Jesus called His twelve disciples together
and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of
disease and illness. ... Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these
instructions: "Don't go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but only to the
people of Israel—God's lost sheep. Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of
Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and
cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received! ...Look, I am sending you
out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves."
Matthew 10:1, 5-8, 16
Shrewd is another word for wise. I don’t
often think of snakes as “wise,” although maybe I would think of them as being
cunning or crafty.
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| Tasty snakes and eel. |
Those snakes who come out to warm themselves on rocks are
pretty smart. God made reptiles that way since they are cold-blooded animals
and don’t have a mechanism for warming up their body like us warm-blooded
animals. Now that days are becoming bone-chilling cool, I’d like to have a warm
rock to sit on to warm up. I like sitting by the fire and enjoying a good book
when it is cold and windy outside—but alas, I must sometimes leave my cozy home
for food, exercise, friends and fellowship.
Jesus gave His disciples power and then
instructions. Go to the Jewish people where you will be like sheep among wolves.
He had already warned them about false prophets….Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are
really vicious wolves. Matthew 7:15. Not too comforting. Watch out for
those folks with shrewd, cunning smiles bordered with sharp toothed mouths…opening
for the kill. Their sharp words come from unbelieving hearts. Watch out. Think
wisely…like a shrewd snake…and be harmless like a dove. Give freely—you’ve been
given a lot. Help others.
Prayer
~ Jesus, thanks for the warning that there are wolves out there. Give us grace
to be shrewd…to be wise…and to witness and help those you send us to.
© 2016 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT)
unless otherwise noted.
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