This document provides an overview and analysis of Jesus sending his disciples out like sheep among wolves based on passages from Matthew 10:16-25. It discusses how the disciples, though helpless like sheep, must be shrewd like snakes and innocent as doves to survive among hostile people ("wolves"). Their mission will invoke a clash between the powers of God and Satan, with the disciples representing God's voice, enduring hatred and persecution until Jesus' second coming ends Satan's rule and establishes God's kingdom. The document examines interpretations of key phrases and how believers can apply this teaching today.

1. SHEEP AMONG WOLVES

2. GRACIOUS JESUS
(MATTHEW’S PERSPECTIVE WITH GOSPEL PARALLELS)
1. Presenting the King (Matt 1-4)
2. True Blessedness (Matt 5:1-12)
3. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 1 (Matt 5:13-
48)
4. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 2 (Matt 6)
5. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 3 (Matt 7)
6. Master Strokes (Matt 8)
7. The King Calls (Matt 9)
8. The King Commissions (Matt
10)
9. Signs, Sinners and the Saviour (Matt
11)
10. Power Games and Names (Matt 12)
11. Hidden Wisdom (Matt 13:1-43)
12. Hidden Treasures (Matt 13:44-14)
13. The Gall and the Glory (Matt 15-17:9)
14. Winning Others Over (Matt 17:10-
18:35)
15. Kingdom Values, Kingdom Wealth
(Matt 20)
16. The King Enters Jerusalem (Matt 21)
17. The Chosen Few (Matt 22)
18. The King’s Glorious Coming (Matt
24:1-44)
19. The Final Countdown (Matt 24:45 –
25:46)
20. The King’s last days (Matt 26)
21. Desertion (Matt 26:36-75)
22. God’s Lamb Sacrificed (Matt 27: 1-50)
23. The King Conquers (Matt 27:51-28)

3. GRACIOUS JESUS
8. THE KING COMMISSIONS
The First Commission
Sheep among
Wolves
Fear God Alone
Lose Life to Find it
Welcome the
Righteous

4. SHEEP AMONG WOLVES
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
Bible Passages: Matt 10:16-25; Mark
13:9-13; Luke 12:11-12;
Sheep
Sent to the wolves
To be shrewd as snakes
And innocent as doves
They will invoke
• A clash of powers
• Hatred persecution and death
• A permanent end to Satan’s rule
ushering Christ’s kingdom
Recap
Discussion

5. SHEEP AMONG WOLVES
OBJECTIVES
To understand:
• How we as sheep can
survive and win
among wolves
• Who are the wolves?
• What is the victory
strategy?

6. SHEEP AMONG WOLVES
BIBLE PASSAGE
Matthew 10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep among
wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent
as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to
the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On
my account you will be brought before governors and kings
as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they
arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it.
At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be
you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through
you.

7. SHEEP AMONG WOLVES
BIBLE PASSAGE (CONT’D)
Matt 10:21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a
father his child; children will rebel against their parents
and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by
everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm
to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in
one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not
finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son
of Man comes.
24 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant
above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like
their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the
head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how
much more the members of his household!

8. SHEEP
Helpless, weak, dumb, slow. Very easy
for wolves to attack and rip apart in no
time.
Jesus is sending his people as sheep
straight into the wolves hunting ground.
Sheep avoid wolves but in three ways
these sheep are different:
• They are being sent to the wolves
• They are to be shrewd as snakes
• They are to be innocent as doves.

9. SENT TO THE WOLVES
Jesus himself is referred as a lamb
sent to the slaughterhouse
He is now sending us in similar
manner among wolves – among
hostile people.
However there are some survival
instructions.
Why this assignment?
Isn’t there a better way?
Apparently not.
While the wolves revel in the
slaughter, the blood and sorrow of
the sheep invoke the power of the
Almighty to save many more sheep
some even from the wolf pack.

10. TO BE SHREWD AS
SNAKES
Snakes have a number of qualities
– barring the negatives, it is their
shrewdness that Jesus picks. To
know when they can stand; to
know when and how they can flee –
silently, swiftly.
When does a sufferer (sheep) fly
(from danger) and when does he
stand (and suffer the danger)?
Bunyan knew how to answer for
himself. He had four children, one
of them blind, and he chose to
remain in prison for twelve years
rather than promise not to preach
the gospel.

