His words to them:Īs you enter the house, give it your greeting. Interestingly, prior to sending out the "12" to preach to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel," Jesus warned them that not everybody would accept their message (viz., "The kingdom of heaven is at hand").
#Shrook music how to#
To learn in advance how to answer those arguments is at the very heart of apologetics (Peter's Greek word for defense). To make a defense and to give an answer presumes, first, we are being asked questions, and second, we know how to respond to those questions, even if that means we become familiar with the arguments our opponents may use against us. sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who ask you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15). Shrewdness is not without the elements of preparedness, study, audience analysis, and keen listening skills.
Even when we are called before kings and governors, God will give us the right words to use, if we prayerfully and humbly allow Him to anoint our testimony for Him (vv.19,20). Jesus calls us to be both discerning and wise, as well as innocent and blameless. It is far better to suffer as our teacher has-since students are not above their teachers in this regard (vv.24,25), than to be well thought of and well spoken of by everyone we meet. If in being obedient to our commission to make disciples (or in context here in Matthew to preach "The kingdom of heaven is at hand," v.7) we suffer for righteousness sake, then so be it. Our good deeds are to bear witness to our heavenly calling, and they are to glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16). By the same token, however, our lives must also be exemplary and blameless in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation (Matthew 16:4). In other words, Jesus' disciples must use discernment and wisdom, which at times involves an element of shrewdness.
#Shrook music full#
Let conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that may know how to answer everyone (Colossians 4:6 NIV). Silence, at times, is golden.Ī word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver (Proverbs 25:11, my emphasis).
Open and honest communication is good, but there are also times when too much or inapt communication is not good. Doves, on the other hand, are harmless, feeding on seeds, insects, and berries, and they are sociable creatures which mind their own business.Īpplication: Jesus' disciples were to use sound judgment in their modus operandi. They, unlike wolves, lie in wait silently for their prey, sometimes blending in with their surroundings until their prey unwittingly comes within striking distance. They are known for their subtlety and shrewdness. Psalm 35:19 NIV and 69:4, where the psalmist was hated without a cause). They would hate the disciples and persecute them, not for any wrong they did, but because the message was an offense to them (vv.22,23 cf.They would turn against members of their own families when some would choose to believe the disciples' message while others would reject it, even to the point of betraying a believing family member to death (v.21).They would have the disciples flogged (v.17).Later in Matthew 10, Jesus describes ways in which audiences to the disciples' message would react fiercely to it: The preachers are innocent sheep audiences are fierce wolves. Wolves "gang up" on their prey even a much larger animal can be brought down when attacked by a pack of wolves.Īpplication: There is antipathy between preachers and their audiences. In observing a wolf attack a sheep, we quite naturally feel sorry for the innocent prey being devoured by the predator. They are fierce, and from a human perspective, pitiless.
We will be helped in understanding these points by unpacking them one by one.