Matthew 10:16-23

Matthew 10:16-23

Jesus said to his Apostles:

“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;

so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.

But beware of men,

for they will hand you over to courts

and scourge you in their synagogues,

and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake

as a witness before them and the pagans.

When they hand you over,

do not worry about how you are to speak

or what you are to say.

You will be given at that moment what you are to say.

For it will not be you who speak

but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Brother will hand over brother to death,

and the father his child;

children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.

You will be hated by all because of my name,

but whoever endures to the end will be saved.

When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.

Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel

before the Son of Man comes.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, may your Spirit always speak through me! Teach me truly to be shrewd as a serpent and as simple as a dove when I proclaim your Gospel in word and deed.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Jesus Sends Out His Apostles: The Twelve Apostles are simultaneously shepherds and sheep. Jesus saw that the people needed new shepherds and chose the twelve for this task. And yet, he warns them that they are like sheep sent out among wolves. Because of this, they need to be prudent – shrewd as serpents – and anticipate threats. At the same time, they need to be as simple as doves and as innocent as sheep. “The word for simple means ‘unmixed,’ suggesting that the apostles’ shrewd tactics should be animated by pure motives and single-mindedness for their ministry. Shrewdness should never lead them to seek survival or advantage in a way that compromises their integrity” (Mitch and Sri, The Gospel of Matthew, 145). Jesus warns them that they will experience opposition not only from the people and from Gentile rulers, but even from their own family members.

2. The Holy Spirit Will Speak through You: Jesus did not promise his apostles an easy mission. They would be handed over to local councils, scourged in synagogues, brought before governors and kings, and betrayed even by members of their own families. Yet he also assures them that they will not stand alone; they will have a heavenly advocate and paraclete at their side: “Do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matthew 10:19-20). The same Holy Spirit who descended upon Jesus at his baptism will later descend upon the apostles at Pentecost, giving them wisdom, courage, and eloquence to bear witness before the world. Their defense of the Gospel will not depend primarily upon their natural abilities, but upon God’s grace at work within them. The Lord offers the same assurance to us. Whenever we are called to give an account of our faith – whether before strangers, friends, coworkers, employees, or members of our own family – we can confidently rely upon the Holy Spirit to guide our minds, strengthen our hearts, and place on our lips the words that best bear witness to Christ.

3. The Coming of the Son of Man: At the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus prophesies that his apostles will be persecuted and will not finish visiting the towns of Israel before “the Son of Man comes.” This is a reference to the Book of Daniel, which envisions: “One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven,” to receive an everlasting and universal kingdom (Daniel 7:13). This coming of the Son of Man can be interpreted in three ways. First, Jesus’ death and resurrection are his coming, and, in this context, it means that the apostles will not visit all the towns of Israel before the end of the specifically Jewish mission. They will not have visited all of the towns before being sent out to bring in the Gentiles into the Kingdom Jesus establishes through his passion, death, and resurrection. Second, this coming could refer to the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. This means that the apostles will not have visited all the towns where Israelites dwelt during the 40 years that passed from Jesus’ death to the judgment upon Jerusalem. Lastly, it could refer to the mission of the Apostles down through the centuries until the end of time. This means that the mission to Israel, who has been scattered among the nations, will continue from Jesus’ resurrection until his second coming at the end of time. In all three ways, there is an urgency to preach the Gospel. This teaches us that we are called, like the apostles, to preach the Gospel in word and deed and bring in the scattered Israelites and all nations into God’s Kingdom.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have restored the kingdom of David and inaugurated the Kingdom of Heaven. Allow me to see how the Kingdom has transformed the world around me so that I may be encouraged and filled with hope as I work on your behalf.

Living the Word of God: Let us thank God today for his faithful and merciful love toward us. We need to ask for forgiveness for all the evil we have committed and ask God to purify us and grant us eternal life. We need to ask him for the courage to preach the Gospel in our words and through our actions. We should rejoice that we are part of his people, and we look forward to his coming in glory and to sharing in the wedding feast of the Lamb.