Bible League: Living His Word "Listen! I am sending you, and you will be like sheep among wolves. So be smart like snakes. But also be like doves and don't hurt anyone."Up until this point in their walk with Jesus the disciples had stayed close to Him. In Matthew 10:5, however, we learn that Jesus thought they were ready to be sent out from him on a kind of test-run for what they were going to do after His departure. He gave them the power to cast out demons and to heal the sick (Matthew 10:1) and their assignment was to preach the gospel and put these gifts into practice. Our verse for today is part of the specific instruction Jesus gave them before they left. First of all, we learn that the disciples were sent out by Jesus. In other words, they were not going out on their own and on their own initiative. They were disciples under authority with a specific mission assigned to them by Jesus himself. They were not false prophets. Second, they would be like sheep among wolves. Jesus was sending them as innocent and harmless messengers of grace into a savage world full of violent persecutors who would oppose the message. The disciples would have to learn that in a world full of trouble, Jesus, the true shepherd of the sheep, had overcome the world (John 16:33). Third, given their position as sheep among wolves, they needed to be smart like snakes. The wisdom of the snake is its ability to avoid detection. The disciples should not unnecessarily provoke the wolves into an active opposition to the gospel. They should be prudent and cautious in everything they do in order to guarantee the success of their mission. Finally, the disciples should be harmless like doves. Although they needed to be wise like serpents in order to avoid detection, they were not to use this wisdom in order to sneak up on people and hurt them. Rather, the guile of the serpent should be used to heal and deliver people from the real serpent---Satan himself. Jesus' instruction to His disciples on their test-run still applies to His disciples today. We should not go out unless we are sent; since we are sheep among wolves, we must use wisdom and prudence in the way we present the gospel; and we should help people and not hurt them. Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading1 Chronicles 20, 21, 22 1 Chronicles 20 -- Rabbah's Capture; War with the Philistines NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Chronicles 21 -- David Incited by Satan, Forces a Census NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Chronicles 22 -- David Prepares for Temple Building, Appoints Solomon NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading John 10:22-42 John 10 -- Parable of the Good Shepherd; Belief and Unbelief of the Jews NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion What good is an idol carved by man,or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation— a god that can't even talk! Insight Idolatry may seem like a sin that modern people need not fear. But idolatry is not just bowing down to idols; it is trusting in what one has made, and therefore, in one's own power as creator and sustainer. Challenge If we say we worship God but put our trust in bank accounts, homes, businesses, and organizations, then we are idolaters. Do you trust God more than you trust what your hands have made? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon 2 Samuel 9:8 What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?If Mephibosheth was thus humbled by David's kindness, what shall we be in the presence of our gracious Lord? The more grace we have, the less we shall think of ourselves, for grace, like light, reveals our impurity. Eminent saints have scarcely known to what to compare themselves, their sense of unworthiness has been so clear and keen. "I am," says holy Rutherford, "a dry and withered branch, a piece of dead carcass, dry bones, and not able to step over a straw." In another place he writes, "Except as to open outbreakings, I want nothing of what Judas and Cain had." The meanest objects in nature appear to the humbled mind to have a preference above itself, because they have never contracted sin: a dog may be greedy, fierce, or filthy, but it has no conscience to violate, no Holy Spirit to resist. A dog may be a worthless animal, and yet by a little kindness it is soon won to love its master, and is faithful unto death; but we forget the goodness of the Lord, and follow not at his call. The term "dead dog" is the most expressive of all terms of contempt, but it is none too strong to express the self- abhorrence of instructed believers. They do not affect mock modesty, they mean what they say, they have weighed themselves in the balances of the sanctuary, and found out the vanity of their nature. At best, we are but clay, animated dust, mere walking hillocks; but viewed as sinners, we are monsters indeed. Let it be published in heaven as a wonder, that the Lord Jesus should set his heart's love upon such as we are. Dust and ashes though we be, we must and will "magnify the exceeding greatness of his grace." Could not his heart find rest in heaven? Must he needs come to these tents of Kedar for a spouse, and choose a bride upon whom the sun had looked? O heavens and earth, break forth into a song, and give all glory to our sweet Lord Jesus. Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 Corinthians 7:32 But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord;1 Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars." Psalm 34:8,10 O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! • The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing. Matthew 6:25,26 "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? • "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? Philippians 4:6,7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. • And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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