NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TEN

Part II (Con’t)

Verse 16: Listen to me! I am sending you out, and you will be like sheep among wolves. So be smart like snakes. But also be as harmless as doves.

Our Savior knew the dangers that sheep faced from wolves and other predators out in the countryside. So sending His sheep out without Him being along to guide and protect them was risky. But how would they fare once He ascended back into heaven if they were not given the opportunity to train under His leadership? We see that our Lord uses the metaphors of sheep, wolves, doves and snakes to identify the characteristics of both His disciples and those who would oppose them.

One early church anonymous writer on Matthew shares his belief that Jesus had a purpose in describing His disciples as being “like” sheep, and calling those who were a threat to them as “wolves.” In his mind, these followers were by nature gentle and trusting like sheep, and those who stood ready to attack them were by nature as ravenous as wolves.¹ But there may be more to this than simply the attitudes of both the sheep and wolves. When it came to wolves that attacked, the sheep were defenseless; they were easy targets, especially the young and those who strayed from the flock.

Therefore the only defense they have is to use any innate tendencies they may have on how to stay together and be alert when caught alone out in the open. Yet, it may also be that Jesus knew that His followers at this point in their training were not yet capable of disputing the critics and skeptics. They were still too young in the faith. So He wanted to caution them and warn them to simply avoid being drawn into any disputes or debates. But at the same time, when they were confronted not to strike back as an eagle might do, but be as calm as a dove in their answers.

It was common knowledge among all travelers through the rural areas of Galilee and Judea that snakes would not strike unless you bothered them or invaded their territory. Also, from the time of Noah, doves were seen as harmless birds that need not be feared. So by using these two creatures, Jesus was appealing to His disciples to use the powerful abilities He just gave them in a wise, yet non-confrontational manner. This should be a guideline for everyone who takes the Gospel into hostile territory. And the reason the Master gave them these instructions is because He knew what they didn’t know about the hostility and cunningness of their adversaries, including the one who inspired them, the serpent Satan himself.

There was also a proverb about snakes and doves as part of Jewish verbal tradition that Jesus may have had in mind and with which His followers were familiar. It was used when comparing Israel to other nations. Rabbi Judah once quoted Rabbi Simon saying: “The holy blessed God said, concerning Israel, with me they are harmless as doves, but among the nations of the world, they are elusive like serpents.”² So our Lord knew that what confronted them would be similar to what the children of Israel faced trying to occupy the Promised Land. They must be properly prepared for the worst.

Early church teacher Chrysostom sees our Lord’s words in this context: “He is teaching them a new sort of warfare. He sends them out exposed, with only one coat, barefoot and without a staff, without clothing or provisions. The manner of their battle array is entirely unimpressive. He calls them to allow themselves to be totally supported by the generosity of such as receive them. All this is to accentuate his unspeakable power. Then, to press this reverse strategy to its limits, he tells them to exhibit the gentleness of sheep, even though they are going out among wolves, and not simply toward the wolves but trustfully moving right into the midst of the wolves.”³

Verses 17-18a: Be careful! There are people who will arrest you and take you to be judged. They will whip you in their synagogues. You will be taken to stand before governors and kings.

This warning was not meant to alert the disciples of the dangers of their current mission, but what would face them down the road in future evangelistic efforts. The courts that our Lord referred to here were certainly those described in Jewish writings, which we know as the major and minor Jewish federal courts called the Sanhedrim, established in every city in Israel in which there were 120 or more adult males.⁴ They not only adjudicated legal matters, but religious matters as well, and meted out the punishment of scourging on violators of the law.⁵

Specific instructions were given on how this scourging was administered: “The transgressor’s two hands are bound to a column on either side. The community attendant takes hold of his clothes and pulls downward. If they tear at the front, that is satisfactory; if the tear at the sides, that is satisfactory. He continues until he uncovers his heart. The rationale is that he should not administer lashes on his garment, as indicated by Deuteronomy 25:2: ‘And he shall strike him,’ i.e., ‘him,’ and not his garment. A stone is placed behind him. The attendant who administers the lashes stands on it. He holds a strap of calf’s leather that is folded into two, and a second one, making four, and two straps of donkey leather attached to it that rise and descend with it. The strap is a three inches wide and it is long enough to reach the transgressor’s belly. The handle of the strap is a three inches wide…The person receiving the lashes should not stand, nor should he sit. Instead, he should bend over as Deuteronomy 25:2 states: ‘The judge shall cast him down.’ The verse continues: ‘And he shall strike the one who is before him.’ This implies that the attention of the judge should be focused upon him. He should not look at other matters while having him lashed. From this, we learn that two people are never lashed at the same time.”⁶ Furthermore, the number of whip lashes were limited to forty.⁷

