Shrewd as Snakes & Innocent as Doves?
Matthew 10:11-16
January 22, 2006
Introduction
How many people here are "snake" people? I mean, you like snakes, you can hold them, and you’re not freaked out by them?
My dad’s great with snakes - even rattlesnakes. When I was about Noble’s age, my dad was the Scoutmaster of my Boy Scout troop in Eagle Butte.
For some reason, we got connected with a troop from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and they decided to come out to the reservation and experience life camping on the rez.
During the few days we were out there, the guy who owned the ranch brought out some horses for people to ride. And during one of the rides, one of the Scouts spotted a rattlesnake.
So all of a sudden, about 30 Boy Scouts armed with big sticks, shovels, and axes were on the hunt.
My dad led the way, and wouldn’t you know, he found it. So he’s digging away in the ground to get this bugger, because he wants to make sure it doesn’t make it to camp.
As soon as the snake is out of the ground, my dad grabs a forked stick and pins it to the ground, just like a professional snake wrangler.
He then grabs the snake, and starts walking to the river bank, with all of us in awe, but especially these rich boys from the east.
For a while, my dad was the man as far as we were concerned.
Anyway, we get to the river bank and Dad throws this snake on the ground and starts talking about how to recognize rattlesnakes.
He’s poking it with a stick to keep it away from us, and all the while saying, "Don’t poke them with sticks like this..."
Well then that snake had had enough and started slithering away. Toward the women. About 9,000 shovels and sticks rained down on that snake and it was dead in a matter of seconds.
We found a couple more that day, and ate them that night. And yes, they do taste like chicken.
I’m okay with snakes, for the most part. I don’t go looking for them, but they generally don’t cause me to panic like spiders do...
But let me ask you something: When you think of snakes do you think of much along the lines of positive attributes?
Here’s what I mean by that: when we say someone’s a snake, is that a compliment? Nope. It’s an insult, right?
But believe it or not, snakes have some redeeming qualities, and I’m not just talking about the fact that they’re all warm and cuddly, offering unconditional love like puppies do.
Well, we’re continuing to work through the gospel of Matthew, and we’re in the middle of a section where Jesus is sending out the Twelve apostles, for a bit of on-the-job training as missionaries.
He’s giving them a bunch of instructions as they get ready to experience for themselves the ministry of taking the good news of Jesus to others.
In the first few verses of this chapter, he basically told them what to take and who to go to, and now he talks about how to go, and discusses how they should interact with the people they’ll be encountering.
Matthew 10:11-16 (p. 688)-
"Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15 I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."
There are some lessons we can learn from Jesus here, and that’s what I want to focus on this morning.
Three lessons that if we could all get a handle on, would help you as individuals, and this church as a whole become more effective to the calling Jesus has given all of us to be ambassadors for him.
So here we go with these three lessons, and here’s the first one:
"Some will accept the message and some won’t."
That’s your basic summary of verses 11-15.
News flash: not everyone wants to hear about Jesus!
There is any number of reasons for that. Some don’t believe they need a Savior, because they don’t think they’ve been "bad enough" to go to hell, or else they’ve been "good enough" to get to heaven.
Some have been burned by so-called "Christians" and they don’t want anything to do with Jesus or those who represent him.
It could be that they are "religious" and they think that’s the ticket, rather than actually placing your personal faith in Christ.
Or maybe they’re Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, or whatever, and their confidence is in that, so they aren’t interested in Jesus.
But whatever the reason, the fact of the matter is that today, just like in Jesus’ days on earth, some won’t want him.
So what’s the answer? Work with those who want Him, and don’t work with those who don’t.
It’s really pretty simple.
And we also need to keep in mind the fact that for those who don’t want Jesus, God’s judgment is waiting for them.
Back to verse 15 -
I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? They were wiped off the map by God. And the people there still face a final judgment. But as terrible as that will be, it’ll be even worse for those people who reject Christ.
