Daily Devotional For Sunday, October 19, 2025
Good morning and I hope you are going to go worship the Lord Jesus Christ with other Christians. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew and today we are in Matthew 10:16: “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves” (NLT).
If you know anything about the hierarchy in nature, wolves are predators and sheep are prey. Sheep are no match for wolves. This is why Jesus told His disciples to be shrewd as snakes. Some scholars think this was a local proverb in the first century such as our “birds of a feather flock together” or “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Snakes are predators as well and wait quietly to catch their prey, but snakes are also great at avoiding danger. Egypt’s animal symbol was a serpent. They were to be innocent as doves – meaning men of integrity, honesty and have pure motives.
New Testament scholar Bruce B. Barton writes this: “Shrewdness can become no more than cunning without the balance of innocence. However, innocence can become naïveté or even ignorant if not balanced with shrewdness” (Source: Bruce B. Barton, The Life Application Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 205).
Jesus wanted His disciples prepared for the battles, struggles, and challenges ahead. Jesus wanted His disciples not to fear conflict, but know how to handle it correctly – with integrity. Jesus knew the Gospel would be rejected as His disciples went out in pairs to share it. Jesus knew that at times, the religious leaders would be like ravenous wolves, ready to attack them. Their holy hope was to look to their Good Shepherd, Jesus for guidance, protection and even helping them walk through the “valley of the shadow of death if it came for them” for sharing the Gospel. The time had come for them to go out and experience first-hand what it meant to be His disciple. No longer would they just be observers or followers, but evangelists who would have to know how to evangelize when Jesus left them.
Have you ever been slandered, mocked or persecuted for your faith? Most of us have never really experienced this in terms of experiencing it from “ravenous wolves.” Jesus knew that when His disciples were opposed, they would need practical on-the-spot wisdom as to how to handle it. In some way, Jesus sent His disciples out to go through a spiritual obstacle course.
Pastor and author John MacArthur says this about verse 16: “In that paradoxical truth Jesus graphically pointed up the tensions between our vulnerability and our invincibility—between our weakness in ourselves and our strength in Him, between the power of hateful persecution and the power of loving submission, and between the worldly power of the flesh and the supernatural power of the Spirit” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 199).
Sheep are helpless and hapless. They are scared or startled by not only real predators, but anything. Their only defense is to run and they are not very good at that. In Jesus’ day everyone understood the risk and responsibility that shepherds had. Most of the time, the sheep were not their own, but another wealthier person. If a sheep was killed, the shepherd was required to bring back a piece of its torn flesh to prove it had been killed by a predator. If it had been stolen, sometimes that shepherd had to compensate with his wages to the owner.
Wolves are territorial and because sheep are so stupid, they will wander into wolf territory without realizing it. Shepherds knew most of the time where these territories were. It was their job to keep the sheep from wandering in those areas and to protect them if wolves came to where the sheep were. In the choice of animals Jesus chose, wolves and sheep, He revealed to His disciples how the world would reject them, hunt them down and eventually kill them. Since He would be killed, so would they.
Assignment: When was a time you were mocked, made fun of or put down, or rejected for your faith? How did you handle it? – with wisdom and integrity? How does it make you feel that you are a sheep going into wolf territory? If you get attacked, are you going to blame God or believe in Him? Will you panic or praise Him?
Scripture To Meditate On: Philippians 2:14-15, “Do everything without complaining and arguing, (15) so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I know that as a sheep in wolf territory, I will be attacked. Give me wisdom, integrity, honesty and pure motives. I do not want to run in fear, but stand in faith. Whatever spiritual obstacle course you lay before me, I will go through it with You. Please give me a chance to share the Gospel with a wolf and watch You turn him or her into a sheep. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly