The Commands of Christ
Sermon #21
“Be As Wise As Serpents”
Matt 10:16-20
"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst
of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. (17) But beware of men,
for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. (18) You
will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the
Gentiles. (19) But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should
speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; (20) for it is not
you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”
There are in fact three imperatives in these verses. The first imperative is found
in verse sixteen in the word translated “behold” (idou) it is a command to “pay special
attention” to what is about to be said. He first of all says that he is sending
the disciples as “sheep
in the midst of wolves.” It
is consistent with the nature of wolves to attack the flocks of sheep it is not consistent
with nature that the sheep is going to walk into the wolf’s den. In contrast to what
some preach will happen when you get saved today, all along Jesus has promised his
disciples that there lives will have hardship, suffering and perhaps even death.
Also notable is that sheep has no defense except running and they are not to good
at that! The only other thing they can do is to call out to the shepherd. A defenseless
sheep in the midst of a pack of wolves would stand no chance of survival without the
faithful protection of a courageous shepherd.
It is that sense of helpless and dependence that
the Lord wants of us. You may remember that God gave Gideon the formidable challenge of
liberating the Israelites from the might of the Midianites. When he sent him with the
words (Judges 4:15) "Go
in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I
not sent you?"
Gideon responds by saying, (4:16) "O my
The next imperative is the word translated “be you” or “you be”
(ginesthe)
and has two applications.
The Disciple
Is To Be Shrewd Minded
First,
Jesus said they are to be “as wise as
serpents.” Here the Lord He was alluding to the belief at the time that
the serpent was smart, cunning and cautious and in that characteristic Christians are to
emulate them. One of the ways that the snake shows it shrewdness is by it judges when to
strike. A snake if given a choice between attacking an intruder or beating a hasty
retreat, will usually make a hasty exit. The snake know to pick his fights.
Paul
advises believers (Col. 4:5) “Walk
in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time” or as (The Message)
translates that verse, “Use
your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don't miss a trick. Make the most of
every opportunity.”
The idea is that of saying the right thing at the right place and time. It is not
wise to be unnecessarily inflammatory, to always present a harsh and accusatory attitude.
Being a faithful disciple of Jesus does not require that we be inconsiderate, belligerent
or abrasive.
The most
common Greek word for wise is (sophos) but that is not the word used here.
Instead the word is (phronimos) is from the word which means
“to rein in or to curb.” We are to
rein in our natural response to any given situation and first seek to understand what Lord
would have us to do.
The Disciple Is To
Be Soft Hearted.
Secondly, Jesus also said that we are to
be “As harmless
as doves” the word translated “harmless” (akeraioi) means unmixed or pure.
Doves present innocence but
innocence does not mean naïve. Peter says in
(1 Peter 3:19-20) (The Message) “What counts is that you
put up with it for God's sake when you're treated badly for no good reason. (20) There's
no particular virtue in accepting punishment that you well deserve. But if you're treated
badly for good behavior and continue in spite of it to be a good servant, that is what
counts with God.” So in other words if people are going to bring
accusation against you make sure they have to make it up.
This same
word rendered “harmless” is found in two other places in scripture (Romans 16:19
and Phil 2:15). In Philippians 2:14-16 Paul states, “Do all things without
complaining and disputing, (15) that you may become blameless and harmless, children of
God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine
as lights in the world, (16) holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the
day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”
In Romans 16:19,
Paul advises the church, “For
your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you
to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.”
When Paul says he wants them to be “simple” concerning evil he uses the same word used in our text.
We are therefore to embody the two characteristics of keenness and innocence. There are many biblical characters who embody these two characteristics. Such is seen in the actions of David in his relationship with King Saul, who because of envy wanted to kill him (1 Sam 24 & 26). They are also seen in the actions of the godly Moredecai in his reaction to the arrogant Haman in the story of Esther. (Esther 3:2-4, 4:12-14). These two characteristics are also seen in the story of Abigail the good woman with the foolish husband, Nabal (1 Sam. 25:3).
The third
imperative is found in verse seventeen, we Jesus says, “Beware of men”
the word “beware”
(prosechete).
Literally he is warning his disciples “be on your guard against” them.
William
Hendricksen in his commentary on Matthew suggest that this can mean any one of the
following.
a.
Do not naively entrust yourselves to men
b.
Do not with out good cause make them angry.
c.
Do not fall into the traps of their catch questions, but
pray for grace to give them the appropriate answer.
d.
Do nothing that might enable them to bring a valid charge
against you.
[William
Henricksen. New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew.
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973) p. 462]
As the
apostle Peter makes clear (1 Peter 4:15-
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