Matthew 10:16-20
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Questions:
ReplyDelete- How do you be both shrewd and innocent at the same time?
- Should we ever "worry" about what to say? Should we always rely on the Holy Spirit to speak through us?
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/sheep-wolves-snakes-and-doves says:
ReplyDeleteWhen Jesus sends us to bear witness to him in the world, he does not send us out as dominant and strong, but as weak and seemingly defenseless in ourselves. The only reason I say “seemingly” defenseless is that it is possible that, since “all authority” belongs to Jesus, he might intervene and shut the mouths of the wolves, like he did the mouths of the lions that surrounded Daniel.
But that does not appear to be his intention. The text goes on to say that the “wolves” will deliver the “sheep” to courts, and flog them, and drag them before governors, and have parents and children put to death, and hate them, and persecute them from town to town, and malign them, and kill them (Matthew 10:17-31). So it is clear that when Jesus says he is sending us as sheep in the midst of wolves, he means that we will be treated the way wolves treat sheep.
But, even though sheep are proverbially stupid—which, on the face of it, is what it looks like when they walk toward wolves and not away from them—Jesus counters that notion by saying “be wise as serpents.” So vulnerability, not stupidity, is the point of calling us sheep. Be like snakes, not sheep, when it comes to being smart. I take that to mean that snakes are quick to get out of the way. They go under rock.
So, yes, go among wolves and be vulnerable as you preach the gospel, but when they lunge at you, step aside. When they open their mouths, don’t jump in. And not only that, be as innocent as doves. That is, don’t give them any legitimate reason to accuse you of injustice or immorality. Keep your reputation as clean as you can.
So both the snake-intelligence and the dove-innocence are both designed to keep the sheep out of trouble. Jesus does not mean for us to get ourselves into as much difficulty as possible. He means: Risk your lives as vulnerable, non-combative, sheep-like, courageous witnesses, but try to find ways to give your witness in a way that does not bring down unnecessary persecution.
http://www.bible.ca/ef/expository-matthew-10-16.htm says:
ReplyDeleteBut sometimes the balance is difficult to maintain. If, for the sake of protecting feelings, the truth is compromised, then we have failed to keep a proper balance. There is a danger that one will never hear the truth about what they need to do to be saved.
Also, if for the sake of speaking truth, one becomes harsh and insensitive, again, we have failed to keep a proper balance. There is a danger that the hurt inflicted will close the heart of the hearer to the truth of the message.
Yes, sometimes our faith is tested by distressing circumstances, but faith becomes stronger when tested if the test is passed. Do you have conviction when it comes to the Lord and His word? There is only one way to know for sure! You must be tested!
In Paul's words of encouragement to Timothy we find both conviction and compassion. Timothy is encouraged by Paul to “not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God” (2 Timothy 1:8) and “The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:24-25).
What does the surgeon's scalpel and the word of God have in common? Answer: They're both pretty sharp! (Hebrews 4:12) . One needs to be cautious when using sharp objects.
http://www.ukapologetics.net/1apologeticsnot.html says concerning the Holy Spirit putting His words in our mouths:
ReplyDeleteActually Matthew 10:18-20 is also used by some preachers to say one should never carefully prepare a sermon. I think I have heard such sermons: repetitive!!!
This Scripture is not saying that the Holy Spirit will do everything for us whether it is preparing a sermon or anything else, although we should always ask God to guide us and lead us. But Jesus was here warning that serious persecution would come upon the Church of Jesus Christ, . .
Indeed, even in the last 200 years many times Christian missionaries have been put in this position and seen the Holy Spirit work powerfully!
But regarding the discipline of Apologetics, the Scripture tells Christians always to have an answer for those who wonder at the faith which we hold (1 Peter 3:15-16). Indeed the whole Book of Acts shows Paul and others making a reasoned plea for the Christian Faith!
Other Scriptures clearly advise believers to study the Scriptures to improve their knowledge (2 Timothy 2:15; Hebrews 5:11-14; 1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18). But despite such Scriptures, modern Christians seem amazingly resistant to Bible study; they somehow never seem to have enough time - although they often seem to find enough time for other things including favourite leisure activities. The truth is that all Christians who are not really new in the Faith should have a good general working knowledge of basic Christian Apologetics, i.e., how to defend their beliefs against a few of the more common lines of attack directed against Christianity!
But can Christian Apologetics itself bring people to Christ? Of course not! That requires the activity
My 2 cents on the Holy Spirit speaking through us:
ReplyDeleteJesus said that in the particular circumstance of being arrested, we don't have to worry about our defense, because the Holy Spirit will intervene. Peter says later that "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect . . ."
So, clearly we should be thinking about what our answer is to why we believe. On the other hand, we should also allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us to others. You never know what odd thing we will say that will strike a chord with someone.
I sometimes ask others how they came to Christ - what did they hear? Some stories are pretty strange. One friend came to Christ during a sermon on finances.
The Holy Spirit, who lives in us, knows what people need to hear at the moment. If we can allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us, people will hear just the right thing at the right time, and be convicted.
The question is, are we allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through us? How do we do that? Although there tends to be a lot of mis-teaching among charismatics, I think they have a step up on us in this area. How can we Ginger Creekers (in this case) learn how to walk in step with the Holy Spirit? I think that this is something we are missing among us materialists. I think the first step is realizing that we may be missing something. After that, I don't know.