Hey everybody! Thank you for joining me in daily Bible reading as we seek to glorify Jesus, know Him more, and interpret the truth of His Word.
If this is your first time going through the Bible, I am incredibly excited to have you here. If this is your 5000th time, I am humbled that you are here and hope you grow in your relationship with Jesus along with me. May we all seek to know Him more and apply what we learn to further our mission of spreading the gospel. If you missed a day and want to catch up, visit the archives page HERE! But there is no shame if you start today! Day 108, Matthew 10:16 — The Sending of the Twelve Matthew 10:16 (NASB1995) “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” Historical Context Jesus is sending His twelve disciples out for ministry. He specifically chose these twelve men to represent Him as ambassadors to the remaining Jews and gave them divine power and authority to cast out demons and heal the sick. These representative men are also to present the good news of Jesus’ coming and the truth that there was freedom from the burdens of the law. Discussion Yesterday, we read about Jesus’ instruction to the disciples about what to do with those who accept and reject the message of Christ. Since the LORD has commanded that they journey from town to town with no provisions, the twelve will need to rely on God’s sustenance. One way this will happen is through the generosity and hospitality of fellow believers who gladly receive the disciples into their homes. Jesus tells the twelve to stay with these ‘worthy’ people and give their homes a ‘greeting.’ This ‘greeting’ is a blessing of peace, as v. 13 says, “If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace.” Jesus then tells the twelve to ‘dust off their feet’ from those who reject their message. The dusting of feet is heavily symbolic and a cultural way of showing that one is set apart from another. Through this symbolic action, the twelve ‘shake’ themselves from all connections with such people, thus relieving all responsibility or guilt of rejection of their message. Those who reject Jesus as the Messiah will face a more severe punishment than Sodom and Gomorrah received. Today, Jesus provides insight to the twelve about the dangers of the world. He has already established Himself as the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:14) and called the people of Israel His flock. This is a metaphor that most Jews would have understood, as they knew God as their Shepherd throughout the Old Testament. But Jesus’ next statement seems to contradict the safety and comfort of shepherding. Jesus says, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.” Jesus says that He lays down His life for His flock (Jn. 10:11) and He does it in the midst of attacking wolves, so what does He mean? In ancient Jewish culture, many of them would have associated Gentiles with wolves since they were not part of God’s people. If God is the Shepherd and Israel is the sheep, then the wolves are those outside of the flock. But the wolves Jesus is speaking about include both Gentiles and Jews, as many false teachers and religious leaders are called wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15). These wolves will do whatever it takes to bring about the demise of the twelve and silence the message of Christ. So why does Jesus send them out with the wolves? Because there are many lost sheep of Israel needing gathered into the flock, as the LORD explains in Matthew 9:36-38. What makes believers different from mere defenseless sheep is God has empowered and equipped them to face the dangers of the world. Jesus has given the twelve the divine authority to cast out demons, heal the sick, and preach the gospel of Christ to the lost Jews. There is no teaching from the law that can go against the message of Christ and no demonic power that can stand against the majesty and might of Christ. Jesus also granted the twelve immense wisdom, knowledge, and authority to correct and rebuke any false teachings and erroneous ways of thinking, which we will read about in the coming days. The LORD then tells them to “be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” as they travel. It is important to understand the ‘shrewdness of serpents’ and ‘innocence of doves’ Jesus is speaking about here. He does not mean shrewd snakes to be deceptive but perceptive. Likewise, he does not mean for innocent doves to be prideful but meek. In ancient times, snakes were known to be cunning, clever, and calculated. Jesus wants His disciples prepared for anything and to use their intellect and savvy to reason with those who combat their teachings. It is not just the displays of power that will bring people to faith in Christ, but reasoning. Doves were innocent creatures and had a cluelessness about danger and their surroundings. The LORD is not telling the twelve to be clueless as we might understand, but to continue their mission without fear or pride. Regardless of the rebuttals and persecution they might face, Jesus does not want disciples who have a shallow belief without understanding. He wants them to be as cunning and wise as snakes. Likewise, Jesus wants His disciples to be as peaceful and innocent as doves, not brawlers or bigots looking for fights or doctrinal jabs rooted in pride. We will continue reading about Jesus’ instruction to the twelve tomorrow. Application Before studying shrewd snakes in its cultural context, I had a completely wrong interpretation of this passage. I truly did not understand what Jesus meant. Now, it all makes much more sense as it consistently aligns with many Proverbs and other New Testament passages about having knowledge and understanding. There is nothing wrong with wisdom and wit. The LORD does not want His people to be clueless, just as He does not want them to be prideful. There is a special grace for those who operate in wisdom and humility. A grace that allows hard-hearted people to reason with the truth of Christ and calmly hear it. There is so much hoopla about signs and wonders in our time, while the message of discernment and reasoning has become slurs within evangelicalism. If the LORD consistently tells us knowledge and understanding to reason are important, then we should be equally focused on gaining knowledge and understanding, as we seek the supernatural. Regarding the twelve on this specific mission, there was clearly great emphasis on miraculous displays and wisdom and wit, as we read today. Many Jews were literate and understood the Law of Moses, but they did not know the truth about the Messiah. For those who were healed, they still needed to hear the truth of Christ. Otherwise, their healing was in vain. Supernatural works are wonderful but are just a wonder without the full message of Christ. May we be people who pursue knowledge and understanding just as much as we pursue the gifts of the spirit and displays of the supernatural. May we repent of falsely associating miracles with the demonic and knowledge with criticality. May we come to full knowledge of Christ and seek a person’s eternal salvation over anything else. May we praise, worship, honor, and glorify Jesus every day in all that we do while continually pursuing righteousness, holiness, and forgiveness as He forgave us. Looking Ahead Thank you for joining today’s daily Bible reading! Next, we read Matthew 10:17-18. I hope you join me! I have made commenting available, so please feel free to discuss the reading and ask questions. If you do not want to discuss publicly, you can reach out to me privately. We are on this journey together.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
WRITTEN BY
|