Sheep among Wolves

Some rough, unedited thoughts on the relationship between persecution and movements. The passage is (Matthew 9:35–10:42. The occasion is Jesus sending out the twelve.

'When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.’

Matthew 9:36

A missionary movement from the heart of God.

The context for this lesson on persecution is Jesus’ mission and the part his disciples are to play in it.

Jesus has been going throughout Galilee, teaching, proclaiming, healing. As he goes, news spreads and large crowds come from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and across the Jordan (Matt 4:23–25).

Jesus intends to go to every town and village in Israel, teaching, healing, casting out demons, forgiving sins and calling disciples to follow him and promising to teach them to fish for others.

Jesus is motivated by a “gut-wrenching compassion for harassed and helpless sheep. ‘Harassed and helpless’ means they are mangled and thrown down. That God’s people are sheep without a shepherd is a recurring Old Testament theme. Israel’s shepherds failed in the days of the prophets. Like wild beasts, they devoured the sheep. So God is rescuing his people in the person of Jesus.

In whose name? By what authority?

Arising out of his compassion, Jesus launches a missionary movement.

He begins by instructing the twelve about their immediate mission (Matt 10: 5–16). Then Jesus widens the instructions to apply to the mission of his disciples that unfolds in Acts (Matt 10:17–22).

Until now Jesus has been pursuing his mission while his disciples watched on. Now he reminds them that when he called them, they were to follow him and he would teach them to fish for others (Matt 4:9). These disciples were among the first recipients of his ministry. Now they are to become its agents. Freely they received, now freely they will give.

Jesus sees a plentiful harvest. As the master in charge of hiring and firing workers, he urges the disciples to pray for laborers, then pushes them out into the harvest as the answer to their own prayers.

They are to start with the house of Israel, but Jesus envisions a wider mission to the whole world (Matt 24:14; 26:13; 28:19–20). These twelve ordinary men represent the twelve tribes, the new Israel. They don’t know it yet, but this is a movement that is going to the ends of the earth.

The rules of engagement

Jesus commands his disciples to go to Israel, preach the kingdom, call everyone to repent, perform miracles, give themselves freely, face persecution, move from town to town, face arrest, trial, flogging and violence. They have seen Jesus do everything he now asks them to do and he promises his presence as they go.

They go out with the same authority that Jesus has received from the Father. Their message is the same as that of John the Baptist and Jesus, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. (Matt 3:2; 4:17; 10:7).

They must travel light, keep moving and expect God to provide food and shelter through those who welcome them and their message.

The offer of peace (shalom) is more than a traditional greeting; it is the offer of salvation, the offer of a restored relationship with God and others. Jesus makes this offer through his messengers. To receive them is to receive God’s salvation.

To reject them is to reject Jesus and remain under God’s judgment. In the face of rejection, the disciples are to leave and shake the dust from their feet.

When a Jew returned from Gentile territories, they would shake the dust off their feet and clothing. In shaking off the dust, Jesus’ disciples were declaring that a household or town that rejected his representatives was unclean and unworthy of the gospel of the kingdom. In the final judgment, it will be worse for those who reject Jesus’ messengers than for Sodom and Gomorrah.

Jesus impresses urgency upon them. Time is running out. When rejected, they are to flee to the next town. As in Acts, persecution ensures the Word always keeps advancing.

The dividing presence of Jesus.

One’s eternal destiny depends on a relationship with Jesus through the messengers he sends. To reject his disciples is to reject Jesus. To reject Jesus is to reject God and remain under his wrath.

Jesus launches a movement and sets it on a collision course with the world. His presence leads to persecution. His disciples bring the presence and message of Christ; therefore, they will be persecuted.

The world hates them because they come in his name. Jesus tells them that persecution arises ‘because of me’ (Matt 10:18).

The union between Christ and God is extended to us, and we go out not just with Christ’s authority but with Christ in us.

We may think that the presence of Jesus will bring peace and prosperity, yet Jesus insisted that his mission will lead to dishonor and division.

Jesus the Good Shepherd is sending his sheep into a pack of wolves. They’ll be handed over to local Jewish councils and flogged. As the post-resurrection mission extends, so will the opposition. They will be brought before Gentile governors and kings.

In the face of hostility, they are to bear witness to Jesus before the authorities. They need not worry what to say; the Holy Spirit will speak through them.

Jesus’ predictions of persecution will be fulfilled in the church’s mission. In Acts, every crisis becomes an opportunity for the gospel to go out, for the strengthening of the disciples, and for planting new churches.

Jesus’ coming does not bring peace, but a sword that divides families. Jesus doesn’t say ‘if’ but ‘when’ you are persecuted. If you spread the gospel, you will be opposed by both family and authorities. Family members may hand you over to your death. This is your opportunity to bear witness to Jesus.

Count the cost. Know the Father’s love.

Disciples must take up their cross and follow Jesus. Lose your life for his sake and you will find it. If they will acknowledge him before others, Jesus will acknowledge them before his Father. But to consistently deny Christ is to be disowned by Christ.

Peter denied his Lord, but later repented and was restored. But God will judge anyone, like Judas, who remained on a settled course of betrayal.

They must remain faithful by fearing God more than they fear their opponents. They must know how much their Father in heaven loves them.

Sparrows were the cheapest food available to the poor. If God cares for sparrows, how much more does he care for them? He knows and is concerned for every detail of their lives.

The instructions Jesus gave before the mission of the twelve are not just for them. Their witness is the foundation of a movement. All disciples receive the risen Lord’s authority. ‘All believers are included in the discourse, because all of God’s people are meant to be part of his mission.’ They are the ‘righteous’ and his ‘little ones’ (Matt ??).

Conclusion

When Jesus rose from the dead he found his disciples huddled together behind locked doors, afraid. They were victims of persecution. They were a downtrodden religious minority. The resurrection changed all that.

Jesus forgave and restored them. Over forty days, he took them on a journey through the whole of the Scriptures, explaining why the Messiah had to die and rise again. He reminded them of the core missionary task — they must take the gospel of repentance for the forgiveness of sins to the ends of the earth, multiplying disciples and churches as they go. Finally, he promised the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit.

Their enemies were just as fierce and powerful as before. God had not removed them; instead, the disciples had changed. The presence of the risen Lord transformed them from victims to a missionary movement.