Pondering His Holy Word

Matthew 10:16

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples as He prepared to send them out to proclaim that The kingdom of God is coming. He warned his disciples of the persecution they will face going from town to town. They were being sent out as sheep amongst wolves. He promised them that they would be flogged in the synagogues and brought before the governors and kings as they bore witness. So Jesus tells them to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. He admonishes them to be aware of the hostility towards God and those who serve God, but maintain their purity and innocence.  The Apostle Paul reiterates this statement in his letter to the Romans “be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil” (Romans 16:19). He tells the members of the new church to use their intelligence that God gave them as an asset and be aware but take no part in evil. 

In modern day, we are to maintain this same shrewdness and purity. The Lord has given us lots of gifts to use to build His kingdom, but at the same time, He doesn’t want us to use these gifts to partake in impurity. As believers, we are ambassadors of Christ. An ambassador is considered a diplomat of a sovereign government that serves as a representative of that government. We as Christians are diplomats of the Sovereign God in Christ, and we, as members of the church, serve as representatives of Jesus Christ. The Lord has set us apart to be sent to announce the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result, we represent Christ in His purity and sinlessness, and His ability to preach the good news. We are sent as ambassadors in a world that is hostile to God. Moreover, we can expect the world to have a disdain for us because we serve Christ, yet we are to show the love that Christ showed.