New Thoughts (7/31/06-8/3/06)
Sent as sheep amidst wolves; what a job description! We are sent out defenseless, devoid of any shepherd into the midst of destruction. There, in a nutshell, is the plight of every Christian who walks upon the earth today. For now, here in America, we don’t really suffer this as a physical reality. For us, it is more an intellectual and emotional matter. We are so battered and inundated by atheism, by the idolatry of those who pursue profit first, by the disease of the ‘my rights are more important than your rights’ mentality. We are bombarded by sex and the promotion of pursuing riches. Much of this, we must face with no support other than our own relationship with God. Though we may not face the death threats known to Christians in other regions, yet we have some understanding of the constant and imminent danger to our faith which is life in this world.
This is in no way intended to minimize what other members of the body are facing today. The martyrs who die daily for having their trust in Christ are rightly honored far beyond any honor we might have. Yet, there is a certain bravery required to confess Christ even in this ‘enlightened’ land. Yet, there is a certain risk to declaring one’s beliefs, even in this land of multiculturalism. We are not free of danger. The message that Jesus delivers to His Apostles in this passage is as relevant to us today as it was to them in their time, and just as certain. They will deliver you up.
It is well, understanding this, to consider what instruction He gives to the sheep that are thus sent out. In the face of these wolves, in the face of certain destruction, what are we to do? Do we simply bow our heads and await the axe? There is a time and a place for that, yes, but before that time, there is a time to testify. In the meantime, He gives us to understand the guiding principles that must define our mission. It is found in the balancing point between the serpent and the dove. Both of these creatures are masters of self-preservation. Isn’t that something. You are sent out as defenseless little sheep, but behave as you see these creatures behave. Yet, we are not to emulate other of these models completely. We are to combine what is good in both into a more effective whole. Were I to state it simply, it comes down to this. “Look after yourselves, knowing the danger, but don’t let self-preservation lead you to compromise. Stay pure.”
This could well be the only place we shall ever find God commending the way of the serpent. For all that, there is only this one thing that is commended. The serpent, in preserving his hide, is shrewd. He looks out for his own interests, and in pursuit of this self-preservation, he reins in his feelings. That is the key message to the Christian from this model. Don’t be run by your emotions. Neither fear nor ecstasy nor any emotional shade in between should govern your actions. Neither anger nor even compassion should drive you. This is not to suggest that we should be cold, emotionless stoics, caring nothing for self and less for others. It is a call to take every vain imagination captive, every thought put into obedience to Christ (2Co 10:5). Don’t run for fear. Don’t chase for love. Don’t allow men to work your emotional strings such that they have the control over your responses. Don’t swallow the advertising or the hype. Beware of men. They are not out to help you. Beware of those who proclaim support of Christ’s kingdom, but prove to have another agenda by their actions. Don’t listen to the deceiving words, judge the fruit.
This comes to us with a careful counter-balance. Remain as innocent, pure and undefiled as the dove. The dove is another creature that is inclined to flee any perception of danger. I need do no more than walk out the door of my house to witness this. Though our inclination is to feed them for the simple enjoyment of seeing them about, they will flee for cover at the first sign of us. They won’t wait around, generally, to see if the danger is real. They just get out.
I must acknowledge, in this, that just yesterday I saw a different behavior amongst the doves around our house. So far as I can recall, it is the first time that I have ever seen a dove take a stand. Here were two doves on the ground and another on the roof, and up comes a squirrel looking for leftovers below the bird-feeder. This is, of course, a favorite spot for the doves. Well, one of these doves, while not really attacking the squirrel made great display of himself should that squirrel begin to even think about approaching the other dove. Likewise, when that other dove seemed inclined to walk over to the squirrel this self-appointed guardian chased the dove away. As I watched, my first thought was that this was a matter of belligerence on the part of that one bird, that he had picked up some bad habits from the jays and starlings. However, in retrospect, it seems clear that he was playing the shepherd – keeping the more foolish of the birds from a potentially fatal error.
The only reason this behavior appeared so shockingly out of place was that the dove is such a symbol of peace. Even such selfless defense of another seems out of place to us when we are looking for peace. I wonder if this isn’t at least a part of the reason so many have difficulty dealing with some parts of the Bible. We are told that God is Peace, and then we read the record of Israel’s entry into the land of Promise. Where is this peaceful God in that warfare? Where is the love and peace in a God who sacrifices His own Son? Until we reach the understanding that even the peaceful dove will rise up in defense of its own, we will never understand that these actions on God’s part are not contradictory at all. There will doubtless remain those events in life which we cannot comprehend in light of His peace, and yet, as time provided perspective, I feel assured that the result of those events will be seen to have been in full concord with His loving-kindness, His goodness, and His peace.
The dove, then, is the symbol of peace. This symbolism is so fully ingrained in us that even to see a dove is to think of peace. Christian or not, we will tend to refer to those who seek peace during times of strife as doves. How does the dove maintain peace? Generally, by flying away from whatever harm seems to threaten. Where the serpent, in his craftiness might seek to be still and blend into his surroundings so as to avoid detection by harmful predators, the dove will simply fly off noisily.
