Matthew 10:16-20 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
This dynamic scripture manifests the truth of Christianity. Those who have Jesus in their hearts are those who know God through the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit can reveal the God of creation AS HE IS TO MEN. We who are alive eternally are reborn because of the work of Jesus Christ in us, cleansing our temples by his blood. In those temples dwells the Holy Spirit. Jesus points to that reality by saying, But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. This scripture reveals clearly why Jesus told the disciples not to move from Jerusalem, until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5) The followers of Jesus would need the Spirit of God in them to battle the spirit of the world. They would be sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. They would need the wisdom of God when dealing with the godlessness of mankind. They would need the protection of the Holy Spirit to preserve their testimony of God’s goodness and love to all people. If they resorted to their own fleshly armament, using man’s knowledge and wisdom to combat their adversaries, they would despoil their mission of showing God’s love to the world. In dealing with the hatred directed toward them—men’s willingness to persecute and put them to death, they needed to approach men as doves, innocent and harmless yet with the power of the Holy Spirit. They were not to be ignorant of man’s intentions for them, for men intended to rid the followers of Christ from their communities. The devil despises God’s children, his holy servants with their holy mission. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. The world hates the Christ who saves; they hate that God created the world and everything in it; they hate that God demands allegiance, fidelity from his creation. Acknowledgement of a God interferes radically with their self-absorbed tendencies to control their own lives and destinies as they desire. Man wants to be God, dictate his own terms for living. Of course in spiritual terms, this aspect of mankind is called the flesh or the sinful nature, which rebels against God. Jesus emphasizes the need to follow the Spirit’s guidance in all situations. Before magistrates, governors and kings, the disciples were to rely on the Spirit inside of them to speak. They were not to prepare a defense of their situation beforehand. Instead, they should wait upon God, asking him through his Holy Spirit to intervene on their behalf when they were before the authorities of the land. If they relied on the Spirit’s defense of them, they would be valid witnesses for the sake of Christ. They would be living testimonies of the work of Jesus Christ in the lives of his followers. But on the other hand, if they prepared what they should say beforehand, they would carry their own ideas, words and schemes into the courtroom to extract themselves from their difficult and dangerous situations. But Jesus asks them to allow the Spirit to speak for them, putting themselves in a place of faith, believing God is actually IN THEM to determine their destiny.
We see Stephen and Jesus at the end of their lives following Christ’s words, speaking through the unction of the Holy Spirit. Their lives were not spared, but they were proclaiming the reality of God. When Jesus was instructing his disciples about the evils of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, He told them not to fear death, but to fear God above everything else. “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell.” (Luke 12:4-5) The religious leaders wanted to get rid of Jesus and his disciples. They wanted to stamp out this apostasy to the Jewish religion, so they were looking for opportunities to arrest Jesus, to hand him over to the Romans to be killed. Of course, the disciples were also in this precarious situation. After Jesus, then who was next? Of course, they knew the answer to that question. They would be the next to be killed. Jesus told them not worry about their demise, for God would be with them and they would have eternity with God as their inheritance. Yet, that possibility was scary to them. Jesus tried to ease their minds my telling them God would be their protector and that He would not abandon them, for He is the omniscient God who keeps an up-to-date inventory of all that exist, even to every sparrow that falls and every hair released from its follicle. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Luke 12:5-7) Jesus was reminding them of the enormity of God, his immense power and omnipresence. God is far greater than the imagination of men. The disciples were worth much more to God than they could even imagine. So they should not fear death, but fear God who is able to take a lost soul and throw him or her into an eternal hell. Consequently, why should they fear the Pharisees and teachers of the law who hated them? Even in this life, God would direct them to combat the lies of their adversaries with his Spirit. When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say. (Luke 12:11-12) The Spirit of God would be with them because they were God’s children, and they were of much more worth to him than a flock of sparrows or anything else in God’s domain. God’s love is forever, just as He said to Jeremiah, I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3)
When we do not give the Spirit the rightful place in our lives, we lack a full understanding of who we are in God. The Spirit is powerful, and He is ready to help us in all situations. Sometimes we limit the Spirit to a mere feeling of inspiration and passion. While the Holy Spirit does inspire and give us passion, the Spirit is much more than a temporary incitement of our spirits. He is a steady companion regardless of our feelings or emotions. In the Old Testament, the Children of Israel were not to be motivated by inspiration, but to persevere in their will to serve God. Many times their emotions and passions were stirred up to serve God. During these times they would cry out as one, WE WILL SERVE GOD. But soon after the emotions and passions subsided, their congregate will to serve God weakened, turning them away from God to serving themselves or other gods. They fled back to their fleshly desires, even committing sins that were worse than the unbelieving nations around them. Inspiration, passion, emotions can be good, but we do not evaluate the voice of God or the will of God based on visceral feelings. We know God because we hear him in our innermost beings. We listen to that still, small voice and then act by faith. All of this action is within the parameters of the word. We are to follow the teachings of Christ, not when we feel emotional or inspired by them, but just because they are his teachings, and He always did the will of the Father. As we read in the Bible, I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. (John 5:30 NKJV) Therefore, when Jesus tells us to love others even though they do not reciprocate, we love others. If you do good to others only because they do good to you, you are not following the Spirit’s will. YOU ARE NOT HEARING HIS VOICE. If you will lend only to people who can repay you, you are not hearing the voice of God clearly. Jesus says, you will not receive any credit in heaven if you loan only to those who are able to pay you back, for even sinners do that. Jesus says, your reward in heaven will be very great if you are kind to the unthankful and the wicked. None of his teaching is easy for the flesh. Our human nature does not want to hear such things; neither in our selfishness do we want to obey such commandments. But if we want to hear God when we are in trouble or as the disciples when we are brought before the magistrates and the rulers of this world, we must first hear the Spirit in following Jesus’ teachings. The word of God is important; the presence of the Spirit is essential. Both separate us from the nature of man and his obsession with himself. We are to be as innocent as doves, but wise in knowing God and his intentions for us. Breakfast companions who follow the voice of the Spirit, love others as you would want to be loved, be the light God has made you to be. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)
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