Sheep among wolves
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2012 · 2 December 2012
We come this evening in our ongoing study of Matthew's gospel, to a very wonderful passage, chapter 10 - part of our Lord's instruction to the Twelve as He sent them out. It tells us more about Christ, and gives us more to be grateful for, and I trust that the Spirit of God will use this study this evening to grow us spiritually.
In Matthew 10:16-23 Jesus says, “16 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.”
“21 Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
Jesus here instructs the Twelve on their first missionary venture as part of their training. Before they are finally sent out after the resurrection and ascension of Christ, they need to have some anticipation of what it will be like when they face a hostile, Christ-rejecting world. So the Lord sends them out two by two for a short time to give them a taste of what they will face later.
And Jesus gives them specific instructions that are related to them. But beyond that, He gives them principles that will not only relate to their full mission after the ascension, but beyond that to touch all people who represent Christ in the church age and even into the period of the Great Tribulation.
In Matthew 10: 23, you will notice that it ends with the coming of the Son of Man, which is the second coming of Christ. This describes the history of God's people from the time of Jesus' first coming to the time of His second coming. He sees the Twelve on their first mission but also all those who represent Him afterwards.
There are some very specific things that related to the apostles. For example, it says in verse 8, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons." There is no indication they actually did raise the dead on this first mission. But they would do that in their final mission after the resurrection after the Holy Spirit came.
It also says in verse 17, "They will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues." They weren't persecuted until after the resurrection of Christ. Some things are uniquely fulfilled by those who will live in the Great Tribulation. People often misunderstand this section, wondering how and where these all apply. But this is a common biblical pattern.
It is common in biblical predictions to have both an immediate and future fulfillment, and that is what our Lord is doing. He is predicting the role and the place of the apostles, but also has in mind the ultimate sense that these things will happen clear through history up to the time of the Great Tribulation.
Look at the opening statement in verse 16, and see what it means. "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.” Sheep are helpless, stupid, dependent and timid animals. They are so easily scared that even a rabbit jumping from behind some brush can cause a whole flock to stampede. That is a good thing, because when danger comes, they are really helpless.
And the biggest enemy of sheep is the wolf. If you had lived in Palestine in the Lord's time, you would have understood how difficult the task of the shepherd is. Not only did he have to defend his sheep against wild animals but also against the things they did to themselves. Sheep find many ways to injure and kill themselves. If a shepherd reported that a sheep had been killed, he had to prove that a wild animal had killed it.
Sending people out as sheep is actually a very realistic example; Christ is the Good Shepherd, He knows His sheep, He loves and cares for His sheep, they know His voice. But the idea of them being among wolves was the Lord's way of graphically illustrating the situation you face when you confront a Christ-rejecting, God-hating world with the message of the Gospel.
Sometimes those wolves are right among us. Paul said to the elders of the Ephesian church in Acts 20:29, “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.” In Romans 8:36, Paul says, “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
Sometimes the wolves are on the outside. Remember the wolf in sheep's clothing in Matthew 7:15? "The wolves are out there," Jesus says, "And you're defenseless in and of yourselves." This doesn't mean that we're going to loose, it just means we don't have the resources in ourselves. John 10 tells us the truth that the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep; He will defend us.
Pay attention to the honesty of Jesus. We are so concerned about getting people saved that we at times dilute and weaken the Gospel. We don't talk about repentance or confession of sin or humbling oneself or hungering and thirsting for righteousness. We don't talk about the lordship of Christ, or obedience and the narrow way, or the cost and the price to follow Him.
Then, when someone becomes a believer, we don't talk about going out into the world as sheep among wolves. We don't recruit people for evangelism and say, “There are some hungry wild wolves out there. Are any of you sheep willing to volunteer?”
Because we have weakened our presentation of the Gospel and reduced what service to Christ really is, people will come to Him based on false assumptions. It just clouds the issue for them and everyone else. That's why so many are on the broad road and so few on the narrow road. But many on the broad road think that they're saved because they have only heard the watered down version of the Gospel.
Giuseppe Garibaldi, in 1849, after the siege of Rome, said this to his soldiers, “All our efforts against superior forces have failed. I have nothing to offer you but hunger, thirst, hardship, and death. But I call on all who love their country to join with me," and they came by the hundreds.
During WWII after Dunkirk where thousands lost their lives, Churchill said, "I have nothing to offer you but blood, toil, tears, and sweat." Similarly, our Lord offers blood, sweat, tears, hunger, thirst, and death. That's the way it is, and He never sends anyone out without telling them the full truth.
Life is also tough here. If you're not suffering persecution, it could be the result of not being open about your faith. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” Many churches in Indonesia are persecuted. We thank God that it is not as bad here yet, but persecution will come.