That’s not easy for me to say, folks, but I’d be calling Jesus a liar if I denied it, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to do that!
But let’s talk for a moment about those who do accept the good news of Jesus.
These are people who you can partner with to be even more effective in reaching an area for Christ.
These are people who not only believe the message, but support the workers. Jesus was telling them that as they took the message to different towns, that they were to stay in the houses of those who were open to the message.
You can imagine how the apostles must have felt when going into a town with a message that they knew would be rejected by some, and found a person who not only listened to the message, but gave them shelter and food during their mission.
But the point of verses 11-15 is that some will accept you and the message, and some will not. Those who do not will be judged by God.
So it’s in that context that we can look at the next words of Jesus:
"Therefore be as shrewd as snakes..."
At first glance it almost looks like Jesus is telling people to be "sneaky" or something like that. After all, isn’t that what "shrewd" means?
Here’s a definition from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
"...given to wily and artful ways or dealing."
This doesn’t mean "shrewd" as in "cunning," or deceitful.
In your note-taking guide, I’ve put down how a couple other translations put this verse, and I think it’ll help us see what Jesus was trying to communicate here:
"...be as wise as serpents..." (Phillips)
"Be as wary as snakes..." (NLT)
Jesus had just talked about how some people would respond the good news of the kingdom of God in Jesus: some would accept it, some would reject it.
So they needed to be careful about how they interacted with people as they went out. They needed to have their eyes open regarding how to impact these people for Jesus. And we need to do the same.
Let me give you three tools for the successful transmission of the good news, in any culture, setting, or time:
* Caution.
This simply means avoiding recklessness.
Our zeal and excitement for Jesus needs to be tempered by caution.
Sometimes our excitement can get us into trouble. In our desire to win people for Christ, we can say and do things that can alienate people rather than draw them closer to Jesus.
Or it may cause us to take unnecessary chances in dangerous situations that, if done properly, wouldn’t be so dangerous and be much more effective.
Exercising caution saves a follower of Jesus unnecessary from hassles in bringing the message to other people.
Let me give you an example of recklessness.
A number of years ago, a business opened in Brookings. I won’t describe the business except to say that it was the kind of business that no follower of Jesus would ever have any reason to be in. It was an immoral business that snuck in through a loophole in the city laws.
Anyway, there were two guys in the church who wanted to do something about this place.
They loved Jesus and they loved people, and felt this place was dangerous, and they were right.
So they came up with a plan: they would stage a small parade down Main Street. In this parade, a hearse would drive down the street, and if I remember right, the word "Brookings" would be on the sides of the hearse, denoting the idea that this business, if allowed to remain, would be the death of the town.
As the hearse stopped in front of this particular business, one of the guys would preach a message, presumably about the judgment of those involved with this business.
I’m listening to these guys tell this to Pastor Tim, and my jaw was hitting the floor. Thankfully, Pastor Tim had the wisdom to ask them some questions to help them think through this a bit, and they abandoned the idea.
Now as I mentioned, these guys loved Jesus and the loved people. They were acting out of that love and zeal for Christ. I admired them for that, and I still do.
But their action was not a cautious one. It would have brought ridicule on not only them, but the cause of Christ.
And Jesus tells us we’ll get enough of that just living for him and telling others about him in everyday settings without going out and inviting it.
But let me tell you something else: if it had been ten years earlier, I would have been right there with them. I would have volunteered to drive the hearse - or ride on the hood.
Thank you, Jesus, for helping me mature a bit and gain some wisdom.
Here’s the second tool we need to help us become shrewd as snakes -
* Wisdom.
There are a number of definitions for wisdom, but the basic one is this:
Using the right information in the right way.
This means gathering information that helps you learn about the person or persons you’re trying to influence for Christ.
And then approaching that person or person in a way that you know will gain a hearing.
Go back to the example of those two guys for a moment. They had the right information - the business was immoral, and God was not pleased.
But they weren’t wise in how they were going to use that information.
