Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves

 

 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.  Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.  But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.  You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.  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; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.  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.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But he who endures to the end will be saved.  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."

 

- Matthew 10:16-23 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus sent out the Twelve and commanded them, saying:  "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.  But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give.  Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.  Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.  And when you go into a household, greet it.  If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it.  But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"

 

  "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.  Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."  My study Bible comments that Jesus instructs the disciples to be wise as serpents so that they might not be unnecessarily wounded and that they might take all advantage in the spread of the gospel.  To be harmless as doves so that they should not retaliate against those who do them wrong, and blameless in their witness of the gospel. 

 

 "But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.  You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.  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; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.  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.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But he who endures to the end will be saved.  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."  My study Bible comments here that persecution must not cause the disciple to quit, but simply to move forward in one's mission.  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible notes, before the Son of Man comes is not a reference to Christ's Second Coming, but it simply means that before the disciples could visit all the cities in Palestine, Christ would rejoin them, and therefore more quickly end the hostility they would encounter. 

Jesus tells the disciples, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.  Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."  This teaching would seem to apply to us today as much as it did to the disciples, for if we carry Christ into the world we are bound to find, at times, that the world will not "receive" us either.  This mindset is very important, and remains so in the Church.  To be wise as serpents remains an important concept in this word translated as "wise."  This word in Greek is φρόνιμος/phronimos.  It indicates a mind-set, an attitude, a way of looking out at the world.  Its indication is prudence, a pragmatic understanding of do's and don'ts, in that sense of shrewdness conveyed here.  It asks us for the kind of sensitivity a proper missionary or even emissary or representative should have.  Some synonyms given by Strong's are intelligent, prudent, sensible, wise.  In the mind of the Church, a related word, φρόνημα/phronema, remains important (and remains in important use in Orthodoxy), as it conveys a set of values and way of thinking that is sought to be cultivated through faith and religious practice, an understanding of relationships and relatedness in Christ.  (St. Paul uses this word when He speaks of the "mind" of the flesh and the "mind" of the spirit in Romans 8:6-7, 27.)  It indicates once more the internal reality of faith, that this Kingdom the disciples are to announce isn't just a matter of rules or a written code, but is also something internal to us, and dynamic, and in which we grow.  The word translated as "harmless" (in harmless as doves) literally means "unmixed" (ἀκέραιος/akeraios), indicating innocence and simplicity, purity, to be without mixed motives.  It also teaches us something of an inner mindset, even a purity of heart when it comes to the gospel message.  In the prayers and the practices of the Church over time, and through our faith and God's work in us, we are to build up this understanding and mindset conveyed by Christ.  We are to understand that engaging in fruitless struggles and debates gets us nowhere in our message of the gospel of the Kingdom, but only following His teachings as directed here.  So much of Christ's teaching is about the formation of mindset, a way to look at ourselves in the world, and our place as those who also seek both to dwell in and to bear Christ' kingdom into the world.   These disciples have lived with Him and learned from Him, and He sends them out to be "like Him" in bearing the gospel message.  We are reminded of St. Paul's words to the Athenians, in preaching to them of the "unknown god" (to the Athenians) for whom he was an apostle:  "for in Him we live and move and have our being."   To be wise as serpents and harmless as doves is part of what it means to live and move and have our being in Christ, to develop the way He wants us to live, the "mind" of the spirit.  May we continue to learn how to embody His word for us.