Matthew 10:16 - Meaning and Application

All these verses concern the sufferings Christ’s ministers would face in their work. He teaches them to expect trouble, prepare for it, and keep serving in the middle of it. This part of the sermon looks beyond their present mission, because we do not find that they suffered much while Christ was still with them. They were not yet strong enough for such trials, but they would face them after Christ’s resurrection, when their mission was expanded and the kingdom of heaven was fully established.

They were thinking only of outward honor and power, but Christ told them they must expect deeper suffering than they had known before. They would be made prisoners when they expected to become princes. It is wise to know in advance what troubles may come, so we can be ready for them and not boast as if the battle were over when we are only beginning to put on our armor. Here we find both predictions of trouble and advice and comfort for meeting it.

Christ saw their suffering just as clearly as his own, yet he still sent them out. He also foretold these troubles so they would not surprise them or shake their faith. When the trouble came exactly as he said, it would strengthen their faith instead of weakening it. He tells them both what they will suffer and from whom they will suffer it.

They should expect hard things. “I send you out as sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16). What can helpless sheep expect in the middle of hungry wolves except to be attacked and torn apart? Wicked people are like wolves, because it is in their nature to devour and destroy. God’s people, especially his ministers, are like sheep among them, with a different nature and spirit, exposed to them and often easy targets.

This may seem unkind from Christ, since these men had left everything to follow him. But he knew the glory waiting for his sheep, when they would stand at his right hand on the last day, would more than make up for their sufferings and service. They are sheep among wolves, which is frightening, but Christ sends them out, which is comforting. The one who sends them also protects them and supports them. Still, he tells them plainly the worst they should expect.

They must expect to be hated. “You will be hated for my name’s sake” (Matthew 10:22). That is the root of all the rest, and it is a bitter root. Those whom Christ loves, the world hates. If the world hated Christ without cause (John 15:25), it is no wonder that it hates those who carry his image and serve his purpose. We hate what seems foul or harmful, and the world treats believers as if they were refuse, like “the scum of the earth” (1 Corinthians 4:13). They are also treated as troublemakers, like Elijah was accused of being “the troubler of Israel” (1 Kings 18:17), and as people who torment others (Revelation 11:10).

It is painful to be hated and to bear so much ill will. Yet it is for Christ’s name’s sake. That shows the true reason for the hatred, whatever excuse people give, and it brings comfort to those who suffer it. They suffer for a good cause, and they have a good Friend who shares their burden and takes it personally.

They must also expect to be arrested and brought to trial as criminals. Their stubborn malice will be strong enough to act. They will not only try to hand you over, but will succeed in delivering you to councils (Matthew 10:17, 18), local courts made up of leaders or judges who were supposed to keep public order. Much harm is often done to good people under the cover of law and justice. “In the place of justice there was wickedness” (Ecclesiastes 3:16).

Their trouble would not stop with lower courts. They would also be brought before governors and kings, the highest rulers. To stand before them, with the false stories that were often told about Christ’s followers, would be frightening and dangerous. A king’s anger is like a lion’s roar. We see this warning fulfilled many times in the book of Acts.

They must even expect death. “They will put them to death” (Matthew 10:21). It would be done with ceremony and public display, when death appears in its most terrifying form. Their enemies’ hatred would run so deep that they would thirst for blood. Yet the saints’ faith and patience would stand firm. Paul could say, “I do not count my life as precious to myself” (Acts 20:24). Christ’s wisdom allows this, because he knows how to make the blood of martyrs a seal for the truth and the seed of the church.

By not loving their lives even to death, this noble army of witnesses defeats Satan and greatly advances Christ’s kingdom and cause (Revelation 11:11). Their enemies put them to death as criminals, but in truth they died as sacrifices (Philippians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:6), like burnt offerings, acts of devotion offered to God in honor of his truth and cause.

In the middle of all this, they would also be given the most hateful names and insults. Persecutors would be ashamed if they did not first dress up the people they attack, putting them in ugly clothing, so they can excuse their cruelty. The worst slur mentioned here is that they would call them Beelzebub, the name of the prince of demons (Matthew 10:25). In this way, they would paint Christ’s servants as leaders of the kingdom of darkness. Since everyone hates the devil, they used that name to make believers hateful in everyone’s eyes.

This is shocking to see, how the world can be so deceived. Satan’s sworn enemies are presented as his friends. The apostles, who were tearing down the devil’s kingdom, were called devils. People accused them of things they did not even know, and of things that were exactly opposite to who they were. At the same time, Satan’s own servants wanted to be seen as his enemies, even while doing his work more effectively than ever. Often those who are closest to the devil are most ready to accuse others of belonging to him, while carrying him in their own hearts. It is a comfort to know that a day is coming when what is hidden will be brought into the light (Matthew 10:26).

