Sheep vs. Wolves
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
In the NFL we have the Lions, the Bengals, the Bears, and the Rams - but not the Gerbils or the Sheep. Something muscular, feisty, and intimidating comes to mind with the first four. They give you pause - command a certain respect. But an NFL team named the Gerbils or the Sheep would only invite scorn and laughter. It just doesn’t fit, right? Although, admittedly, the Chicago Sheep is sounding more and more fitting the further we get from 1985. Da Sheep!
People in Jesus’ day weren’t into professional football but they had an aggressive side. Imposing their will like a lion or tiger on weaker ones came as naturally as it does to us. They knew the difference between being dominated and dominating, as the Romans made all too clear. So imagine the look on the faces of Christ’s disciples when he sends them out to share the gospel for the first time with this charge: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.”
Normally, when a leader gives encouragement, like a coach before a game or a boss before a sales force, they’ll be inspirational. “Win one for the gipper!” “Let’s go.” With Jesus it’s a different kind of talk. After doing some amazing miracles Jesus tells them, “I want you to go proclaim the message of sins forgiven in me. Preach, heal, and drive out demons. Then he summarizes his general strategy. “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.”
“Really, Jesus? This is the plan?!” By the way, what generally happens to a sheep when it just ambles over to a pack of bloodlust wolves? It’s not good news for the sheep, friends. And Jesus goes on to say, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body…” (Matthew 10:28). In other words, what’s the worst thing they can do to you? Kill you. Don’t worry about that. That’s not a problem. This seems like a strange way to encourage outreach, doesn’t it?
Let’s make this personal. How can you gain missional velocity from these words of Christ? After all, as a Christ-follower you are part of this movement to lead others into a transformational relationship with Jesus. Christ has commissioned you, yes you, with the gospel to move people from darkness to light that they flourish and live forever saved by faith in Jesus upon death. It’s sheep vs. wolves and you’re a sheep. How might you be a bold one?
A. FIND THE DIFFERENCE IN “I AM SENDING YOU.” The secret of faithful witnessing is not found in the extraordinary abilities of those who are sent, but rather in the sovereign authority in the one who sends. Without his sending the twelve would have never set out. And without the assurance, “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39), the sheep would have never taken the field.
But they did. And they even believed that when arrested the one sending would give them the words to speak “for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:20). And so what was the final score when they returned? Sheep 12 Wolves 0. When is the last time you were so captivated by the sovereign might and mercy of the one who sent you that you just had to “baah” a bit about the gospel as a sheep before a wolf?
B. THINK ALERT VULNERABILITY. Sheep not only are defenseless but they are famously stupid. Lassie, Flipper, and Trigger were all famous smart animals. Quick, name a famous smart sheep. Shari Lewis’s Lamb Chop, maybe, but even that was a puppet. No, sheep are very slow upstairs. You will look this way when you walk toward wolves to witness. But Jesus can’t mean we are to be dumb in our efforts to represent him because he follows the “go be sheep” charge by saying, “Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
Snakes are shrewd. When you uncover them they are usually quick to hide. Serpents are full time censor machines. They also carefully calculate any strike. So vulnerability not stupidity is the point of Jesus calling us sheep. Be like snakes, when it comes to witnessing not like dumb sheep. Go among wolves and be vulnerable like sheep as you share the gospel, but when they lunge at you, step aside. When they open their mouths, don’t jump in. And not only that, be as innocent as doves. That is, don’t give them any legitimate reason to accuse you of injustice or immorality. Keep clean. But risk your lives as vulnerable, sheep-like, shrewdly alert witnesses.
Before going to Europe on business, a man drove his Rolls-Royce to a downtown New York City bank and went in to ask for an immediate loan of $5,000. The loan officer, taken aback, requested collateral. The man replied, “Well then, here are the keys to my Rolls-Royce.”
The loan officer promptly had the car driven into the bank’s underground parking for safe-keeping and gave him $5,000.
Two weeks later, the man walked through the bank’s doors and asked to settle up his loan and get his car back. “That will be $5,000 in principal, and $15.40 in interest,” the loan officer said. The man wrote out a check, got up, and started to walk away. “Wait sir,” the loan officer said. “While you were gone, I found out you’re a millionaire. Why in the world would you need to borrow $5,000?” The man smiled. “Where else could I safely park my Rolls-Royce in Manhattan for two weeks and only pay $15.40?”
Vulnerable. Shrewd. Innocent. Many a person saves or makes money with these. Christ’s charge to his sheep? Use these to make disciples - among wolves. Jesus see to this in your life and mine.