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Authority to be sheep in the midst of wolves
24 Comments | Posted by Alan Knox in Discipleship, Family, Genesis, Matthew, New Testament, Old Testament
January 12, 2010 Daily Reading
Jacob (whose name means “deceiver”) continues to prove that he was named correctly. And, his father-in-law and wives join in. Laban deceives Jacob concerning his daughters (Genesis 29:21-25). The daughters react to one another’s children with jealousy (Genesis 30:1; Genesis 30:9). Then Jacob took steps to make sure that his flock increased while his father-in-law’s did not (Genesis 39:40).
Doesn’t sound like a great family, does it? It sounds like living in the middle of a den of wolves. In reality, they were simply living as the world around them, by watching out for themselves regardless of the hurt caused to others.
Yet, somehow, God worked his plan through (and in spite of) their self-destructive and family-destructive activities.
This leads us to our New Testament reading for today. At the end of this passage, Jesus tells his disciples that he is sending them out “as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Jesus expected his followers to understand the ways of the world, but to live in a way that was drastically different. They were to live with God and others as the focus of their lives.
To understand this, we have to begin in the previous chapter, where Jesus points out to his followers (disciples) that there are many people in need of a shepherd. He then tells them to pray that God would provide “workers” to go to those people (Matthew 9:36-38).
Imagine the surprise (shock-and-awe) on the face of those same disciples when Jesus then tells them that THEY are the answers to their own prayers (Matthew 10:5). Jesus sends them out to those in need of a shepherd. He tells them to proclaim the good news of the kingdom and to heal the sick, the same work that they had seen him doing since they began following him (for example, see Matthew 4:23 and Matthew 9:35 for summaries).
But, they were not going on their own initiative or by their own authority. They were being sent by Jesus and by his authority. He called them out, he gave them authority, and then he sent them (Matthew 10:1-5). He sent them to proclaim the good news that Jesus is the Messiah and the kingdom of God is here, to teach one another how to live as citizens of that new kingdom, and to care for another through healing, serving, or whatever else is necessary.
Jesus still calls us out of the world, gives us authority, and send us back into the world, not to live as the world does (like Jacob and his family) but to be a different kind of kingdom – to understand the ways of the world, but live in the ways of God. (For further reading, see Matthew 28:19-20, John 20:21, Acts 1:8)
A Little Greek
πορευόμενοι δὲ κηρύσσετε λέγοντες ὅτι Ἤγγικεν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. ἀσθενοῦντας θεραπεύετε, νεκροὺς ἐγείρετε, λεπροὺς καθαρίζετε, δαιμόνια ἐκβάλλετε: δωρεὰν ἐλάβετε, δωρεὰν δότε. (Matthew 10:7-8)
There are five commands (imperatives) in this sentence. The first four commands are given without explanation: proclaim, heal, raise, make clean, and cast out.
However, the last command is given with an explanation: “You received freely; give freely.” Certainly, the idea of “freely” includes the concept of receiving and giving without requiring a fee. But, it goes beyond that. But, this word also carries the connotation of “without cause or without reason”. (For example, see John 15:25.)
Jesus was telling the disciples to serve those who could not pay them and, even more, who did not deserve to be served.
24 Comments for Authority to be sheep in the midst of wolves
Joy | January 12, 2010 at 11:45 am
Author comment by Lionel Woods | January 12, 2010 at 11:50 am
Joy you have asked excellent questions! I hope Alan has the time to answer them all.
Author comment by Lionel Woods | January 12, 2010 at 11:53 am
Alan,
You know what is so encouraging about reading the OT narrative? It is the fact that in spite of all the failures God still decided to use them. Every last one of them failed, yet in spite of it all God’s grace covered their sins and He still used them to bring about His plans and purposes. Most of them repeated the same sins of their Fathers and their wives their Grandmothers (great…).
You bring up an interesting point in your NT post. It is the fact that we are to understand the culture yet be innoncent in it. Do you think many have begun to blur the lines (I might be in that blurring and have had to rethink a lot of stuff lately).
Author comment by Alan Knox | January 12, 2010 at 12:09 pm
I think God calls all of us to proclaim the gospel, teach one another, and care for others. Obviously, some are gifted at one or the other of these, but we are all responsible for them.
Note, we can proclaim the gospel, but we can’t convert people – only God can do that. Similarly, we can teach, but we can’t make be understand or mature. We can care and serve, but we can’t heal. Understanding/maturing and healing are all the work of God. God may choose to do these things through us, but he may not.
However, whether or not God decides to convert, mature, or heal is not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to proclaim, teach, and care.