These sufferings are also pictured as a sword and as division (Matthew 10:34, 35).

Do not think that I came to bring peace in the sense of outward ease and worldly success. Many people thought Christ had come to make all his followers rich and powerful in this world, but he says otherwise. He came to give peace with God, peace in the conscience, and peace with fellow believers, yet in this world his people would face trouble.

People often misunderstand the gospel when they think being a Christian will protect them from hardship. In fact, it will expose them to trouble in this life. If everyone welcomed Christ, there would be peace everywhere. But since many reject him, including not only the people of this world but also the seed of the serpent, the children of God who are called out of the world must expect to feel the effects of that hatred.

Christ says, in effect, not to expect peace, but a sword. He brings the sword of the word, by which his followers contend with the world, and that word does conquering work, as in (Revelation 6:4; Revelation 19:21). He also brings about the sword of persecution, by which the world strikes back against Christ's disciples, angered by the word that cuts them to the heart, as in (Acts 7:54), and by the witness of Christ's servants, as in (Revelation 11:10). This sword has done cruel work. Christ sends the gospel, which gives rise to this conflict, and in that sense he sends the sword. He orders his church into a suffering condition to test and honor his people's grace and to fill up the measure of their enemies' sins.

We should also expect division, as in (Matthew 10:35). Christ says he came to set people against one another. This is not the fault of the gospel, but of those who refuse it. When some believe what is preached and others do not, the faith of believers condemns unbelief, and that stirs hostility against those who believe. The fiercest and hardest quarrels have often come from differences in religion. There is no hatred like the hatred of persecutors, and no firmness like the firmness of the persecuted.

In this way, Christ tells his disciples plainly what they must suffer, and these are hard words. If they can bear these, they can bear anything. He has dealt honestly with us by telling us the worst we may meet in his service, and he wants us to do the same with ourselves by counting the cost.

He also tells them from whom these troubles will come. It is shocking to think that such cruelty would rise against a message whose very substance is good will toward people and peace with God. Yet the harm comes from those to whom the messengers bring salvation. The bloodthirsty hate the upright, but the just seek his soul (Proverbs 29:10). Heaven is so opposed on earth because earth lies so much under the power of hell (Ephesians 2:2).

Christ's disciples must suffer these hard things, first from men, as he says in (Matthew 10:17). He warns them to be on their guard even against people of their own kind, because human nature is so corrupted and fallen. Man can be crafty and clever, but also cruel and wild. Persecuting rage turns people into beasts, even into devils. Paul says he fought with beasts at Ephesus, meaning men who acted like beasts (1 Corinthians 15:32). It is a sad condition when Christ's best friends have to beware of men. Their suffering is made worse because it comes from those of the same blood and nature. Persecutors are worse than animals in this, because they prey on their own kind. It is grievous when men rise up against us, from whom we might expect protection and sympathy (Psalm 124:1-8). They are only men, mere human beings, not saints, natural people who do not have the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14), men of this world (Psalm 17:14). Saints are more than mere men, redeemed from among men, and that is one reason the world hates them. If human nature is not made new, it is the worst nature in the world after the nature of devils. They are men, and so they are weak, dependent, and dying. They are only men, and who should be afraid of a man who will die? (Isaiah 51:12). Some read this as a warning about the men they knew best, the Jewish council that rejected Christ (1 Peter 2:4).

They will also suffer from professing people, those who have a form of godliness and make a show of religion. They will scourge them in their synagogues, the places where they gathered for worship and church discipline. They would count the beating of Christ's ministers as part of their religion. Paul was scourged five times in synagogues (2 Corinthians 11:24). The Jews, claiming zeal for Moses, were among the most bitter persecutors of Christ and Christianity, and they treated these abuses as acts of devotion. Christ's disciples have suffered much from religious persecutors, who scourge them in their synagogues, cast them out, and kill them, while thinking they are doing God a service (John 16:2). They say, Let the Lord be glorified (Isaiah 66:5; Zechariah 11:4, 11:5). But the synagogue does not make persecution holy. In truth, persecution profanes and dishonors the synagogue.

They will also suffer from great men and rulers. The Jews could scourge them themselves only so far as their own power reached, but when they could go no farther, they handed believers over to Roman authorities, as they did with Christ (John 18:30). They would be brought before governors and kings (Matthew 10:18), who had greater power and could do greater harm. Governors and kings receive their authority from Christ (Proverbs 8:15), and they ought to serve him and protect his church, like nursing fathers. Yet they often use their power against him, rebel against Christ, and oppress his church. The kings of the earth set themselves against his kingdom (Psalm 2:1-2; Acts 4:25-26). It has often been the lot of good people to have powerful people as enemies.