But it wasn’t long after Jesus ascended that the Sanhedrim and smaller courts lost all power of capital punishment under the Romans. Say the Jews, “40 years before the destruction of the Temple, capital punishment was nullified among the Jewish people. Although the Temple was still standing, since the Sanhedrim went into exile and were not in their place in the Temple, these laws could not be enforced”.⁸

Later in early church history (310-403 AD) we read about such persecution on a high ranking Jew named Josephus who became a Christian while remaining a strong leader in Jewish society. It reads: “Since he was very strict as an apostle should be—as I said, this is their name for the rank—and indeed was a reformer, he was always intent on what would make for the establishment of good order and purged and demoted many of the appointed synagogue-heads, priests, elders and “azanites” (meaning their kind of deacons or assistants), many were angry with him. As though in an attempt to pay him back these people took no little trouble to pry into his affairs and find out what he was doing. For this reason a crowd of meddlers burst in upon him at home in his residence, and caught him pouring over the Gospels. They seized the book and grabbed the man, dragged him on the floor with shouts, carrying him away to the synagogue with no light mistreatment, and beat him as the Law prescribes. This was his first trial; however, the bishop of the town arrived and got him out. Another time they caught him on a journey, he told me, and threw him into the river Cydnus.⁹ When they saw him taken by the current they thought he had gone under and drowned, and were glad about it.”¹⁰

So we can see how prophetic our Lord’s words were to His followers. But there was a reason for such persecution, besides animosity between religions. It would also be done for political reasons. After all, the kings and governors did not want any religious turmoil in their territories. Within a few short years after this statement by Jesus, Saul of Tarsus would feel the full brunt of such inquisitions by Roman governors.

Between the years 200-300 AD the Jewish leaders would comment on the loss of their court’s authority: “Yosé Meoni interpreted the following verse in the synagogue in Tiberias: ‘Hear this, Priests’ (Hosea 5:1) – why do you not labor in the Torah? Have not the twenty-four priestly gifts been given to you?’ They said to him, ‘Nothing at all has been given to us.’ ‘And give heed, O House of Israel!’ (Hosea 5:1), ‘Why do you not give the priests the twenty-four gifts concerning which you have been commanded at Sinai?’ They said to him, ‘The king took them all away’.”¹¹

The Jews also report how the king of Persia “seized three of the great men of Israel: Amemar Bar Mar Yanuka Bar Mar Zutra, a colleague of Rabbi Ashi; Rabbi Mesharshia the Exilarch and Huna Mar Shamu. The king of Persia executed them and seized some of the youths of Israel and forced them to abandon their faith [in Tevet] of the year 4434 [read 4234, AD 474] when Raba Tosfaah died”.¹² But when such persecution might come from either the Jews or Gentile authorities, Jesus makes it clear what the main opposition was.

Verse 18b: People will do this to you because you follow Me. You will tell about Me to those kings and governors and to the non-Jewish people.

The tense and tone of this warning now switches from the immediate present to the future. There is no record that on this occasion these disciples who were sent out stood before any governors or kings. Therefore it is a message that has resonated down through the ages. Many Christians today do not expect this to happen to them. They feel that those days of persecution are over. But a quick look around the world will show that in some cases it is getting as bad, or worse, than ever before. That’s why Jesus cautions them to use the skills of the serpent and the demeanor of the dove to cope with the situation.

