July 14, 2013 – Pentecost 8
Matthew 10:16b SNAKES AND DOVES
Pastor Thomas Kneser
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
Anybody here have a pet snake? Why aren’t they as popular as cats or dogs? A lot of us
are probably pretty squeamish when it comes to snakes. They aren’t furry and cuddly like most
pets. I’ll admit that it’s been a long time since I held a snake. I don’t think I’d get many takers if
I had one here and invited you to come up and pet it. Why is that? Why do snakes give lots of
people the creeps? Last month on my canoe trip a snake slithered across our hiking path and
the big, strapping 18 year old boy in front of me freaked out, just at the sight of a small garter
snake.
Now, some of that anxiety about snakes probably comes from the Bible itself, from
Genesis 3. There the devil took on the form of a snake and is described as crafty, subtle and
cunning and he brought about the downfall of humanity into sin and death. We just have to
remember that that snake was possessed by Satan and thus it was acting differently from the
normal. Yes, they can be dangerous. There are snakes which have a poisonous, deadly bite.
And there are constrictor snakes which squeeze their prey to death. And that fear of snakes
has led moviemakers to spin horror stories about them, heightening people’s fears.
But in the words before us today, our Savior Jesus uses a characteristic of snakes to describe us as Christians. Listen to what he says in Matthew 10, the second part of verse 16, BE
AS SHREWD AS SNAKES AND AS INNOCENT AS DOVES. This verse was another one of the sermon suggestions from our members. Let’s see what Jesus meant by these comparisons, look at
some examples from the Bible and apply them to our own lives, using the theme:
SNAKES AND DOVES
Last week in our gospel reading, Jesus was sending out 72 of his followers to do some
evangelism work. They were sent to the towns and villages of Israel to tell people the good
news about the kingdom of God and about Jesus as the promised Savior. But he also warned
them that not everyone would welcome them warmly. They would face opposition. He even
said that they would be like sheep among wolves, that they would face danger and ridicule as
followers of Jesus. That’s when he says that they should be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
And that’s still the situation today, isn’t it? As Bible-believing Christians we are living in
a society and a world that is very much hostile to the message of Jesus, to his call to repent and
believe in him as the one and only Savior from sin. As we remain steadfast in answering God’s
call to be faithful to him and his Word, to try to lead people to see their sins and trust in Jesus’
as the only way to heaven, at times the spiritual wolves will attack and try to harm us. How do
we deal with that? We can’t pretend that it doesn’t exist, can’t hide our heads in the sand.
And obviously, we don’t want to cave in and give up our Christian faith, get swallowed up by
the ways of the world. So what does Jesus mean when he says to be shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves?
It hinges on that word translated, “shrewd.” What does that mean? The basic meaning
of the Greek word is ‘to think.’ It’s the way we use our minds as we face different situations in
life. So in different contexts it’s translated as “intelligent, wise, prudent, keen, cautious, and, as
here, shrewd.” One Bible commenter described it by saying that it is putting into practice sanc-
tified common sense. It means knowing the right thing to do, then doing it at the right time
and place, and doing it in the right way. It’s the opposite of acting rashly and impulsively. In
the context of living my Christian life, to act shrewdly will mean asking ourselves the questions,
“How will this appear to my neighbor and affect my relationship with him? How will it affect
my relationship with God? Will it strengthen my faith and bring glory to Christ? Is this the best
way to demonstrate my faith in Jesus as my Savior?” Obviously, it implies that we will never
compromise when it comes to evil, that we will stay away from sin. More on that when we talk
about being as innocent as doves.
Now, I don’t know everything there is to know about snakes, so why would Jesus tell us
to be as shrewd as snakes? Like most animals they are smart enough to recognize when they
are in a dangerous situation and they do whatever they can to get away from there. When that
snake which was on our hiking path heard or felt us coming, it slithered into the grass, didn’t
wait around to be stepped on. That was the prudent thing to do. When a rattle snake is cornered or confronted so that it can’t escape, it will raise its head and shake its tail to defend itself. That’s using the defense mechanisms God has given it in the way they were meant. That’s
what it knows. For us humans the shrewd thing to do then is to back off so we don’t get bitten.
Let’s look at some examples from the Bible. The person who suggested this topic listed
an incident from the life of David in 1 Samuel 21 as an example. It was during the time he was
fleeing from King Saul who was trying to kill him. David fled to the city of Gath, one of the chief
cities of Israel’s enemy, the Philistines. David knew that Saul wouldn’t go after him there. But
very quickly the people of Gath realized who this was, the hero of the Israelites who led Israel
to many victories over the Philistines. So David recognized that his life was again in danger. His
mind started racing. What should he do? So he decided to pretend that he was insane. He
started scratching on the doors of the city gate and drooling from the mouth, acting crazy. By
doing those things, acting that way, the king of Gath didn’t want to have anything to do with
David and sent him on his way. By acting shrewdly, with some smart thinking, he saved his life
and could continue serving God.