Here, too, I had an example of the contrast between these two approaches recently. Coming down the walkway on my return from work, my foot was near to stepping on a garden snake that was lying still upon the path. Only when it determined a need to get out from under foot did I even see it. It chose to blend in, hoping to hide from any trouble, and only fled when it became clear that its trickery had failed. The dove under the tree beside that same pathway chose another method, flying into a farther tree as soon as it caught sight of me. Yet, in its flight, it was making such a noise that one could hardly help being aware of where it had flown off to. Perhaps it is this noisiness that has made the dove a symbol of foolishness as well as peace. In fleeing all danger, it maintains peace, but in the aimless, thoughtless way it chooses to flee it displays a certain foolishness.
In light of these things, there is a verse in Hosea which compares Ephraim to the dove in its less flattering sense. “Ephraim has become silly like a dove; senseless. He flits to Egypt, he flits to Assyria, but wherever he goes, I will yet spread my net over him and bring him down to chastise him” (Hos 7:11-12). Interestingly, I had seen these verse Sunday morning and then stood in times of worship at church a little later, hearing the words of a song talking about being captured by His grace. The two thoughts combined in such a strong way. Here are God’s own people, His favorites, settled in the very place in which He has determined to bless them, in a situation in which He has proclaimed Himself their God, their Sword and their Shield. What is the response when danger threatens? They fly off without thinking. They think to fly to Egypt, or to Assyria and find some security hiding in these strong powers. They turn to the world. Their eyes are so caught up in physical things that they have forgotten their spiritual truth. They would abandon their Peace in search of peace. They are like silly doves, fleeing something that is no real threat to them and, in the course of that flight, flying straight into what is a most dangerous threat to them.
Look, however, at the promise of the Lord in this. “I will spread my net over him. I will bring him down and chastise him.” Well, admittedly, that bit about chastisement isn’t terribly comforting, but understand the net. He will ensnare us in His net when we get off track. That net is the very grace by which He captivates us so. It is the grace of God, and only the grace of God, that keeps us centered in the place of His peace. It is only His grace that holds us back when we would cheerfully fly right into the hands of the enemy, thinking all the while that we would be protected there. The nets of His grace ensnare us, yet not to our destruction, but to our preservation. Yes, there may be chastisement awaiting us on the ground, and it is true that no chastisement is cause for joy, to our way of thinking, while it is happening. “Yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Heb 12:11). That chastisement is designed solely to restore our peace!
It is like the rude display of that dove, chasing his partner off, looking no different than the average jealous blue jay that chases every other bird from the food. Yet, all the while, he is but restoring the peace. He is keeping his partner from wandering aimlessly into danger. Does that partner appreciate being chased off from its meal? Not at all. Yet, had the dove a faculty for reflection, it would surely understand that the rudeness was not rudeness at all – only protection.
How often do we experience God’s chastising and His protection and recognize only rudeness? How often are we so busy being offended by His course corrections that we come close to walking away from Him? How often do we become angry with God for stopping us from going our own way, only to realize at a later date just how much He saved us from? How much have we been saved from that we shall never even suspect? We have to really get it in our soul that He truly does work all things for the good of His people. We have to get that so thoroughly ingrained in our understanding of our own lives that we can comprehend that even the danger Jesus proclaims for His servants fits within the rule. Even if we are called upon as martyrs for the kingdom, yet all things have worked for our good.
Look at those things Jesus tells His Apostles here. Most of us, were we to hear a similar statement would protest that we would never receive such a word. We would scold the speaker for declaring such negative things. This is not, by the way, anything founded upon God’s Truth. It is simply the product of the world’s philosophy. The power of positive thinking and positive speaking is a wonderful New Age product. God’s instructions, by way of contrast, is to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). Do we declare things as they are? Absolutely. Are things always as they appear? No. Yet, we are never, ever called to deny what is. We are never, ever called to think that saying something is so shall suffice to make it so. When Jesus said that His Apostles would be delivered up, scourged and put on trial for their faith, there was no sense in His Apostles saying that this would surely not be the case. There would be no use in Peter, or John, or any of the others declaring that they rejected this word, refused to receive such prophecies over their lives. Shall we really reject Truth, and think it matters?
Consider that later case, when Jesus prophesied very similar circumstances for Himself. If ever there was a negative confession it must be found in His declaration that He would be not only put on trial in Jerusalem, but killed at the hands of an occupying power. Well, the Apostles may not have rebuked Him for speaking such things about themselves, but this was too much! Peter rose up and said, for all intents and purposes, “I don’t receive that!” But, what was the Master’s response? “I rebuke you, Satan. Get behind me.” See, that refusing of the true prophecy was but an opposition to the real purpose of God.
We need to be careful. There are indeed confessions of the lips that have nothing to do with truth. We are forever proclaiming unbelief when we ought to be affirming faith. Let me tell you, though, that it is no sin to have doubts. The sin lies in hiding our doubts, in pretending to a faith and trust that isn’t really in us. This is the lie of faith, and we dare not allow it to take root in us. Faith must be true, and in Truth. Look to the patriarchs, to the giants of faith. You will not find a one who did not know his times of doubt. Their strength lay in confessing that doubt rather than hiding it away. They talked to God of their concerns and He answered them. That is why their faith was strong, because when faith was weak, they did not pretend a strength that was not their. They confessed their weakness and called upon God to bring His Word to restore belief.
