Anchor My Faith

Lambs In the Midst of Wolves

Scripture: Matthew 10:16; Luke 10:1-3

In addition to the twelve disciples there were others that followed Jesus to learn from him. Some of these were chosen for a special assignment.

^{Lk 10:1} “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. ² And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. ³ Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves, ^{Mt 10:16} so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”’

In gev080, we covered the event of Jesus sending out the twelve disciples, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go to provide them with experience. Now Jesus is sending out a larger group of disciples to do the work of ministry. This group was made up of 70 or 72 close followers of Jesus who were in a sense his students and were also referred to as disciples.

Within very old and reliable manuscripts a count of seventy and seventy-two are both found. It seems that most modern translations favor seventy-two. Considering Numbers 11:16 ESV, one might choose seventy: “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you.”’ If Jesus were to appoint seventy to stand with him it would, in a way, revive the “school” of prophets which had been so long extinct. In Genesis 46:27 there were seventy members of the family of Jacob that came into Egypt. Some say it would correspond to the number of members of the Great Sanhedrin, which some say was 70. My research shows the number to be 71. Some say that based on Genesis 10 it is the number of nations, which was 70.

No matter the exact number, the “others” that were appointed were those that closely followed Jesus and learned from him and were well enough informed to go out ahead of Jesus and share the gospel in preparation to his coming. These were sent out two by two to fulfill the Old Testament requirements for two witnesses found in Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:15.

In areas of the United States where various farm products are found there is a great need for seasonal workers, but because of governmental restrictions the supply of migrant workers is diminishing. One might say that “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Jesus is pointing out this same condition concerning the harvest of souls; there are many, but the workers are few in number, with more being needed. To the 70 or 72 that are available, he charges them to pray for more to become available. There is a similar plea on the part of large farm operations for more laborers at harvest time to bring in the harvest.

Following his request to these disciples to pray for more laborers, Jesus gives a warning: “I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” The Message Bible has an interesting take on this and says: “Stay alert. This is hazardous work I’m assigning you. You’re going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don’t call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.”

Because of the growing shortage of farm labor, machines are being developed to do the harvest and to do it effectively and in a timely fashion, but there are certain products that are so delicate, like certain fruits that still require hand picking. Machines or people must be properly paired with the harvest. This is true of fields that are defined as “white unto harvest.” The people to be harvested are referred to as lost sheep and the harvesting is done by sharing the gospel with them. A lost sheep when hearing the gospel will respond, maybe slightly at first, but will eventually come to the point of spiritual birth. To be effective in this work, the people being sent out must have the characteristics of sheep to be effective in making the connection with these people, but since these lost sheep are found among wolves, those who go must be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Conclusion

Using sheep to do this harvest is high risk, but it was high risk to send the Son of God among us as the person of Jesus. His assignment was to provide the way of salvation and it cost him his life. Many sheep are sent out on assignment to find and mentor lost sheep, and it will cost many their lives. What cost are you willing to pay to take the gospel to those living among wolves?