Another part of this is understanding that you can’t approach everyone the same way with the good news of Jesus. You have to be able to communicate it in different ways to different people with different mindsets.
And that brings me to the third tool we can use in being as shrewd as snakes, and that is...
* Tact.
Telling the right information in the right way.
You might have all the right info about Jesus, but if you can’t communicate it in a way that communicates sensitivity, you’ll push people away, making it that much harder for them to recognize the truth.
You know, when we get excited about something, we tend to talk about it a lot, and we’re convinced that everyone else should be as excited about as we are.
So we’re out talking about it, and before we know it, we find something out. We find out that not only are people not as excited as we are about it, but that we’ve kinda worn out our welcome about it.
When I was in college, I had a problem in this area (tact).
I was excited about Christ, just as I am now. And I thought everyone should be as excited as me about Jesus. That was dangerous enough, but my roommate, Mark, was just as zealous and excited as I was.
So we told as many people as we could. And one guy in particular stands out in my memory. His name was Paul (in fact, his name still is Paul...) and he lived in the room next to us in the dorm at SDSU.
We had decided that Paul was our next "target," and we weren’t going to be deterred from telling him about Jesus. So one night we were able to corner Paul and tell him about Jesus.
I don’t remember how long we were there, but finally he caved in and "prayed" with us.
Years later I began to wonder if Paul just repeated the words so Mark and I would get out of his room.
Paul is still in Brookings, and whenever I see him I pray that God would over-ride my tactlessness and bring him to Christ in spite of my pressure tactics.
I don’t think he holds it against me, because he drives a big ol’ UPS truck and he’s never tried to run me down with it, so I’m hopeful.
But there was a time that I was lacking all three of these tools. But God’s gracious, and I think he’s big enough to cover my mistakes, and even use them for his glory.
But let’s move on to the last part of that last sentence of Jesus in these verses, and that is that we’re to be...
"...and as innocent as doves."
I don’t think we need to spend a lot of time here, because I think this phrase pretty well speaks for itself.
The issue here is integrity.
In bringing the good news of Jesus, we need to do it ways that are legal, ethical, and respectful.
The world is no stranger to people who use the gospel for their own gain, and bringing scorn on the message of Jesus and his followers.
Paul saw this in his day, and he addressed it 2 Corinthians 2:17 -
Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.
Let no one be able to bring a charge against you in terms of doing anything shady or underhanded.
There is absolutely no reason, especially here in the U.S., for people to be shady or underhanded in bringing the gospel to people.
Last I heard, it’s still legal to be a Christian, and believe it or not, there are lots of people right here in the Aberdeen area that want to hear about Jesus.
They’d be glad to hear about him, and you don’t have to be sneaky about it.
Be as innocent as doves as you bring the good news of Jesus.
Conclusion
As we get ready to close the message, I want to read you something from the Life Application Concise New Testament Commentary -
"To be "wary as snakes" speaks of prudence or cleverness. To be "harmless as doves" is to be sincere and to have pure intentions. Jesus’ followers would need both to be prepared for the battles that lay ahead. They would need to be unafraid of conflict but also able to deal with it in integrity."-Life Application Concise New Testament Commentary
That’s a great summary.
I could have just read that and we’d have been done a long time ago, but I wanted to make sure you got your money’s worth for being here today!
But let me just finish by saying this: yes, it’s true that as we seek to tell others about the forgiveness of sins and the home in heaven available by putting your faith in Jesus, we will find all sorts of reactions that can range from excited acceptance to violent rejection.
It happened to the disciples, and it’ll happen to you. It even happened to Jesus himself.
But if you’ll take hold of the truth that with the help of God, and using these tools of caution, wisdom, and tact, we can go a long way to helping people find eternal life.
And folks, there’s nothing like seeing someone take that step of faith. Seeing someone being born into the family is a wonderful thing, and it makes all the other hassles worth it.
Ask God to give you the tools and the guts to use them, for the sake of others and the sake of the kingdom.
Let’s pray.
