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Jun 6, 2023 · Answer. In sending out the Twelve, Jesus said to them, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” ( Matthew 10:16, KJV ). The NIV says, “shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
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- Satan
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. “Behold, I am sending you as lambs among wolves; be therefore crafty as snakes and innocent as doves.”. I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves. So be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves.
“Here I am sending you out like sheep with wolves all round you; so be as wise as serpents and yet as harmless as doves. But be on your guard against men. For they will take you to the court and flog you in their synagogues.
- What Is The context?
- What Is The Wisdom of Serpents?
- Innocent as Doves
- How Can Christians Be Both Wise and Innocent?
- Choosing Gentleness Wisely
- Stealthy, Not Sneaky
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves,” Christ announced to his disciples. The risk of death was extremely high. The disciples were going into a world of predatory unbelievers; people who did not know the gospel, who saw the 12 as vulnerable prey, and who were happy to take advantage of their weakness. This weakness was, in ...
John Piper says, “Snakes are quick to get out of the way. They go under [a] rock” when faced with potential danger. Snakes aren’t usually aggressive, not as a first resort. They wisely remove themselves from situations in which they would be threatened if they were found out in the open. While we think of snakes as frightening predators, God made s...
Piper also explains that being innocent as doves means one does not “give [unbelievers] any legitimate reason to accuse you of injustice or immorality. Keep your reputation as clean as you can” (Ibid.). Although Christians are still sinners, the meaning and purpose of their lives have changed. No longer do they seek their own will and pleasure, but...
Jesus told his disciples to be both innocent and wise at the same time. We associate innocence with a childlike openness to the wonder of Christ. In the same breath, Christ exhorts his followers to be wise, a quality which one develops with maturity in Christ. Approaching unbelievers with news they need but do not want to hear (that they are sinner...
How do Christians know when to stand and when to evade abuse? Even Christ fled from the church at Nazareth when the congregation threatened to kill him (Luke 4). Later, of course, he went willingly to the cross, aware that his time had come. Kevin DeYoung wrotethat “we ought to pursue the course of action we think will best serve the cause of the g...
Jesus’ ministry was out in the open. He attracted considerable notice everywhere he went. Paul said of Agrippa regarding his own missional activities, “I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner” (Acts 26:26). While their opponents plot and scheme, Christians do not employ deceitful tacti...
Doves were so innocent as to often seem completely clueless to danger. Jesus tells His followers to exercise whatever wise shrewdness they can to avoid conflict and danger without losing the dove-like innocence that will allow them to continue to proclaim the truth without fear.
Persecutions Are Coming - “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 ...
16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.
