1. What does it mean to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves"?

2. What is kinds of obstacles does Jesus expect his disciples to face, both now and in the future?

3. Why will Christ cause betrayal in the family unit?

4. What is our hope despite obstacles and opposition?

5. What exactly is Christ demanding of us in vv. 37-39?

Hey everyone, welcome to sesion 17. We are finishing up chapter 10 this session. Please make sure you are actively engaging in fellowship along with this study. 

1. What does it mean to be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves"?

   • We must not be naive, but we also must not be be harsh. We must remember love, but also should be careful not to be taken advantage of.

2. What is kinds of obstacles does Jesus expect his disciples to face, both now and in the future?

   • He expects insults, slander, and outright persecution. He expects martyrdom in the longrun, which is what we see in acts and beyond.

3. Why will Christ cause betrayal in the family unit?

   • Because our primary loyalty will not be to Christ, not our family. And as a result it will inevitably cause conflict and resentment.

4. What is our hope despite obstacles and opposition?

   • Our hope is the reconcilliation with God, the eternal life we recieve through Christ. Despite potential threats we may face, no one can take away what Christ has given us.

5. What exactly is Christ demanding of us in vv. 37-39?

   • He is demanding utmost loyalty to Him alone. We must love Him more than our family, more than our nation, more than our very selves. 

Hello everyone, welcome to session 17. This session we are finishing up Jesus’ commands to the 12 as He sends them out to preach the gospel. If you remember from last session Jesus has told His disciples to go forth and rely on the hospitality of others, but He also mentioned how they will be rejected by some cities, something that He focuses on in this session. 

Jesus says that He is sending then out as sheep amidst wolves and that they will be handed over to courts (likely the disciplinary committee of a synagogue) (France, 186) and flogged. It is important to note that wolves they will be in the midst of is not Rome. Jesus is not talking about the foreign oppressor the Jews undoubtedly hated, but these wolves are their own kinsmen, it's fellow Jews! This is a running trend that we see throughout acts and further. In Acts we see Jews, not gentiles, acting as the main opposition of the church, and furthermore we even see it in the opening of Revelation (specifically chapters 2-3) where Jesus calls them the “Synagogue of Satan” who lie about being Jews. 

In the midst of this coming persecution the disciples are called to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. They, and by extension we, are not to be naive but are to be wise and shrewd. Yet with that shrewdness we must also be innocent, we must maintain love for one another and remain ethical while trying to navigate a world that has every intention of silencing us. Let us not forget that the early church, and still many churches globally, have to remain primarily secretive to avoid government intervention. 

Jesus continues on describing what will happen beyond being disciplined in the synagogues, but these Jews will drag the disciples before the gentile rulers, and it will be a testimony unto these Gentiles and in that hour the Holy Spirit will speak through them to these Gentile rulers. This is not something that the disciples will face on this instance of evangelism, but we do see it over and over again in Acts, which is to say Jesus' instructions here aren't just for the immediate ministry, but are for what the disciples will face going forward.

Next Jesus starts getting to a bit at verse 20 that I will combine with the later verses of 35-36. Following Jesus will inevitably create divisions within the family unit. Jesus demands outright loyalty to Him above all else, and that means that for many families some will follow Christ and others will not, and those who do not will feel betrayed because the follower's first commitment is no longer to their spouse, child, or parent, but rather to our Lord. In this there is a very heavy warning that people, even your own family, will hate you for following Christ. Not only will your kinsmen reject and discipline you, but they will even bring you before the oppressive government they themselves hate because they hate you even more. But not only will your kinsmen reject you, but even your own family will reject you because of Christ.

Now verse 23 is a challenging one. The first part is clear, if you are persecuted, then move on to another city who might receive the message instead of just banging your head against a brick wall. But Jesus continues to say that they will not finish reaching all of Israel until He, the son of man, returns. The question is in what way is Jesus returning. Let us not forget that He is omniscient and is fully aware at this point of the cross as well as the second coming we are still awaiting. Some have suggested He may mean the second coming, one that I would dismiss out of hand because I would find it very hard to believe they haven't finished their mission to only Israel in 2,000 years. What may be meant here is the crucifixion and resurrection, primarily because Daniel 7:13-14 is where we get the Son of Man title and in which the Son of Man is featured as going before the ancient of days (the Father) and receiving authority over all the nations. (France, 189) 

Jesus in some way offers comfort to his disciples in verses 24-25. He says that the opponents of the gospel will treat them just as they are to treat Him. They do not know it yet, but they will witness Jesus be arrested and crucified, and as Jesus says here, the disciples are not above their teacher. So when they curse and accuse Jesus, calling Him Beelzebul (likely a rendition of Ba'al-zebub from 2 Kings 1:2; France, 189), the disciples should likewise expect to be rejected, accused, and cursed just as Jesus was.

Jesus gives some further comment on this suggesting that they need not fear their persecutors, for all they can do is destroy their body, but what we are promised through Christ is life eternal. They can't touch that prize in the slightest, and so we still can have hope in His promises. Beyond that as well we must also know just how valuable we are to God, that we are much greater than sparrows (one of the if not the cheapest birds you could buy for food; France, 190). That being said, we truly find our hope in the eternal life promised to us. Those of us that stand firm amidst persecution, who remain loyal to Christ even when it means discrimination, abuse, and even death, these faithful men and women Christ will recognize before the Father in the final judgement. 

Then in verse 34 we see Christ mention that He came not to bring peace but a sword. He brings with Him peace with God, but by nature of our radical grace it brings with it divisions among men. We will be hated because of what we have received through Him. This is what it means to take up our cross and follow Him, that we would be willing to suffer for the sake of Christ, and remain absolutely loyal to Him above all else, even our very selves. It is as Christ says in verse 39, that those who seek their life will lose it, but those who willing to let go of even their loyalty to themselves will receive eternal life.

 Thus we come to the small conclusion Christ offers. Let us not forget that Christ is sending out the 12 here and giving them instructions. So he sends them out by saying that anyone who receives His disciples receives Him, and those who receive them (remember they are to rely on the hospitality of others) will be rewarded, which has a decent biblical precedence. Like when Elijah goes and stays with a widow during a famine and asks her to make him some bread with the last of her flour and oil. Then as she does so she goes through the entire famine without ever running out of flour and oil. Giving hospitality to a messenger of God often brings with it miraculous gifts, and the gifts that these disciples are bringing is healings, casting out demons, raising the dead, and the greatest of these is the eternal life and peace with God we receive through Christ.