the purpose of destroying the truth of the Gospel of repentance from sins and faith in Jesus Christ. Since this is the case, Jesus warns us in verse 17, “beware of men.” This is somewhat startling, since it is men we are being sent to preach the Gospel to, and yet they are wolves to which we are being sent. Although our mission is for the lost sheep of God’s elect, man in his natural, sinful state is a wolf that seeks to destroy the sheep. As Christ leads us to the world to proclaim his Gospel, we are to not trust men.

Why can we not trust them? Because they will persecute us. They will deliver us to be dragged before governors and kinds for the sake of Christ. Notice it is not for our sakes, as if we did anything truly worthy of punishment, but since we are wise as serpents and innocent as doves, we are careful that the only thing that offends the world is the Gospel and teachings that are attached to the Gospel, such as the call to repent of certain sins. In Canada, if someone came to me for counseling and told me they were a homosexual or transgender, if I tell them the truth they could have me arrested for a hate crime. This has only been the case in the last few years, and we cannot expect that it will necessarily get better. Don’t put your trust in human governments, don’t trust in Justin Trudeau to be sympathetic towards our message; he is not. He is a wolf, I’m not ashamed to say it, a wolf who hates the Gospel and has taken steps to limit the spread of the Gospel. Not only him, other governing bodies such as the Region of Waterloo recently in a decision to ban all offensive speech, which includes Biblical truth. Don’t trust school boards to teach your children well as they will intentionally mislead them with gender ideology and lies from the devil. Don’t trust another governing party to come in a become more sympathetic to our cause, the world is against as even as we bring the message that saves the world. This is how we are to be wise as serpents, but not entrusting ourselves to men. John says about Christ in John 2:24-25

John 2:24–25 ESV

But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

If we are to be wise, we need to understand that we cannot trust the world to be understanding to us. Some of you work in healthcare; you may lose your careers if you are asked to sign LGBT affirming statements or refer a patient for an abortion. I do not say this to make you fear, but to watch your hearts and be ready when the world comes after you for your testimony for Christ.

We are told we cannot even trust our own family. Look at verses 21-22 (read). The Gospel will rip families apart, it will bring the wrath of those you love the most, and this will happen because this is how they treated Christ. A disciple is not above his teacher. They call the message of Christ bigotry, misinformation, hate speech, and how much more will they hate the messenger of what they consider such things?

So we see we are to be wise as serpents by fleeing persecution (verse 23), knowing that there are many other places to go before Jesus comes. Yet there is one we can trust, and that is God (read verses 19-20). When persecution comes, it is an opportunity to witness, just as Paul did before King Agripa. In these cases, they are reminded that they are not sheep without a shepherd. They do not need to prepare an elaborate oration in their defense. Instead, they need to trust God. They need, in faith, to trust that in those times of judgement God the Holy Spirit will give them the words to say, not necessarily that will have them avoid the persecution, but that will bear witness of the Gospel and the glory of Christ.

Our trust must never be in people, nor their power or ability, but in God alone. His sovereignty is over all, he cares for his children, and he will glorify his name through those who trust him fully.

Fear God, not Man

If we are not to trust man, we may be immediately filled with fear. If you were told to accompany a man but were then told not to trust them, you would immediately feel fear. What should I do around this person? What are they going to do to me? Having been told not to trust human beings, we are then told not to fear them. This is part of being a serpent and a dove, being careful around people, but not being afraid of them. We see this clearly in verse 26. And Peter also says

1 Peter 3:14 ESV

But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,

Some fear looks like aggression, as if we were to attack our enemies the way they attack us. Chrysostom warns,

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 1.10: Saint Chrysostom: Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew Homily XXXIII

Let us then be ashamed, who do the contrary, who set like wolves upon our enemies. For so long as we are sheep, we conquer: though ten thousand wolves prowl around, we overcome and prevail. But if we become wolves, we are worsted, for the help of our Shepherd departs from us: for He feeds not wolves, but sheep

Many Christians, when they see the world turn against them, and who are overcome by fear, begin to fight back in a worldly way. They fight fire with fire, they unleash themselves as warriors upon the enemies of the cross. Contrast this with 1 Peter 3:9

1 Peter 3:9 ESV

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

We must be careful that our fear of man doesn’t take root and cause a fearful response. We must not be like a cornered raccoon who attacks with claws and teeth when they feel there is nowhere for them to run. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be vocal, but it means we must guard our hearts that we do not become aggressive or bite back at the world when they come at us.