After all, we are told: “The serpent was the most clever of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made”.¹³ A Jewish translator uses the term “cunning” instead of “clever.” He tells us that it involves a pun used by ancient Hebrew writers where the word ‘arum, “cunning,” plays off the word ‘arumim, “naked,” used in verse 25 of the previous chapter.¹⁴ One Jewish commentator states: “The serpent represents all the negative spiritual forces in the universe, and brings God’s wrath upon His world as it seduces God’s creatures to rebel against Him”.¹⁵

This certainly puts the light on one of Satan’s most powerful tools: “seduction.” He seduced one third of the angels by false promises to join him in rebellion against God, and now he seduces the first woman in the Garden of Eden into believing what he said rather than trusting what God said. Such seduction is not to take away what a person already has, but to offer them something that is supposed to be better, nicer, and more satisfying. As we look around us today, Satan is still using this as his main tactic in deceiving the world, and in some cases, deceiving believers.

Therefore, you should never go into hostile territory with the belief that nothing will happen to you. But if something does confront you, be gentle and kind to those who accost you. To put it in another way, don’t go around looking for or stirring up trouble. But when trouble finds you, treat it as something that may confront every believer. Here’s an old saying that illustrates this: “Never trouble trouble until trouble troubles you; for you only make your trouble double-trouble when you do.”¹⁶

Another thing Jesus points out is that when we are persecuted for His sake, then it is He who is really on trial. That’s why we can take refuge in Him and accept the outcome for us as being the same outcome He allows for Himself. But He won’t let us go before our accusers alone, He promised that the Holy Spirit will be there with us, and when we give our answers to the charges, the Spirit will prompt us on what to say. When God asked Moses to go back down into Egypt where a warrant was out for his arrest for killing an Egyptian slave master, Moses was less than enthusiastic. Beside, he had a problem speaking, which many scholars interpret as a problem with stuttering. But God told him: “Go, I will be with you when you speak. I will give you the words to say.”¹⁷

Likewise, when Jeremiah thought that he was too young to become a preacher, God said to him, “Don’t say, ‘I am only a boy.’ You must go everywhere I send you and say everything I tell you to say.”¹⁸ Jesus was making sure that His disciples were prepared for the conflict up ahead. Just as soldiers are trained before they go into battle, so young Christians should be mentored and made ready as witnesses for the Kingdom of God. Now Jesus goes on to offers His assurance:

Verse 19: When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say or how you should say it. At that time you will be given the words to say.

Hermeneutically and exegetically this verse is often either over-stressed or under-emphasized. When taken out of context and made to fit every situation it losses its real significance and power. This extra help received from God in giving inspiration, even so much as the very words to speak, is here promised in the time of trial and persecution. When you are hauled before any authority because of your openly expressed faith in God or His Word without any opportunity to prepare a defense, you must consider it an opportunity to testify to your faith in Christ. Then God’s Spirit will give you unction to speak.

There is no mention here of this special power provided for those scheduled to preach in a planned church service, therefore there is no need to study or prepare. It does not guarantee that they will be provided an impromptu sermon straight from God to make up for their lack of prayer and study. Some have used this as an excuse not to study and learn God’s word. On the other hand, there are those who say that merely standing up and sharing what you believe the Holy Spirit has taught you in your study of God’s Word does not make you a qualified messenger without proof of having a proper education. This too is wrong, since we do not read where Jesus gave His disciples any diplomas to show that He had trained them.

To me, the Word of God is essential and must be studied to gain greater knowledge and understanding of what it says. Every student of the Bible should therefore seek help and guidance from more experienced teachers of the Word. But when it comes to sharing the Word, the Holy Spirit’s anointing in the message is sign enough that you have been properly mentored in God’s Word. As my late great friend, Dr. Ray H. Hughes, used to say: “You may put together a good sermon, but the message comes from God.”

We must remember, inspiration is not words put into one’s mouth but the motivation to put the Word of God in your heart so that it comes out of your mouth with authority. It is true that studying, learning and education are very helpful and should be sought, but it is also true that God ‘s wisdom and knowledge can be instilled in the heart and mind of a dedicated servant to speak the truth no matter what his intelligent quotient or his lack of formal training. Most often, this has been demonstrated over the centuries during times of persecution and tribulation for God’s people. No wonder Jesus spent some three years teaching, mentoring and showing His disciples how to minister properly. But after He ascended into heaven He had the Father send the Holy Spirit to teach, inspire and anoint what He had said while He was here on earth.