Kenneth Flodin:

Neutral in the Ministry (Matt. 10:16)

The Scripture text is Matthew 10:16. We invite you to open to Matthew chapter 10.
We‟ll take a look at our text in the context. Now, if you notice, in the first few
verses, the 12 apostles are listed. But look at verse 5: “These 12 Jesus sent out,
giving them these instructions.” And the instructions, as you‟ll see, included that
they initially just go to the house of Israel. If you look at verse 7, it says: „Preach
the Kingdom of the heavens.‟ Verse 8 says: „Cure people; raise some dead ones;
expel demons.‟ And then if you look at verses 9 and 10, it tells them how their
ministry is going to be financed —primarily by contributions. And then in
verses 11-14, he tells them about their territory. He alludes to the door-to-door, or
house-to-house work, how to follow up on interest, and how to handle
rejection. But now we come to verse 16, and it‟s a continuation of this meeting for
service. And now Jesus tells them something that might be a little more
intimidating when they think about their upcoming role. And so let‟s read verse 16
in its entirety: “Look! I am sending you out as sheep among wolves; “so prove
yourselves cautious as serpents and yet innocent as doves.” So that was Jesus‟
introduction to the following circumstances. Look at verse 17. „You‟ll be handed
over to courts and scourged‟ and, verse 18, “brought before governors and
kings” for being Christians. Well, that was a lot for the apostles to absorb. And we
can just imagine them looking at each other nervously, maybe some anxiety
playing on their faces. His followers, though, came to understand what Jesus
meant in verse 16. He used four different animal types. He said: “I am sending
you out as sheep among wolves.” Well, they would have immediately understood
that illustration. That was used in the Hebrew Scriptures. Psalm 100:3 says: “We
are his people and the sheep of his pasture.” They understood. And they would
have understood the analogy of wolves; they knew wolves were vicious predators
on sheep. So they got the picture: We‟re not going to be well-received by all. It
was Jesus‟ way of warning them of potential trouble. Well, what about this other
analogy of serpents and doves? You know, being described as a snake was not
complimentary back then, nor is it today. So why did Jesus say that? You know,
probably the reason why it‟s not complimentary is “the original serpent[‟s]”
reputation when he wreaked havoc on the human race. But our text says: „Be like
serpents.‟ In what way? Remember, Genesis described the serpent as „the most
cautious of all the animals Jehovah had made.‟ That natural characteristic is what
Jesus was highlighting for his followers. They were to be cautious in the
ministry, particularly when facing opposition. Well, are snakes really
cautious? You know, many of us don‟t even like to look at a snake, let alone
carefully study its personality characteristics. So I‟m going to quote a British
zoologist. He said that even when attacking an enemy, a serpent is cautious. It
tries to make sure that its strike is going to be accurate and deadly. And so the
zoologist said that often they‟ll make several lunges toward the enemy, and yet
they fall short on purpose. And sometimes when they make their lunge, they don‟t
even open their mouth. Why? Because it‟s just practicing. It‟s being cautious. And
the same zoologist said that oftentimes, at this point, you can see the snake
sometimes carefully uncoiling itself, being ready for a hasty departure if the
enemy is too aggressive in return. The snake is being cautious. And remember,
Jesus was involved in the creation of the serpent, so he would have well-known
this cautious nature. And that‟s what he said his followers should try to include in
their personality —exercising caution— particularly when facing wolflike
opposition. Well, how did Jesus balance that characteristic by including the dove
in the illustration? Well, if we were all “serpent” and no “dove,” then much of the
warmth of sharing the good news would be lost, so Jesus included the dove. And
what‟s the natural characteristic of the dove? Well, a dove is so soft and gentle in
appearance; it has an appealing disposition. In fact, the dove is so gentle and
appealing that it has actually earned the description of being the sheep of the bird
world. So, what an appropriate way for Jehovah to describe this other aspect of