11. TO BE SHREWD AS
SNAKES
“Thou mayest do in this as it is in thy heart. If it is in thy heart
to fly, fly; if it be in thy heart to stand, stand. Anything but a
denial of the truth. He that flies, has warrant to do so; he that
stands, has warrant to do so. Yea, the same man may both fly
and stand, as the call and working of God with his heart may
be. Moses fled, Ex. 2:15; Moses stood, Heb. 11:27. David fled,
1 Sam. 19:12; David stood, 1 Sam. 24:8. Jeremiah fled, Jer.
37:11-12; Jeremiah stood, Jer. 38:17. Christ withdrew himself,
Luke 19:10; Christ stood, John 18:1-8. Paul fled, 2 Cor. 11:33;
Paul stood, Act 20:22-23. . . .” John Bunyan
Whether you stand or fly – laugh, Bunyan continues, “for that
the scales are still in God’s hand”

12. TO STAND OR TO FLEE
God needs to give us wisdom for this.
Standing represents endurance for Christ. To continue
faithful and steadfast in spite of persecution. We are often
called to do this in various capacities. Senior spiritual
leaders may oppose us as they did Jesus – that is not the
ticket to give up.
To flee or fly does not mean running out of fear – it is to avoid
conflict. We need to avoid provocation, conflict, debates, etc.
to the best extent possible. There is a time to flee, after all
best effort to stand have been exhausted.

13. AND INNOCENT AS
DOVES
While we stand seemingly
helplessly and watch the carnage
on the Lord’s people, we do not
soil our fingers just to paint
ourselves as the others. We
remain pure to God’s word.
We strive to daily cleanse
ourselves from all the impurities of
the wolves’ world, of Beelzabub’s
world.
Doves are cautious and careful.
They do not stir hostility or
provocation.

14. AND INNOCENT AS
DOVES
Innocence should be:
• A follow up on shrewdness and not
stand in it’s own – which would be
naiveness.
• The combination of shrewdness
which requires competence and
capability
• Derived by a strong conscience
coupled by high degree of
capability.
Innocence with shrewdness requires
deep purity from the soul
Is truly hard to find..
That is the unbeatable combination.
What can such a person hope to get in
this life?

15. THEY WILL INVOKE
A clash of powers…
Matt 10:21 “Brother will betray
brother to death, and a father his
child; children will rebel against
their parents and have them put to
death. 22 You will be hated by
everyone because of me, but the
one who stands firm to the end
will be saved.

16. THE CLASH OF
POWERS
There are only two big powers – God and Satan.
We are members of Christ’s family or Satan’s family.
Satan will manipulate his family to hurt and try to destroy
God’s family.
This destruction will result in the spread of the gospel – in
bringing in more children into the family of God.
Matt 10:23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to
another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the
towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

17. THEY WILL INVOKE
And represent the
voice of God
As they stand as sheep before
wolves
The most powerful God will
speak through them
To the wolves
Trying to touch them and draw
them to Him.

18. THEY WILL INVOKE
Hatred, persecution, death – even
from the closest and dearest
But God has his agenda. To reach
the world before it is too late,
before the scales turn permanently
in favour of the Son of Man – Jesus
Christ who will rule forever.
Matthew 10:23 When you are
persecuted in one place, flee to
another. Truly I tell you, you will not
finish going through the towns of
Israel before the Son of Man comes.

19. WHAT DOES THIS
MEAN?
“you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before
the Son of Man comes.” Matt 10:23
There are multiple interpretations of this passage. However,
in my view, this passage is prophetic – not only applying to
his disciples but to the many that follow Him later. Father,
against son, brother against brother – implies generations
down the line as we have been seeing.
As the message is going through the Gentile world, it is also
perculating the Jewish nation. Christ’s coming will complete
the task, making the Jewish nation, fully aligned to Him.

20. THEY WILL INVOKE
The permanent
end to the rule
of Satan with
the coming of
Jesus

21. THE CURRENT MASTER
OF THE WORLD
Satan is training his forces against the true Lord of the world
Jesus.
Sometimes Satan uses good people doing good deeds to
divert from the gospel. The good can be the worst enemy of
the best.
Matthew 10:24 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a
servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be
like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head
of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the
members of his household!

22. WHERE ARE THE
WOLVES TODAY?
Everywhere.
• In our homes,
• in our churches
• In our workplaces
• In our society
• In our country
• People from all religions and cultures.
We need to stand up to them – AS SHEEP
And allow God to speak through us.

23. POWER OF THE SHEEP
In:
• Humility
• Gentleness
• Mildness
• Confidence
• Silence
• Graciousness
• Love
Lies the Power of God

24. DISCUSSION
Explain the statement “the good can be the
worst enemy of the best” in the clash of
powers.
How Satan can use “good” as an “angel of
light” to deceive even the elect?
How can we play on the side of the best at
all times?

25. RECAP
SHEEP AMONG WOLVES
Bible Passages: Matt 10:16-25;
Mark 13:9-13; Luke 12:11-12;
Sheep
Sent to the wolves
To be shrewd as snakes
And innocent as doves
They will invoke
• A clash of powers
• And be the voice of God
• Hatred persecution and
death
• A permanent end to Satan’s
rule ushering Christ’s
kingdom
Recap
Discussion