“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)
Be wise as serpents, harmless as doves, not fools. Be gentle, meek, kindhearted, compassionate, merciful, forgiving.
“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;” (Philippians 2:15)
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17)
“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient.” (2 Timothy 2:24)
“That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.” (Titus 2:2)
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.” (Colossians 3:12)
“So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” (Matthew 18:35)
Jesus said the apostles so sent forth were “as sheep in the midst of wolves.” In no terser or more comprehensive phrase could the ideal character of Christ’s disciples be sketched in a word: in no more expressive manner could the difference be indicated between them and the itinerant impostors of all kinds and times since, who have prowled about the world on the pretext of godliness, preying like wolves upon the sheep—coming, not as honest wolves, but as hypocritical wolves, clad in the fleece of the flock—sheep’s clothing. Sheep do not prey upon others. Sheep men yearn to bestow a blessing. They are not “looking out for number one.” Like Christ, their prototype, they have “come, not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” The population of the earth is mostly made up of such as “seek their own,” in the accomplishment of which they are as unfeeling as the wolves in their acts of unmercy. It is still the case that the disciples of Christ are as sheep in the midst of wolves: sheep in their harmlessness, sheep in their defencelessness; sheep in their running from aggression instead of fighting it. But they are not sheep in witlessness. Jesus said, “Be ye therefore wise as serpents, harmless as doves.” Though kind and unresentful, they were not to be simpletons, but quick-witted and fertile in their expedients for avoiding evil. While they were not to fight the wolves, they were not to offer themselves to them, but to evade them by their adroitness. “When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another.” They were not to court persecution, like the crowds, who under the unwholesome influence of Ignatius in the second century, rushed to the stake. They were to “beware of men,” because men were dangerous. “They will deliver you up to the councils; they will scourge you in their synagogues.” The men who would do this were Jews, who have in all ages shown an almost insane antipathy to those sent from God to them to bring them to the right ways of God. But the Gentiles also would be like them in their opposition. “Ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake.” This was not a pleasant prospect for dove-like and illiterate men. It was indeed a part which they could not have sustained by their own resources. They would have been overawed and silenced by the majesty and power of authority. But they were not to be left to their own resources. Jesus gave them a good reason for dismissing all dismay on the subject: “When they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you.” “I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.” But why did not Jesus, in his great power, prevent all collision between them and the authorities? Such a question has been asked. It is answered by the explanation that they would be brought before kings and governors “for a testimony against them and the Gentiles”—a testimony against these authorities—Jew and Gentile. Jew and Gentile were both to be punished for their opposition to God and His anointed, but they were first to have an opportunity of shewing that opposition in a form justifying their condemnation—an opposition which amounted to sinning against the light, seeing they were to have the very apostles in their hands, with those “works” which plainly testified to honest intelligence that their message was a Divinely authorised one.
— Robert Roberts, The Christadelphian: Volume 24. 2001, c1887.
Hear Now These Words 