Finally, they will suffer from all men, as in (Matthew 10:22). They will be hated by all wicked men, and wicked men are the great majority, for the whole world lies in evil. So few love, support, and stand up for Christ's righteous cause that it can seem as though all people hate it. They have all gone astray, and therefore they eat up my people (Psalm 14:3).

The more people turn away from God, the more they tend to hate his people. This hatred shows itself in different ways at different times, but its poison is hidden in the hearts of all who refuse God. The world hates you because it follows the beast (Revelation 13:3). Every man is a liar, and so every man is also a hater of truth.

This hatred often comes from people’s own relatives. The brother will hand over his brother to death (Matthew 10:21). A person may even find himself at odds with his own father. In some cases, even the weaker and more tender sex will become both persecutors and persecuted. The daughter will rise against her believing mother, where natural love and duty should have kept peace. Then it is no surprise if the daughter-in-law is against the mother-in-law, where coldness in love so easily finds room for conflict (Matthew 10:35). In the end, a man’s enemies may be the people in his own household (Matthew 10:36).

Those who should be friends may grow angry because a person has become a Christian, and especially because he stays faithful when persecution begins. Then they may even join with his enemies against him. The strongest bonds of family love and duty have often been broken by hatred for Christ and his teaching. Prejudice against true religion, and zeal for false religion, has often led people to sacrifice the closest and most sacred ties. When people rage against the Lord and his Anointed, they tear apart even these bonds and cast off these cords from themselves (Psalm 2:2, Psalm 2:3). Christ’s bride suffers bitterly from the anger of her own mother’s children (Song of Songs 1:6). Suffering from such people hurts most. Nothing cuts deeper than, “It was you, my equal, my close friend” (Psalm 55:12, Psalm 55:13). And such hatred is usually the hardest to heal, for an offended brother is harder to win back than a strong city (Proverbs 18:19). The records of Christian martyrs, ancient and modern, are full of such examples.

All of this shows that everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution, and that we must enter the kingdom of God through many troubles.

With these warnings about trouble, Christ also gives counsel and comfort for the time of testing. He sends his disciples out in danger, and he expects them to face it, but he equips them with enough instruction and encouragement to carry them through every trial. We should gather up what he says.

First, he gives direction in several matters. “Be wise as serpents” (Matthew 10:16). Some take this as permission, meaning, “You may be as cautious as you like, as long as you remain harmless as doves.” But it is better understood as a command. It calls for that prudence that understands the right path, which is useful at all times, but especially in times of suffering. Since you are sent out like sheep among wolves, be wise as serpents, not as foxes. A fox’s cunning deceives others, but a serpent’s policy is only to protect itself and preserve its life. Christ’s disciples are hated and persecuted as serpents, and people seek their ruin, so they need serpent-like wisdom.

It is Christ’s will that his people and ministers, since they are so often exposed to trouble in this world, should not needlessly put themselves in danger. They should use every fair and lawful means for their own safety. Christ himself gave this example (Matthew 21:24, Matthew 21:25; Matthew 22:17, Matthew 22:18, Matthew 22:19; John 7:6, John 7:7). He also escaped many times from the hands of his enemies until his hour had come. Paul gave another example of this wisdom (Acts 23:6, Acts 23:7). In Christ’s cause, we must hold life and its comforts loosely, but we must not waste them carelessly.

The serpent is wise in protecting its head, so it will not be crushed. It also stops its ear to the voice of the charmer (Psalm 58:4, Psalm 58:5), and takes shelter in the clefts of the rocks. In that sense, we may be wise as serpents. We should be wise enough not to bring trouble on ourselves, wise enough to keep quiet in an evil time, and wise enough not to give offense when we can avoid it.

“Be harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Be gentle, meek, and calm. Do no harm to others, and do not even wish them harm. Be without bitterness, as doves are. This must always go with the first command. They are sent among wolves, so they must be wise as serpents. But they are sent out as sheep, so they must be harmless as doves. We should be wise enough not to wrong ourselves, but even more willing to suffer that than to wrong anyone else. We should use the harmlessness of the dove to bear twenty injuries rather than use the serpent’s cleverness to do or return even one.

This should be the steady concern of all Christ’s disciples, to be innocent and harmless in what they say and do, especially because they live among enemies. We need a dove-like spirit when we are surrounded by birds of prey, so that we do not provoke them and are not provoked by them. David longed for the wings of a dove, so he could fly away and rest, instead of the wings of a hawk. The Spirit came down on Christ like a dove, and all believers share in the Spirit of Christ, a spirit shaped for love, not for war.