The other response to fear of man is flight, or cowardice. Some fight out of fear, some fly. This can look like staying silent, it can look like watering down the truth when we try to communicate it, it can mean not taking a stand on the sins of our culture, it can mean flat out denying the gospel or the truth of the Bible out of fear. We don’t talk a lot about cowardice in evangelicalism today, but it is a real sin against God. It is a lethal sin that will destroy your witness and eventually your faith.

What does Christ tell us? What he tells us in the privacy of his word and our hearts about the Gospel, say it in public (vs 27). The call is to gentle, dove like innocence and sheep-like harmlessness and yet bold proclamation of the truth. We are to do this without fear getting in the way of that calling, one way or the other.

So why should we be without fear? If we are going to be sheep in the midst of wolves, is there not reason to fear?

There are two reasons we should not fear what people can do to us: because God is more fearful, and because God cares for us.

God is more to be feared. Verse 28 tells us not to fear those who can kill the body but not the soul. Surprisingly, we are to fear someone else instead; the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. The fear of God should replace the fear of man. We talked about this recently in our men’s group; the key to ridding ourselves of fear of things and people in this world is to fear God. Behold his might, his power, his justice, his holiness and remember that he has the power over your soul’s destiny. This should not terrify us as if God were unstable and will not keep his promises in the Gospel, but we must remember that if we give into fear here we are showing that we do not fear what God can do to those who are unfaithful to him. When this world causes you to fear, drown out that fear with a greater fear, that of the eternal judge and Lord of all.

God cares for his disciples. Second, and perhaps more comforting to us, is that this God whom we fear cares for and looks after his faithful followers. While on the one hand God will avenge himself against unfaithful servants, he will provide for those who faithfully do his will.

Love God, not Man

Lastly, we are called to love God not man. Now, this doesn’t mean we are not to love anyone here; Scripture clearly teaches that the love of Christ should overflow in us to all, but that our ultimate love should be for God and not man. Jesus communicates this by announcing in verse 34 that he has not come to bring peace but a sword. This sword will divide households as was already alluded to, and the confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God will bring persecution from inside ones own family and from those that we love the most. When the love of our loved ones is challenged, we are called to pursue the love of Christ rather than the love of those we care about the most in this world.

Jesus cites Micah 7:6

Micah 7:6 ESV

for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.

If ones own family becomes his enemies, where are we to go? The prophet continues Micah 7:7

Micah 7:7 ESV

But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

In other words, when the family is divided because of the Gospel, the prophet looks to God and believes upon his promises. He waits for God to show his love, and he knows that God will hear his prayers.

In verse 37, we are told whoever loves father or mother more than Jesus is not worthy of Christ, meaning he is not worthy to be a disciple and share the blessings of knowing Christ. Many times, loving Christ and loving others are going to be in line, for example a husband is called to love his wife and thus his love for Christ is demonstrated in his love for his wife. However, if his wife, or mother or father or child, sets herself against Christ and brings an ultimatum where it is either Jesus or them, the only one who is worthy of Christ and thus worthy of salvation are those who would side with Christ against their loved ones.

You will be put into situations in this life where following Christ is going to make someone you care about upset with you. They may even become your enemy as a result. These are the times when our love for Christ really shows its value, when it is weighed against the loyalty and love we have for people. However close they may be, Christ demands that love for him outweigh all other loves combined. Otherwise, they have no business calling themselves a disciple. This re-establishes the universal nature of Christ’s call to discipleship; when Christ calls someone, he calls all of them for himself all the time.

Conclusion: Salvation through Endurance with a Cross

Our text ends with verses 38-39. Taking up a cross is much more than bearing with minor annoyances in life, it means dying to self. Christ turns from our love of others and loving Jesus more than them, to loving Jesus more than our own lives. As Christ would go to the cross, so we are to walk in his steps as a sign of our loyalty and love for him. From this we get this main theme: to follow Christ means to love him above everything else, and this love is displayed by taking on the ministry of Christ and the difficulties and sufferings that this calling will entail.

As disciples of Christ, we are called to be sheep among wolves. We are called to a very dangerous situation that means we will have to evaluate how we interact with the world, being wise as serpents and harmless as doves. This is done by turning to God and expecting the negative responses of the world. We are to trust God, not man, because only God is faithful and true. We are to fear God, not man, and we are to remember his love for us. As a result, we are to love God above our love for people and even for ourselves. If our hearts are truly the hearts of disciples, this is how they will show it.

Suffering in this world is expected, and disruptions in our relationships in this world due to our witness for the Gospel is bound to happen, for some of us more than others. Knowing this, let us carefully consider what Jesus has taught us and how we are to keep our eyes on the Shepherd who leads his sheep through the midst of the wolves.