his followers! But what‟s the downside of being all lovey-dovey and no
serpent? Insight says: “Doves are quite trusting of humans and are rather easily
entrapped or snared with a net.” So Jesus added this to the equation: „Be cautious
as serpents.‟ So in this way, our gentle Christian personality will not be taken
advantage of. We will not easily be trapped or ensnared. We invite you to turn to
Mark chapter 12. Now, we know Jesus had dovelike qualities. He was gentle; he
was kind; he was compassionate. But was he „cautious as a serpent‟? Well, if you
look in Mark chapter 12 at the last sentence in verse 14: “Is it lawful to pay head
tax to Caesar or not?” Well, these proud Jewish religious Pharisees were trying to
trap Jesus and get him to say something against Roman nationalism. Well, the
direct answer to that question from an “innocent dove” would be, „Yes, it‟s proper
to pay taxes to Rome.‟ But that would have been a volatile response as far as the
Pharisees were concerned. So notice how Jesus used caution —„cautious as a
serpent.‟ In verses 15 to 17, the Pharisees asked: “„Should we pay, or should we
not pay?‟ “Detecting their hypocrisy, he said to them: “„Why do you put me to the
test? “Bring me a denarius to look at.‟ “They brought one, and he said to
them: “„Whose image and inscription is this?‟ “They said to him: „Caesar‟s.‟ “Jesus
then said: “„Pay back Caesar‟s things to Caesar, “but God‟s things to God.‟ And
they were amazed at him.” “They were amazed at him.” Now, if he had innocently
said, „Yes, pay the Romans the tax,‟ they would have been infuriated, not
amazed. Jesus diffused the situation by using caution. Well, what are some
situations we might face where it would be prudent to exercise caution? Well, one
is our conversations. We need to avoid either praising or criticizing the policy of a
political party or leader. Following Jesus‟ example and the comments of Romans
chapter 13, we are to be respectful of the superior authority even if it‟s dishonest,
corrupt, inept. And one brother (I won‟t say which country he‟s from, but he
recently told me) said, “The greatest challenge to my neutrality is not saying
something negative about the current government.” I think we understand. Well,
this is also true when speaking to refugees. Many countries have thousands of
refugees pouring into their land because of opposition from some regime or ethnic
attacks. And these ones likely are seething in pain, and they want to talk
about—besmirch—the regime that has pushed them out of the country. So how
can we share the good news „like a dove‟ and yet be “cautious as serpents”? Well,
we need to be patient „like a dove.‟ Listen to the refugee, and they will likely tell
some of their horrors. But now we need to be „cautious as a serpent‟ by avoiding
getting involved in a discussion of the political elements involved. Instead, follow
the directions of the branch office, and share the good news in such a way so as
not to put yourself or others at risk. And when talking to refugees, it‟s good to
exercise caution when it comes to our clothing, jewelry, and our grooming so that
we‟re not offensive to their culture. For example, in Myanmar, if a woman‟s
clothing reveals, or exposes, her shoulder, that‟s viewed as quite offensive. So
when we‟re talking to refugees, we need to be mindful of customs like that. Well,
how about the media? Is there a need to be “cautious as serpents”? Well, you
know, in some lands they have State-controlled news reports that are blatantly
slanted, and sometimes Jehovah‟s Witnesses are slandered or ridiculous charges
are trumped up against them. A “dove” could be ensnared by these reports and
start to tremble. But because of this counsel from Jesus to also be “cautious as
serpents,” we‟re not easily duped. And how about even in a “free” country? What
about the news media in a “free” country? Christians need to be careful not to
adopt the bias of a particular news commentator. Instead of getting involved in the
political leanings of that news broadcast, we should remember the words of Paul
at 2 Timothy 1:13. At 2 Timothy 1:13, he said: “Keep holding to the standard of
wholesome words . . . “with the faith and love that result from union with Christ
Jesus.” So in harmony with our text today, if we‟re in “union with Christ
Jesus,” then we need to prove ourselves “cautious as serpents” but “innocent as
doves.”

Kenneth Flodin: Neutral in the Ministry (Matt. 10:16)