To set up today’s passage, let us summarize what has occurred in the preceding verses (1-15). Jesus has called together his 12 disciples, equipping them to drive out demons, heal the sick, cleanse lepers and raise the dead, commissioning them to go to the lost sheep of Israel to declare the coming kingdom of God. They were given boundaries (“go nowhere among the Gentiles”), a message (“the kingdom of heaven is at hand”) and instructions as to how they were to conduct themselves.
Jesus gave his apostles situational awareness, warning them of the persecution to come; he also gave them instructions for when that time came. This was not a contingency plan in case of persecution; this was THE plan, for persecution WOULD come. Jesus was managing their expectations, and by extension, he is managing our expectations. We can expect to be sent, for we have been commanded to go, and we can expect to be persecuted.
By using the analogy of sheep among wolves, Jesus is giving the disciples a vivid picture of the nature of the attacks they would experience.
Wolves are methodical, coordinated, and relentless in their attacks. Wolves count on the herd reacting with fear and panic as they scatter in all directions; they use that reaction to isolate and bring down their selected prey. There is nothing subtle about their attacks as they catch and devour their prey.
And so, Jesus makes this analogy to manage the disciples’ expectations. Likewise, we will not be dealing with people with whom we have a mere difference of opinion, we will be dealing with people who are looking to scatter and devour the sheep, not sparing the flock.
Note the irony in the sheep being sent out. In the natural world, a shepherd would protect his sheep from the wolves. But we have our Good Shepherd that goes before us, leads us, and protects us.
Sending us out among the wolves indicates the nature of the ministry we have been called to; it is proactive; it goes on the offense. We are not to mill about the sheep pen waiting for people to come to the fence to hear the gospel; we are commanded to go (Matt. 28:19). We are to take the gospel of Christ out into the world, in the assurance that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Christ; we are to take the gospel out into the world with the assurance that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. Gates are a defensive mechanism; they don’t move. We are called to move against the gates, with the promise that they will not prevail.
Being wise as serpents and innocent as doves gives us a picture of conducting ourselves wisely, with situational awareness, but unlike the serpent that attacks when endangered, we are to be innocent as doves, by not defending ourselves, and when necessary, fleeing.
Jesus goes on to describe the different types of attacks that will be employed by men against his disciples: cultural and civil opposition, religious opposition, and familial opposition. These are not exclusive of one another; they will overlap.
We see in the Gospels and the Book of Acts how the religious leaders used the civil authorities to do their dirty work, as they tried to destroy the early church.
I want to note here that being delivered over to the courts and dragged before governors and kings is a God-ordained opportunity to bear witness to them. It is crucial that we remember this so that when it happens, our focus is not on finding a way out, but on using the circumstance as an opportunity to share the gospel. After all, it is the enemies of God who need to hear the gospel – and such were we before we heard the gospel.
We are already experiencing cultural opposition in the U.S. where moral relativism and subjective truth are rapidly becoming the norm in our society. We are live in a culture born out of the sexual revolution of the 60’s where sex outside of God’s design, sex outside the confines of marriage – is not only commonplace, but encouraged; where homosexual relations are not only commonplace, but celebrated by society and supported by our legal system; where the killing of babies in the womb is legal and celebrated as a constitutional right.
The proponents of these activities can be found in our cultural and educational institutions, our legislative bodies, and even churches. They are out and gathering in force, working to oppose, shame, and silence anyone who thinks and speaks otherwise; the proclamation of Christ and the teaching of Biblical truth puts us in direct conflict with popular culture.
The groundwork is already being laid for civil opposition in the U.S., as seen in the recent Supreme Court decisions making same-sex marriage a right, and an individual’s sexual orientation or transgender status irrelevant to employers.
That will put those of us who believe in Biblical manhood, womanhood, and marriage on the wrong side of the law. It gives the opponents of the gospel legal leverage to deliver us to the courts, while giving states authority to act against those (like Christian baker Jack Phillips) who will not comply with the new rules.
Religious opposition will come from both external and internal sources.