So, when Jesus instructs His Apostles here, He does not sugar coat what is coming. You will be delivered up. You will be scourged in the synagogues. You will be put on trial before the Romans. Well, why would that last part be necessary? Looking at the power of the Sanhedrin under the occupation, we find that they could continue to take care of the vast majority of local jurisprudence as though nothing had changed. That was the Roman way. They could even pronounce a death sentence. The one thing they could not do without higher authorization was to inflict that death penalty. That was reserved to Roman justice. If, then, the Apostles were assured of coming before Roman authority, they would doubtless understand that Jesus was telling them flat out that they would be facing death for His sake. But, see the good purpose of God in all this. “In all this, you will be a testimony to Jew and Gentile alike.” It is all but an opportunity to proclaim the Good News of the kingdom. Every adversity is but an opportunity to spread hope.
We have only to turn to the book of Acts to see that what Jesus declared was true. They may not have seen the fulfillment on this first trip, but they would. The officials of state religion were not happy with the growth of this new sect. They were not happy to have their guilt flung in their face day after day as the name of Jesus, the one they had managed to finagle a death sentence for in contradiction of every rule of both God’s Law and Rome’s, was not only alive, but powerful, was not only a man wrongfully condemned, but the very Son of God put to death at their hands. Since they could not accept the Truth of this, could not face their own guilt, they would, they determined, silence the spokesmen of this sect. After all, if this were allowed to continue, what would become of them? They might lose their power and prestige. So, they took counsel, debating whether they should have these men put to death as well – whatever it would take to shut down this noise. But, Gamaliel counseled another way. Just flog them and command them to cease their preaching (Ac 5:40). This, they did, and thus were the words of Jesus shown true. You will be delivered to the Sanhedrin and scourged in their synagogues. And the rest would be found true in time, as well.
The fundamental point that Jesus makes is that ministry is not a comfortable profession. The herald of the kingdom is not safe, for he declares the king’s news in hostile territory. Thanks be to God that He does not send out His workers unaware. The warnings are given more clearly than anything else we hear from Him. You will face these things. The instructions are equally clear. You are not to allow this opposition to spoil the message. Do not repay evil with evil, but rather bless those who spitefully use you. Care little for your life if by giving it up willingly you might bring life to another. It is not a call to take on a suicide mission. It is a call to go forward eyes open, aware of the risks and the danger. Count the cost. If, having seen the reality of service, you are still of a mind to serve, then come serve.
It is unimaginable to me that any of these men heard the job description without some degree of trepidation. True, many of these men had faced similar risk in their prior employment. Those who worked the seas were hardly men who sought out their comfort zone and a safe way to provide. Those who would face the rejection of countrymen and their family to make a living collecting the Roman tax were certainly used to taking risks. These were not a squeamish lot. Yet, none of them had faced the sorts of persecution that Jesus was warning of. The taxman had faced rejection and isolation, but death threats? Not while Rome remained in charge. Fishermen had faced death by accidental cause, by acts of nature or failures of their own diligence. But, they had never known the threat of being flogged or worse for confessing that they fished for a living, that they sailed boats. No, this was something new, even for the brave at heart.
Countering this natural fear, though, was a supernatural confidence. That counterweight was faith, a faith not found in themselves but imparted to them, sent to them that they might believe. Neither was that faith a blind faith. It was a faith that had already seen sufficient evidence of the authority and power which was now being shared with them. They had seen Jesus in action, had witnessed what His authority could command, what His power could enforce. They were going into danger, but not empty handed by any stretch. Yet, this was no military excursion. It was not as warriors they were sent, but as heralds. Ambassadors do not, as a rule, fight. They speak. They declare the principles and positions of those they represent as best they can, and they can do so very well. They are trained persuaders.
What Jesus is commanding, then, is for His trained persuaders to go forth and persuade. While we are more inclined to think of the persuading power of words, Jesus is asking for the greater persuasion of actions. Actions speak louder than words, it has been said. Jesus is saying the same thing. Whatever may be the reaction to your words, He says, let your actions reflect the Truth of those words. However poorly you are treated, whatever injustices the law of the land allows to be done to you, stand firm in righteousness. Don’t react. Don’t let your emotions set your course. Don’t respond from your fear of what they might do, but rest in the confidence that flows from the authority and power that have been put in your hands. Don’t look to find your confidence in yourself, nor in seeking to compromise with those who would persecute you. Don’t flee like that foolish dove, seeking your security in worldly powers. Let the net of My grace ensnare you and keep you. Your confidence is found in My strength, that same strength I have authorized you to use for My purposes. So, stand firm. Battle the darkness with light. Battle the evil with good. Do not lash out in fear, but proclaim the kingdom. Offer repentance even as they offer death. That is the ministry of Christ.