-Alan
Arthur Sido | January 12, 2010 at 12:23 pm
Lionel,
I think we are way past the “may be blurring the lines stage” and have been more or less wholesale given over to the world for many centuries, even *GASP* where it concerns the Reformers! I have been asking myself this a lot lately and I don’t like the answer: how much of my life is lived like the world and how much like the Kingdom?
Author comment by Lionel Woods | January 12, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Arthur,
Thanks, I am trying to understand this more. Dave Black said some stuff when we met with him earlier this year and I think he planted a seed. Javetta had said some things also that I have been considering also. What I don’t want to do is make a culture issue a Gospel issue, but in the same note I don’t want to shrink away from something because the culture mocks it.
Joy | January 12, 2010 at 3:52 pm
What you say we are called to do are that which we can do in the natural as our natural gifts empower us? We only plant seed, we do not create it or make it grow. Only God can do those things. I agree that no one can change anyone except God. Anyone who thinks he can has a “God complex”. I cannot even change myself, even though I try, without submitting to God. Only God can convert people.
You say we can serve and care for, but we cannot heal. I do not think the apostles could heal either, except with the authority of the Holy Spirit through them. But Jesus gave them that authority. Even though they, no more than we, had the power within themselves to do those things, Jesus gave them the authority to call upon the Spirit to accomplish them. It was all to show the love of Christ and bring glory to God – so that people would know who sent them was supernatural.
You are saying then that He gave that authority to heal and cast out demons only to the apostles? That must be true. So the commands in Matthew 10: 7- 8 were only to the apostles? Only the part about proclaiming the gospel applies to us?
Perhaps He only heals though “modern medicine” now? Maybe there are no more demon possesions so there is no need to cast out demons now? Do we no longer need the eveidence of the supernatural except that which is seen through the changed lives of the converted?
Yes, we are all commanded, but why was that authority only given to the apostles?
Javetta | January 13, 2010 at 8:39 am
Joy-
I struggle with the same questions you have posed and find myself swinging on the pendulum back and forth between cessationism and continuationism. I struggle the most when I am earnestly praying about my own sickness and have yet to be healed. I even remember a time when someone close to me died and I prayed earnestly for God to raise the dead and they ever got up. I am not certain about anything but this: I know God is ABLE. However, I am not certain if He’s always willing…
Hutch | January 13, 2010 at 9:07 am
I do not have the answers to the questions regarding the miraculous; I have vacillated back and forth.
We do know however that the OT scriptures alluded to and Jewish extra-biblical writings regarding their Messianic hope taught that the Messiah would raise the dead, heal the lame, restore sight to the blind (especially one born blind), cast out demons etc.
Obviously part of the purpose of preaching the impending/imminent Kingdom/Reign of God with the resulting miraculous signs performed by Christ and his Apostles was to signify that the Messiah had come.
It’s not the same, but…
I know in a very real sense in my own life that the power of God contained in the gospel of Christ resurrected me from my spiritual death, opened my blind eyes, stilled the storm in my life and mind and that people were actually shocked at the changes in my life a lot like the demoniac whom the villagers were afraid of/in awe of when he was found sitting dressed/presentable and in his right mind.
Maybe it is the same when the Reign/Kingdom of God comes through the gospel miracles happen.
chas pike | January 13, 2010 at 10:54 am
hutch, i hear that
chas pike | January 13, 2010 at 1:30 pm
brothers and sisters, could you unpack this for me?:
“as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves”
Javetta | January 13, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Hutch-
What you say is so true and I can testify to it on my own life. However, we see in the first church (after the Messiah has gone back to heaven) miraculous things still happen at the hands of His apostles. Often times I wonder if those gifts lingered for them so that the church could spread because we notice them (the gifts) fall away after the apostles die. Also, I can’t recall (I could definitely be wrong) anyone in the NT other than Jesus and the apostles who performed miracles…
Author comment by Alan Knox | January 13, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Irenaeus was one of the earliest Christian writers after the New Testament was written. He died just after 200 AD, so he probably never met any of the apostles.
In his writings, he dealt with the idea of the miraculous. There were people living in his time who did not believe that Jesus or Paul or Peter really performed miracles.
What did Irenaeus say? He said, (paraphrasing) “Do you want proof that miracles could have happened just like the Scriptures say? Then look at all the miracles (healings, resurrections, etc.) that are taking place in the churches today.”
Unless Irenaeus was lying, I don’t think we can say that miraculous healings ended with the apostles.
-Alan
Javetta | January 13, 2010 at 2:09 pm
That’s great insight Alan. When I said “fall away” I didn’t mean to die out completely. I just meant they died down. I am not fully convinced that miracles have ceased as I have read of some and heard some eyewitness accounts. But none of us can deny that it is certainly not happening with the ferocity or frequency that it did in Scripture. Especiall not in the U.S.