So much of our Christianity is locked up inside church walls that I often wonder if the world even knows who we are. If we are open with our faith, there will always be a price to pay. We cannot confront a God-hating world without a reaction.
So who are the wolves? The Twelve are told that they will be persecuted, but it didn't happen until after the crucifixion. Verse 17 tells us that men are the wolves. Yes in Ephesians 6:12 it says that we wrestle, "Against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Yes Satan is behind all that but its agents are human.
Throughout history it has been men who have slaughtered, who have imprisoned, crucified, burned at the stake, and stoned the saints of God. Men have snuffed their lives out, and still do it in Moslem countries, parts of Africa and anywhere someone is brave enough to declare their faith.
Matthew 5:10-11 says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” Jesus knows that men are doing those wicked things. It had already begun before the time of our Lord, first to the Prophets and now to His disciples and followers.
Don't be shocked when you are criticized. Don't be surprised when you are fired for articulating your faith. Don't be surprised when you're not invited to parties or certain activities, or when some girl or guy rejects you because of your faith. Don't be surprised, because human agents represent the kingdom of darkness.
You ask, "Is it widespread?" Look at verse 22, “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved." It isn't isolated, it's standard fare. I'm talking about all kinds of people through all ages of history reacting negatively to the Gospel when it is lived and presented.”
Here is a second question, looking back at Matthew 10. Why are the wolves so vicious? It's very simple, verse 18 says, “You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake.” They are vicious not because they really hate you, but because they hate Christ.
Look at verse 22 again. "You shall be hated by all for My name's sake." The concept of 'name' there refers to all that Christ is. It's because of who He is and what He's done that we are persecuted. In other words, if Christ is not made manifest in me, no one will persecute Him in me. But when I am persecuted, it is because I represent Christ; it is because I reflect Christ in the world.
In Colossians 1:24. Paul said, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.” Paul took blows meant for Christ. Paul really identified with being able to be punished, not for what he did, but for what Christ was doing through him, in confronting the world of darkness.
Peter said in 1 Peter 4:14, “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” When the Kingdom is built, Satan will cause people to react; they will rebel, ostracize, criticize, condemn, turn you away, and falsely accuse you. But we are blessed to take the blows meant for Jesus because He suffered all the punishment meant for us.
Paul really understood this. As Paul was on the road to Damascus, the Lord strikes him down and blinds him. He's on the ground, and Acts 9: 4 says, "A voice says to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” Now Paul had never met Jesus, and Jesus was not on earth, He was in Heaven, so how was Paul persecuting Jesus?
Because Christ was living His life through His people, and when Paul persecuted His people, he persecuted Him. Paul never forgot that. We are sent into the world like the Twelve to represent Christ as sheep among wolves. And the reason the wolves are so vicious is that they hate Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, "He that is not with me is against me." There is no middle ground.
This is one of the richest passages you'll ever see in the Bible about how we are sent to a hostile world. Jesus told them, "Men, I'm sending you out as sheep among wolves." Later He told them in Hebrews 13:5, "I'll be with you. I'll never leave or forsake you,” and you will win in the end, the sheep will defeat the wolves. Not in their own strength, but on the basis of Christ's power.
The disciples wanted to stay close to Jesus because they knew He was their resource. He was the source of their food - He fed them on the side of the hill. He was the source of their tax money; on one occasion He provided it from the mouth of a fish. Jesus was the source of their human need for love - He poured His love on them and cared for them. He taught them. He was everything to them.
When He told them He was going to go away and leave them to the wolves, they were afraid. But He also told them He would send His Spirit to dwell in them. He would become their strength and power to overcome the world. Through the resident Spirit in the life of a believer, that believer communes with the living Christ.
Jesus gave them a way to remember that in this at the Lord's Table. He said, "Come to the table and remember Me, the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep. Every time you do this, remember that I died to save you from the wolves. Someday, I'll come again, to take you to Myself.”
This becomes not only a table of remembrance, but a table of fellowship. It says, "This is what Christ did in the past, and this is our living communion in the present until He comes again." He said, "Someday, I'll come back and we'll do it together in My Kingdom," but until then, He communes with us here.
This is as close as we ever come as a family, as close as we ever come to each other, as close as we ever come to Christ, as intimate as we ever get with our Shepherd. We come to His Table, because there, we partake of His body and His blood in memory, in remembrance, and in living communion as He meets us here.
So, as we stand in our world, sheep among many wolves, we need this reminder of His presence, and we need to come back for the cleansing, the reaffirmation of our faith, the reuniting of our fellowship at this Lord’s Supper.
What is our response? Are we just like those disciples, are we fearful, do we always think about all the things that can go wrong, do we worry about what our family thinks, what do we worry what our friends will think?
Remember that none of them has any power, only God does and He will be with you wherever you go and He will bless you more than you can ever imagine, Amen? Let's bow in prayer, preparing our hearts for Him this coming week.