Matthew 10:16

I send you forth (ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω) Cognate to the word ἀπόστολος (apostle). The I is emphatic: "It is I that send you forth." Wise (φρόνιμοι) So A.V. and Rev. Denoting prudence with regard to their own safety. Wyc., wary. Harmless (ἀκέραιοι) Lit., unmixed, unadulterated. Used of wine without water, and of metal without alloy. Hence guileless. So Luther, without falsity. Compare Romans 16:19; Philippians 2:15. They were to imitate the serpent's wariness, but not his wiliness. "The presence of the wolves demands that ye be wary; the fact that ye are my apostles (compare "I send you") demands that ye be guileless" (Dr. Morison on Matthew).

16 . as sheep in the midst of wolves ] Clemens Rom., who quotes these words, adds to them: “Then Peter answered and said, If then the wolves rend the sheep? but Jesus said to Peter, Let not the sheep fear the wolves after death.” wise as serpents, and harmless as doves ] The qualities required for the safety of the unarmed traveller. Prudence and harmlessness are the defence of the weak. Wise = “prudent,” full of precaution, possessing such “practical wisdom” as Paul had when he claimed the rights of Roman citizenship at Philippi. The wisdom of a serpent is to escape notice. The expression in Romans 16:19 , which this passage recalls, is not quite parallel. St Paul is there speaking of the Christian character; our Lord is giving instructions for a special occasion. The word translated wise in Romans is not the same Greek word which is here rendered wise . 16–42 . The Church of the Future (1) The Apostolic character, 16. (2) Persecution, 17–25. (3) Consolation—the care of the Father, 26–31. (4) The reward, 32. (5) The Christian choice, 33–39. (6) The hosts of the Church, 40–42.

{6} Behold, I send you forth as {f} sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and {g} harmless as doves. (6) Christ shows how the ministers must behave themselves under the cross. (f) You will be in great danger. (g) You will not so much as take revenge for an injury: and by the mixing of these beast's natures together, he will not have our wisdom to be malicious, nor our simplicity mad, but a certain form of good nature which is composed exquisitely of both of them.

Matthew 10:16 . Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves — I now send you forth weak and defenceless among a wicked, cruel, and persecuting people. “Considering the nature of the tidings which the apostles were now sent out to publish, namely, that the kingdom of heaven was at hand — considering, also, the number and variety of the miraculous cures which they were to be enabled to perform in confirmation of their doctrine, together with the greatness of the benefits they were to confer upon the families who should entertain them kindly, it is reasonable to think that they were flattering themselves with the hopes of great honour and acceptance wherever they came. In the meantime, the event was by no means to answer their expectation. They were everywhere to be despised, persecuted, delivered up into the hands of public justice, and punished as evil doers. Our Lord, therefore, who thought fit to forewarn them of these things, made them large promises of the divine aid, and gave them directions with respect to their conduct in every circumstance.” — Macknight.

Be ye therefore wise as serpents — On the one hand, be so prudent as not to irritate the wicked, and those who shall oppose you, either by your behaviour or your doctrine, unnecessarily, and avoid all unnecessary dangers: and harmless as doves — On the other hand, let not your prudence degenerate into craft, lest it lead you to betray the truth, or to encourage or countenance men in their evil practices; maintain at all times a holy simplicity of soul; and to your prudence join a harmless and inoffensive behaviour, rendering yourselves remarkable for integrity amid the greatest temptations, and for meekness amid the greatest provocations.

Matthew 10:16-39 . Prophetic picture of future apostolic tribulations . An interpolation of our evangelist after his manner of grouping logia of kindred import. The greater part of the material is given in other connections in Mark, and especially in Luke. No feeling of delicacy should prevent even the preacher from taking this view, as it destroys all sense of the natural reality of the Galilean mission to suppose that this passage formed part of Christ’s instructions to the Twelve in connection therewith. Reading into the early event the thoughts and experiences of a later time was inevitable, but to get a true picture of the life of Jesus and His disciples, we must keep the two as distinct as possible. There may be a doubt as to Matthew 10:16 . It stands at the beginning of the instructions to the Seventy in Luke ( Luke 10:2 ), which, according to Weiss (Matth. Evang., p. 263), are really the instructions to the Twelve in their most original form. But it is hard to believe that Jesus took and expressed so pessimistic a view of the Galilean villagers to whom He was sending the Twelve, as is implied in the phrase, “sheep among wolves,” though He evidently did include occasional un-receptivity among the possible experiences of the mission. He may indeed have said something of the kind with an understood reference to the hostility of Pharisaic religionists, but as it stands unqualified, it seems to bear a colouring imported from a later period.

