Seeds for 08/03/2023 - Matthew 10:16-23
Scripture: 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.
21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Observation: My general disposition is to assume the best about someone’s motives. I believe that is a helpful approach most of the time. Suspiciousness has its own usefulness, but more than a few drawbacks too.
That said, Jesus’ straightforward warning to the disciples in this context is important. Sometimes well meaning people, Christians included, can be profoundly naïve about the reality of evil and opposition in the world. The bedrock nature of a true commitment to Jesus will stir up opposition sometime, someplace. Evil is not an illusion.
Jesus wants His disciples to be clear on this fact, not in order to make them suspicious, but to make them wise and practical. Several years ago, I learned a word from educators in my congregation: “with-it-ness.” This is the quality of having good practical sense of what is happening in one’s classroom at any given moment and being on top of navigating any challenges adeptly. The world is a beautiful place; the world is a broken place. Better to be mentally prepared than to kid ourselves.
The promise is not that there will be no evil or opposition, but that “the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
Finally, two other things in this text bear mentioning. First, many a preacher has referenced waiting to be given what to say in the moment by the Holy Spirit in worship. But this completely misses the contextual situation. Our commission to “correctly handing the word of truth” in our preaching and that happens through study that invites the Spirit to start working early in the process, not at the tail end.
Second, a pastoral colleague has for years reminded us that “Jesus told His followers to be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves, but too often God’s people have been as shrewd as doves and as innocent as snakes.” Ouch. Tough but true. A reminder that streetwise and self-awareness go well in tandem.
Application:
Do you lean more trusting or more suspicious? What would striking the right balance look like for you?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, grow me in the wisdom and character of Jesus, that I may serve you well in the world. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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