“Beware of men” (Matthew 10:17). Stay on guard, and avoid dangerous company. Be careful what you say and do, and do not trust too quickly in anyone’s loyalty. Be wary even of the most pleasing promises. Do not trust a friend, not even the wife of your bosom (Micah 7:5). Those who have grace need to be cautious, for we are taught to stop putting our confidence in man. We live in a broken world, and we cannot always know whom to trust. Since our Lord was betrayed with a kiss by one of his own disciples, we also must beware of men, even false brothers.

“Take no thought how or what you shall speak” (Matthew 10:19). When you are brought before rulers, behave properly, but do not torment yourself with anxious concern about how the case will turn out. There should be some careful thought, but not the kind that is uneasy and distracting. Leave that care with God, along with your concern for food and drink. Do not try to make polished speeches to win favor, and do not chase clever phrases, flashy wit, or carefully crafted lines that only serve to dress up a bad cause. A good cause does not need that kind of decoration.

If you are unsure of your cause, then you may worry over words. But if you know the ground you stand on, fitting words will come when needed. No one ever spoke better before governors and kings than those three faithful men, who had not worried in advance about what to say: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter” (Daniel 3:16). See also (Psalm 119:46).

The disciples of Christ must think more about doing well than speaking well, and more about keeping their integrity than defending it. Our lives, not our proud words, make the best defense. When people reject you in one city, flee to another (Matthew 10:23). In that way, reject those who reject you and your teaching, and look for others who may receive you and it.

Christ’s disciples may and must protect themselves by leaving danger, when God in his providence opens a way of escape. He who flees may fight again. It is no shame for Christ’s soldiers to leave one place, as long as they do not leave their loyalty. They may get out of danger, though they must not get out of duty. Christ cares for his disciples by giving them places of rest and shelter. He orders it so that persecution does not rage in every place at once. When one city grows too hot for them, another is kept as a cooler shade and a small refuge. This is a mercy to use, not to despise. Still, they must never use sinful or unlawful means to escape, for then it is not a door God has opened. We have many examples of this rule in the lives of Christ and his apostles, and wisdom and integrity are needed to apply them rightly in each case.

“Do not fear them” (Matthew 10:26), because they can only kill the body (Matthew 10:28). It is the duty and the advantage of Christ’s disciples not to fear even their strongest enemies. Those who truly fear God do not need to fear people. Those who are careful to avoid even small sin do not need to be ruled by great trouble. The fear of man is a trap, a troubling trap that steals peace, and an entangling trap that pulls us into sin. So it must be watched against, fought against, and prayed against. No matter how hard the times are, how wild the enemies become, or how threatening the future looks, we do not need to fear. We will not fear, even if the earth is moved, as long as we have such a good God, such a good cause, and such a good hope through grace.

That is easy to say, but the test is harder. Racks and tortures, prisons and galleys, axes and gallows, fire and burning stakes are dreadful things. They are enough to make the bravest heart tremble and draw back, especially when a few steps aside could avoid them. So Christ gives us a strong reason not to fear. Our enemies have only limited power. They can kill the body, and that is the farthest their rage can go. They can go no farther unless God allows it. They cannot kill the soul or truly harm it, and the soul is the true person. This shows that the soul does not simply sleep at death, as some imagine, because then killing the body would also kill the soul. The soul is truly ruined when it is separated from God and his love, which is its life, and when it becomes a vessel of his wrath. That is beyond the reach of human power.

Trouble, distress, and persecution may separate us from the world, but they cannot separate us from God. They cannot make us stop loving him, or stop being loved by him (Romans 8:35, Romans 8:37). If we cared more for our souls, as our true treasure, we would fear people less. Their power cannot take our souls from us. They can only kill the body, which would soon die anyway, not the soul, which will live with God in spite of them. They can only crush the case, not the jewel inside. A pagan once defied a tyrant with this saying, “You may beat the case of Anaxarchus, but you cannot hurt Anaxarchus himself.” The pearl of great price remains untouched.

There is also a better remedy for this fear, and that is to fear God. Fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Hell is the destruction of both soul and body, not the ending of their existence, but the ruin of their well-being. It is the ruin of the whole person. If the soul is lost, the body is lost too. They sinned together. The body was the soul’s tempter and its tool in sin, and they must suffer together forever. This destruction comes from the power of God. He is able to destroy. It is destruction from his glorious power (2 Thessalonians 1:9). In it, he will show his power, not only his right to sentence, but his power to carry out the sentence (Romans 9:22).