(16) I send you forth. —The nominative pronoun is emphatic, “It is I who send,” and that not so much as an assurance of protection, but, as the words that follow show, as reminding them of their responsibility as His delegates. As sheep in the midst of wolves.—Nothing can be more striking than the union of this clear foresight of conflict and suffering with the full assurance of victory and sovereignty. The position of the disciples would be as sheep surrounded by a flock of hungry and raging wolves, the wolf being here, as elsewhere in the New Testament, the symbol of the persecutor. Wise as serpents.—The idea of the serpent as symbolising wisdom, seems to have entered into the early parables of most Eastern nations. We find it in Egyptian temples, in the twined serpents of the rod of Æsculapius and of Hermes, in the serpent-worship of the Turanian races, in the history in Genesis 3 of the serpent that was “more subtle than any beast of the field.” For the most part it appears in Scripture as representing an evil wisdom to be fought with and overcome. Here we learn that even the serpent’s sinuous craft presents something which we may well learn to reproduce. When St. Paul “caught men with guile” (2Corinthians 12:16), becoming “all things to all men” (1Corinthians 9:22), he was acting in the spirit of his Master’s counsels.

Harmless as doves.—Better, simple, sincere—i.e., “guileless.” The Greek indicates more than simple harmlessness—a character in which there is no alloy of baser motives. Once again truth appears in the form of paradox. The disciples of Christ are to be at once supremely guileful and absolutely guileless. Our Lord’s reference to this symbolism gains a fresh significance when we remember that He had seen the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God descending “like a dove” upon Himself (Matthew 3:16). In and by that Spirit the two qualities that seem so contradictory are reconciled.

16. Behold, I send you forth—The "I" here is emphatic, holding up Himself as the Fountain of the Gospel ministry, as He is also the Great Burden of it. as sheep—defenseless. in the midst of wolves—ready to make a prey of you (Joh 10:12). To be left exposed, as sheep to wolves, would have been startling enough; but that the sheep should be sent among the wolves would sound strange indeed. No wonder this announcement begins with the exclamation, "Behold." be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves—Wonderful combination this! Alone, the wisdom of the serpent is mere cunning, and the harmlessness of the dove little better than weakness: but in combination, the wisdom of the serpent would save them from unnecessary exposure to danger; the harmlessness of the dove, from sinful expedients to escape it. In the apostolic age of Christianity, how harmoniously were these qualities displayed! Instead of the fanatical thirst for martyrdom, to which a later age gave birth, there was a manly combination of unflinching zeal and calm discretion, before which nothing was able to stand.

Matthew 10:16 . Ἰδοὺ , behold) Behold is frequently used for pointing out a thing which is present.— ἐγὼ , I ) your Lord. Do not hesitate. I give you a safe conduct.— πρόβατα , sheep ) unarmed.— ἐν μέσῳ , in the midst ) not into the midst, for you are already among wolves.— λὐκων , of wolves ) who will be unwilling that the lost sheep , mentioned in Matthew 10:6 , be brought back; cf. ch. Matthew 7:15 , concerning false prophets, although here the appellation “ wolves ” has a wider signification.— γίνεσθε , become ye ) In exhortations this word is frequently used rather than ἔστε , be ye . Go forth as such, and show yourselves to be so.— ὡς οἱ ὄφεις , as serpents ) The godly often appear to the ungodly as serpents, and thus vanquish the old serpent.— καὶ , and ) Thus David was at the same time prudent and simple towards Saul.[464]— ἀκέραιοι , without horn ) hoof, tooth, or sting; both actively and passively harmless. Many words of this kind have at the same time both an active and a passive signification; cf. Gnomon on Romans 16:19 . [464] It not seldom happens that one finds others, as it were, altogether the counterpart of one’s self. But it is of use to remember, that many are worse than yourself, and some perhaps better.—V. g.

Our Lord having hitherto instructed his twelve apostles as to the places whither they were to go, the work they had to do, and the methods he would have them observe, now comes to arm them against their difficulties, and the temptations they were like to meet with. I send you forth (saith he) as sheep in the midst of wolves. It is most probable that our Saviour speaks this with reference to what they were like to meet with when he should be taken from them, for we do not read of any great opposition which they at present met with. I send you, ( saith he), as sheep, which are feeble creatures in themselves, and without any natural armour to defend themselves, in the midst of wolves, which are rapacious creatures, and have a particular enmity to sheep: amongst enemies who will have as great an inclination from their malice to devour you, as wolves have from their nature to devour sheep. Be ye therefore wise as serpents. It is said of the serpent, Genesis 3:1 , that he was more subtle than any beast of the field. Naturalists observe, yet, a great natural sagacity in the serpent, which they note in several particulars. It is hard to say that Christ aimed at this or that particular thing wherein the sagacity of serpents appeareth; he only proposes the serpent as a pattern of subtlety, and commendeth prudence to them so far as it consisteth with innocency, for it followeth, harmless as doves.

Amongst the beasts of the field there is none more innocent than a sheep; amongst the birds of the air none more innocent than a dove; to both these our Lord compares his disciples. This text teacheth us: 1. That wisdom may dwell with prudence. 2. That all true prudence must be attended with innocency.