The apostle Paul writes about living as wise, prudent people as we go about our work of
living for Jesus. He says that we should be all things to all people so that by all possible means
we might save some. By that he meant that in our witnessing for Jesus we approach people in
the way that will be most effective, that would have the right impact on them for where they
are at in their lives at that particular time. One example of that shrewd thinking was done by
our Lamb of God school outreach committee. Over the years we have sent out information
cards to several thousand homes, but they were specially selected as homes where there are
school-aged children in the family. It would be a waste of effort to do something like that in a
retirement community, right?
Jesus talked about being shrewd when it comes to the way we as Christians manage our
money. In his parable of the shrewd manager, he praised the manager for using his money in
order to make his future secure. Though he did it in some rather unscrupulous ways, Jesus encourages his followers to use their wealth shrewdly, not in ways that are sinful, but in ways that
advance Christ’s kingdom, that show we are keeping on our eyes on the future so that we
strengthen our relationship with our Savior in heaven.
So when he tells us here to be as shrewd as snakes he’s saying that we should be smart,
use our brains, act intelligently as we go about our lives as his followers. Obviously, that starts
by broadening our spiritual knowledge and wisdom by regularly being in God’s word. We have
to know what’s right and wrong when it comes to making life choices as people of God. We
need to know what the true teachings of the Bible are so that we aren’t chasing after false
prophets and being deceived by false teaching. We want to receive direction from the right
source, God’s Word. That’s the place where we expand our wisdom and intelligence.
So as we go through life, guided by God’s word and motivated by love for our Savior we
will want to act shrewdly. That means doing the things which reflect the principles God lays out
for us in his word. Use that sanctified common sense when you are making career choices,
when you are considering where to send your children to school, when you plan how your are
going to use the financial resources God blesses you with.
Be wise when it comes to interacting with your neighbors and co-workers and family
members. Talk to them about your faith and your Savior. You don’t have to trick them or deceive them or sugar-coat things. Speak to them where they are at in life, sharing your experiences and what you’ve learned from God’s word and how meaningful your relationship with
Jesus is. You can do that on Facebook, by texting and tweeting, by inviting them to special
events like our picnic and Vacation Bible School. It may mean backing off at times, being careful to say the right thing at the right time. Do whatever is necessary for you to continue serving
the Lord in the future and in the best way possible.
II.
And of course, do it in a way that reflects the second part of Jesus’ instructions here, Be
as innocent as doves. When we think of a dove, as Woodlawn members we think of the carving over my head which represents the Holy Spirit. That’s from the baptism of Jesus when the
Spirit descended on him as he was coming out of the waters of the Jordan River. Most doves
are pure white, so Jesus’ words here mean that there should not be even a hint of evil connected with how we live our lives for our Savior. Everything we do should reflect well on him, show
that he’s in control of our lives and that our relationship with him has top priority. It means
making all our decisions so that they line up with the commands and principles he gives us in
his word. That’s because as Christians we are living, not to make a name for ourselves, not to
impress the world, but only to serve him, to use all our abilities and talents, our time and our
treasure in ways that are pleasing to our King.
Now of course, that’s not the natural way of thinking for us sinful human beings. The
way we are when we come into this world is under the control of our sinful nature which is very
much self-centered. In fact, the Bible says that by nature we are enemies of God, hostile to him
and unable to do anything that pleases him. All we want to do is get all we can out life no matter how that’s accomplished or who gets stepped on in the process. Our natural way of thinking is that it’s all about me – my needs, my wants, my way of doing things.
But the power of the gospel has changed all that. The Holy Spirit has gone to work
through the word and through the sacraments so that the love of Jesus now dominates. We
have been moved to put our faith and trust in Jesus because he has saved us from the consequences of our sinful lives. By his life and death and resurrection our sins have been washed
away and we have the sure hope of eternal life with him in heaven. Our eternal destiny has
been turned around completely. Now we want to live for him, use our godly wisdom and intelligence to make choices that reflect our love and gratitude for all that God has done for us. We
want to live holy and upright lives before God and in the eyes of the people around us.
So David, when he was being pursued by Saul and had the opportunity to kill him, refused to do so, because Saul was still the king anointed by God. So Paul filled his writings with
ways for Christians to live their lives for God, free from sin, free from the entanglements of the
pagan, sinful society around them. As we heard we are even to help our enemies and in doing
so, overcome their evil with our good. And Jesus, in the words of our gospel reading today
shows us what godly compassion is all about, what serving our neighbor is all about, that we
should be sincere in our love for everyone.
So, being shrewd like snakes and innocent as doves simply means living the sanctified
Christian life. It’s learning from God’s word how to live in this world, to have the greatest impact for Christ in our own hearts and in the lives of the people around us. And while talking
about snakes might make some of you feel squeamish, Jesus gives us a wonderful picture of
how to use our God-given knowledge and wisdom in this world without sin and by having the
greatest impact we can, all to display our love for him and for his people. AMEN.