God should be feared even by the best saints in this world. Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade people to stand in awe of him. If his fear is matched by his wrath, then his wrath should be matched by our fear, especially since no one knows the full power of his anger (Psalm 90:11). Even Adam, in innocence, was restrained by a warning, so none of Christ’s disciples should think they do not need holy fear. Happy is the person who always fears. The God of Abraham, who was dead, is called the Fear of Isaac, who was still alive (Genesis 31:42, Genesis 31:53). The fear of God, living and ruling in the soul, is a sure defense against the fear of man. It is better to fall under the anger of the whole world than under God’s anger. So, as it is right in itself, it is also safest for us to obey God rather than people (Acts 4:19). Those who fear a mortal man forget the Lord their Maker (Isaiah 51:12, Isaiah 51:13; Nehemiah 4:14).

“What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light” (Matthew 10:27). No matter what dangers you face, keep doing your work. Keep publishing and declaring the everlasting gospel to the whole world. That is your task, so stay with it. Your enemies do not only want to destroy you, they want to silence that message. So whatever happens, keep making it known. “What I tell you, speak.” What the apostles gave us is the same message they received from Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:3). They spoke what he told them, all of it, and nothing else. Those messengers received their instructions in private, in the dark, in the ear, and in hidden places, often in parables. Christ spoke many things openly, and he never taught anything in secret that went against what he preached in public (John 18:20).

But the special instructions he gave his disciples after his resurrection, about the matters of the kingdom of God, were spoken to them privately, as if whispered in the ear (Acts 1:3), because then he no longer appeared openly. Yet they were to carry their message out in public, in the light and on the housetops. The gospel is something everyone needs to hear (Proverbs 1:20-21; Proverbs 8:2-3), so, as the saying goes, anyone with ears should listen. The first sign of the Gentiles being received into the church came on a housetop (Acts 10:9). There is no part of Christ’s gospel that should be hidden for any reason. The whole counsel of God must be made known (Acts 20:27), and it should be clearly and fully taught even in the middle of a mixed crowd.

Christ also gave them comfort and encouragement. He said enough to strengthen them, and even that may seem too little when we think about the hardships they would face throughout their ministry and their present weakness. They could hardly bear even the thought of such treatment without strong help from him. So Christ showed them why they should take heart.

One promise fit their present mission in a special way, Matthew 10:23: “You will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” They were preaching that the kingdom of the Son of Man, the Messiah, was near. They were also praying, “Your kingdom come.” Before they finished going through all the cities of Israel in preaching and praying this, that kingdom would come in Christ’s exaltation and in the pouring out of the Spirit. This was a comfort, first, because what they said would come true, “The Son of Man is coming, and he does come.” Christ will confirm the word of his messengers (Isaiah 44:26). Second, it would happen soon. It is a comfort to Christ’s workers that their labor will not last forever. Their work and struggle will soon be over. Third, when it came, they would be raised to a higher place. When the Son of Man comes, they would receive greater power from above. For the moment they were sent out as agents and messengers, but soon their commission would be widened, and they would be sent to the whole world as fully authorized representatives.

There are also many words here about their work in general and the troubles they would meet along the way, and these are good, comforting words. Their sufferings would serve as a witness against both the Jews and the Gentiles, Matthew 10:18. When Jewish courts hand you over to Roman governors so they can put you to death, being passed from one courtroom to another will make your witness more public. It will also give you a chance to bring the gospel to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. In fact, your troubles will testify both for and against them. God’s people, especially his ministers, are his witnesses (Isaiah 43:10), not only in what they do, but also in what they suffer. That is why they are called martyrs, or witnesses for Christ, showing that his truths are sure and precious. And because they witness for him, they also witness against those who oppose him and his gospel.

The sufferings of the martyrs prove the truth of the gospel they believe, and they also show the hatred of their persecutors. In both ways, they stand as a testimony against their enemies, and that testimony will be used in the great day, when the saints will judge the world. The reason for the judgment will be, “As you did it to these, you did it to me.” If their sufferings are a testimony, then they should bear them gladly, because the testimony is not complete until those events come (Revelation 11:7). If they are Christ’s witnesses, they can trust that he will cover all their expenses and needs.

Christ also promised that God’s special presence and the direct help of the Holy Spirit would be with them at all times, especially when they were called before rulers and kings. “It will be given to you,” he said, “in that same hour what you are to say.” His disciples were chosen from among the foolish people of the world, untrained and uneducated men. So it would be natural for them to doubt their own ability, especially when brought before important men. When Moses was sent to Pharaoh, he complained that he was not a good speaker (Exodus 4:10). When Jeremiah was appointed over kingdoms, he objected.