External: The Open Doors 2020 World Watchlist reports that nearly 3,000 Christians worldwide were killed for faith-related reasons (averaging 8 per day); nearly 9,500 churches or Christian buildings were attacked, and more than 3,700 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned. While this is happening primarily in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, we would be naïve to think that the United States will not be touched.
Internal: In the U.S. traditionally mainline churches and other Christian leaders are aligning with the popular culture in the acceptance and celebration of homosexual marriages and transgendered persons. The so-called Christian leaders that approve of and promote these practices are the “false prophets…who come in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” that Jesus warned us about (Matt. 7:15). If they see Biblical Christianity as out-of-step, what measures will they take to see that the rest of us fall into line?
19-20. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Notice that Jesus said when, not if.
In Luke’s gospel (21:14), Jesus is recorded as telling the disciples to “settle in your minds therefore, not to meditate beforehand how to answer…” We can rest in complete assurance that the Holy Spirit will give us “a mouth and wisdom, which none of [our] adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.”
In Acts 6:9-10 we read that those who argued with Stephen “could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.”
It was not the humiliation which early Christians dreaded, not even the cruel pain and the agony. But many of them feared that their own unskillfulness in words and defense might injure rather than commend the truth. It is the promise of God that when a man is on trial for his faith, the words will come to him. (William Barclay)
Fear not, fellow Christian, for should be you called to face trial for your faith, know that 1) God has ordained this opportunity to bear witness, and 2) God will fill your mouth with his words.
21-22. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.
Persecution is not limited to the outside of the home.
People who may not have anything in common with each other will be united in their hatred of Christians. As diverse as the population is in the U.S. there is a growing perception that Christians are bigoted and intolerant.
23 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Endurance is a mark of the true Christian. Remember the explanation in the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:20): “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” This is a picture of the “almost Christian” who joyfully attends services and participates in church activities, but is not abiding in the vine that is Christ. They bear no fruit and will be seen for what they are when persecution comes.
Also, endurance does not necessarily mean that we stand our physical ground; we’re not here to defend territory, we’re here to proclaim the gospel. Endurance may involve leaving a place of danger to flee to the “next town.” This is what happened when persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem (Acts 8). As the disciples scattered, they took the gospel with them and continued to proclaim Christ.
24-25“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.
Jesus explained why the persecution would come. John also includes this in his gospel (“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you”). We cannot expect that we will be treated any better than Jesus was during his time on earth. Jesus was managing their perspective, and by extension ours, so when we do experience persecution on account of Christ, we won’t be thrown for a loop wondering why this is happening, and we won’t make the mistake of attributing it to other factors, such as politics, gender or race.
26-33. “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. (ESV).
Jesus assured his disciples of God’s omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and care. He assured them that they would go forth free of the fear of men that would otherwise weigh them down as they proclaimed Christ.
And preach boldly and fearlessly they did. The book of Acts records that the apostles were threatened, arrested, and beaten. Church tradition goes on to tell us that some of them were killed: Peter and Andrew by crucifixion; Matthew and Thomas by sword and spear; Mattias and Paul by beheading.
We have the same assurance, for we are called to proclaim Christ, free of the fear of men.
Prov. 19:2 says, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice.”
If we go about our Christian walk in fear of men, and what they would do to us should we cross or offend them, we will never share the gospel from a secure place of confidence in the Lord (“in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”). Perhaps worse, when opposition and persecution does come, we will seek remedy from men and not the Lord.
As disciples of Christ, it is critical that we manage our expectations in the light of God’s Word. If we’re expecting only prosperity and smooth sailing because we are blessed and highly favored, we will be ill-prepared to endure the persecution that we’ve been assured will come.
I will leave you with a verse that should challenge each one of us: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Tim. 3:12-13)
If we’ve managed to get through our Christian lives; if our churches have managed to operate for years without experiencing any kind of opposition or persecution, then we must – especially if we believe this Bible – we must call into question our desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. Are we living and conducting ourselves in such a way that family and friends, neighbors, and coworkers, at the very least see a difference in us, and perhaps even look to oppose us?
If we believe that all things are possible with God, if we believe that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, then we must believe that God will give us the strength to stand and endure, without fear, in the face of persecution. We can declare with the Psalmist:
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” (Psalm 23:4).
myjourneywords 