Joy | January 13, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Javetta,
Thank you for responding. I am not a seminary student and I am not familiar with the terms “cessationism and continuationism”. I can guess that they must be names for schools of thought on whether those miracles ceased or continued? I didn’t know there was such a thing! Now I’m going to have to stick myself in a category! 
Alan,
I do believe and do not need proof that miracles that occurred in the NT really happened. But I haven’t seen any miraculous physical healings or resurrections in the church today. Have you? I think they must have ended with the apostles. We have the HELP of the Holy Spirit but not the authority? Thus the particular command given in Matthew 10:7 was given only to the apostles? He, of course, gave us ALL commands in other passages, but my questions pertain to this passage.
Jesus said to the apostles, according to John 20:29 “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”. Those in the NT era would have probably not believed without the physical miracles. I think God chose to heal and cast our demons for those who would believe because of it. OT prophecy said the messiah would do that so they believed he was the messiah. The apostles were not Christ, but did the same physical miracles and attested that their power came from him. Perhaps that is why they were performed.
We also know that the spiritual which is eternal is to be emphasized over the physical which is temporal. And as I said, there is evidence of the supernatural today in the changed spiritual lives of converts. The healing and resurrection of our sick or dead spirit is miraculous, but it is spiritual. Today, because we have the New Testament, we do not need to see in order to believe that Jesus is the Christ?
What about the other questions? Does demon possession still occur today? What do you mean by those who do not deserve it? Does it apply today, that when one accepts pay for proclaiming the gospel, he is disobeying Christ or did that only apply to the apostles? No one really wants to touch that one do they?
Thank you to all of you for helping me in my seeking clarification. It is much appreciated.
Chas
What does it mean “unpack this for me”? That’s another expression that is new to me.
chas pike | January 13, 2010 at 3:20 pm
hi joy, the image of the saying is to open the quotation like a suitcase and take out the different things that are in there and examine them. kind of like airport security, lol.
Hutch | January 13, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Javetta-
The seventy-two in Mark 10:1-17 had authority over demons in Jesus name…they said even the demons submit to us in your name, indicating they may have performed the same ministry/miracles when preaching the Kingdom as the 12 did.
Hutch | January 13, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Oops make that Luke 10:1-17 .
Javetta | January 13, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Joy-
LOL! I’m FAR from a seminary student myself. Picked up the terms in a book I read a few years ago.
Hutch-
Thanks for pointing that out. I forgot about the 72
Steve Scott | January 13, 2010 at 6:51 pm
Regarding Joy’s questions – specifically about the casting out of demons. Jesus said that He saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning, and Colossians tells us that the principalities and powers have been disarmed. Many demons were cast out of people by Jesus and the disciples. If their power has been drastically diminished as a result of the power of Christ, then I’m of the opinion that demon possession is not as widespread as it was back then.
Author comment by Alan Knox | January 13, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Joy,
I wasn’t questioning whether or not you believed in the miracles described in Scripture. I was just pointing out that according to Irenaeus, the same kinds of miracles were still taking place 100 years after the death of the apostles.
-Alan
Joy | January 13, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Hutch,
Thirty six pair! So it was not just the apostles. Jesus said he specifically gave them authority over the serpents, etc. to go ahead of Him where He was about to go in a kind of a reconnaissance manner. Again it was for that specific event. Paul, as one of the apostles was also given that authority? But still, only for that time.
Steve,
Thanks for that reference to Collosians. Paul does remnd us (Eph. 6:12) that our primary battle is not against “flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”.
Unlike before Christ, we now have the help of the Holy Spirit to fight against them, so they should have no power over us who pray for help.
I had read the Colossians 2:15 reference to mean that they will not win because of the judgement to come that has been pre-determined by the cross of Christ. Though we continue to fight them, in the end their fate is sealed.
We interpret that scripture differently, but we agree on how it all ends.
chas pike | January 13, 2010 at 11:45 pm
what is spiritual powers of evil in heavenly realms?
And today long after He revealed his promise through Jacob, He continues to work through and bless dysfunctional families.
As the church today are we really living drastically different lives or are we still trying to fit in?
What is the difference between healing the sick and cleansing the lepers?
Does demon possession still occur today?
What do you mean by those who do not deserve it?
Does God call each of us to not only proclaim the gospel, but also to heal diseases, raise the dead, and cast out demons? I confess I have only prayed for Him to do those latter three. I have not seen anyone called by God do those latter three. Does He give this to all believers? If Christ who is the same today, gives us that authority, I have to ask myself why I don’t do all those things. Do I not understand? Do I not believe? This authority to do the latter three must have only been given to the apostles.
If it applied to the apostles, does it apply today, that when one accepts pay for proclaiming the gospel, he is disobeying Christ? Would they still have the authority or the Holy Spirit?