LEARNING DAILY

 

Mathew 10:16, Behold I send you but as sheep in the midst of wolves.  Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.   Jesus

 

Let me briefly explain what the verses before this were about.  Jesus was sending His followers out to the people of Israel to “preach saying ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.  They were also to wage war against the forces of evil by “healing the sick, cleansing lepers, raising the dead, and casting out devils”.  This was to be a demonstration of God’s authority in the spiritual battle with the devil.  There is an understood idea about the kingdom of God (or heaven) coming into the world to assert His power, His glory, and His rights against Satan and his dominion in this world.  This demonstration of power continues with us today.

 

The context of the Matthew 10:6-15 makes clear that the preaching of the kingdom of heaven is to be accompanied by signs following – the power of God shown against sin, sickness, and Satan.  The kingdom of heaven and its power is to bring salvation, grace, and healing to God’s people.  Jesus sent the disciples to the Jews, the house of Israel because the message of the kingdom was for them first.  If they accepted Jesus as the Messiah they were looking for, the Gentile nations would be blessed through them.

 

The disciples were sent “as sheep in the midst of wolves”; that was a dangerous work!  In order for them to not be deceived or taken in by the evil in the world they were told to live in humility, gentleness and integrity among those to whom they ministered (From the notes in the David Jeremiah Study Bible). 

 

Sounds a lot like the world Believers live in today, doesn’t it?!  Believers are meant to be witnesses in a world today that wants to do nothing but remove God from everything.  Jesus and the Bible are now being called racist because of the view that marriage is between a man and a woman, because they believe abortion is murder, because they state homosexuality is an abomination, and because of so much more.  That type of thinking makes you, me, and every other Believer, racist in their minds, as well.

 

We are in this world, at this time, for a reason; we are to be witnesses to the glory and power of Jesus Christ.  But, as Jesus told His disciple in Matthew, He is telling us to expect persecution.  We can expect to be laughed at, ridiculed, and be brought before the authorities.  Does that cause you to be afraid?  Jesus tells us, as He did the disciples, to be pure, straightforward, sincere, like the dove. He said to be sincere in the way we express and apply wisdom.  That seems to express following the leading of the Holy Spirit in everything we do. 

Tomorrow we will look at what Jesus said about fear.

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