Sheep Among Wolves

On Sunday, I led a study through Matthew Chapter 10. In Matthew 10, Jesus tells his disciples, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves..." What an interesting illustration that Jesus leaves us with here. The thought of sending out innocent defenseless sheep to go be among a pack of (I can only imagine) hungry wolves. What a dangerous place to be, but this is the life Jesus is calling his disciples to live. To his disciples, Jesus commanded them in the previous verses to go from town to town, preaching the good news, healing the sick, casting out demons, and ultimately they are called to extend the ministry of Jesus himself throughout the nation of Israel.

What then does this mean for those of us today who live our lives under the Lordship of Jesus Christ? For us then, we need to embrace the dangers that come with the life of a disciple. A disciple of Christ is not called to live a sheltered life that is hidden form any and all dangers. No the disciple is to live a life of an innocent sheep, who is blameless before all men, but is still in danger of being attacked by those whom they live in the middle of. Throughout Scripture the picture of a sheep would commonly be used to refer to the chosen ones of God as well as maintaining close parallels to the sacrifices found in the Old Testament.

If we focus on the latter reference we can note that a sacrifice that is meaningful to God is one that blameless. When a disciple lives in the company of wolves they must also be blameless (not perfect) in the eyes of their peers. So why then is it so dangerous? Jesus later in chapter 10 tells his disciples that the message they are preaching will be so polarizing that it will tear even families apart. But if we can live in such a way that we are being lights in a dark world, as Jesus says earlier in Matthew, maybe by some small chance we point a few towards the teachings of Jesus.