When Jesus sent the twelve out on their first mission, He spoke words that have echoed through the centuries. They certainly held true for Paul, and they have held true for countless others who have been persecuted and brought to trial for their faith.
“I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
— Matthew 10:16
If sheep are going to survive a pack of wolves, they need wisdom and cunning. Jesus calls His followers to be as wise as serpents in ministry while remaining as innocent as doves.
Wise and Innocent
Frank Laubach served as a missionary among the Moro people of the Philippines at a time when war was being waged against them. During one of his regular prayer walks up Signal Hill, he had a life-changing encounter with God. The Lord told him:
“You don’t love the Moro people. No wonder you cannot win them to Christ.”
Although Laubach was a pacifist, he still harbored negative feelings toward the Moro. He was educated, while many of them were not. He was white, and they were brown. He was American, and they were Filipino. These differences led him to look down on them.
In that encounter, Jesus showed him how to love them. If Laubach kept Jesus before his eyes, he would no longer see the Moro as enemies. He would see people God loved, people for whom Jesus died, just as He had died for Laubach.
Laubach did not win the Moro people over with bombs. He won them with love, friendship, and language, and through these he pointed them toward Jesus.
He practiced what Jesus taught. He was wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove.
Jesus also taught us to let the Holy Spirit speak through us when we are called to bear witness for Him:
“When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
— Matthew 10:19–20
Laubach is best known for his work in literacy. He developed a method that taught people to read, even in places where there was no written language and few reading skills.
On one occasion, he met with Mahatma Gandhi, who at the time opposed literacy efforts in India. Gandhi feared that Western literature would harm the minds of the Indian people. Laubach spent much time in prayer and allowed the Holy Spirit to guide him during his visit.
As you might expect, Gandhi eventually allowed literacy to come to India. Like Paul, Laubach learned to rely on the Holy Spirit on every occasion.
Paul’s Sanctified Shrewdness
Paul was not afraid of death, and death is exactly what the Sanhedrin wanted for him. They hoped to see him executed, just as Jesus had been years earlier.
Paul was not worried about his own life, but he cared deeply about the mission God had given him. He believed God had called him to Rome, to share God’s message of love at the center of political power in the known world.
Like a wise serpent and a harmless dove, Paul made use of the divisions within the Sanhedrin. He turned attention away from himself and toward a long-standing disagreement among its members.
Noticing that some were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, Paul called out in the council:
“Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”
— Acts 23:6
The Sadducees were an aristocratic group. Archaeologists have uncovered large homes, much like modern mansions, near the Temple area in Jerusalem, and these were likely occupied by Sadducees.
The Sadducees were also theologically conservative. They accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament as authoritative, and they did not believe in angels, spirits, or, most importantly, the resurrection.
The Pharisees, on the other hand, were well respected in the first century. They believed in the resurrection, in spirits, and in angels. Their name means “separated ones,” and they tried to keep themselves apart from what they considered the common riffraff of society.
Paul’s words sparked a heated dispute between the two groups, and the Pharisees began to take his side:
“Then a great clamor arose, and certain scribes of the Pharisees’ group stood up and contended, ‘We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?'”
— Acts 23:9
When the Roman authorities saw that the dispute was spiraling out of control, they took Paul back to the barracks for his own safety. That night, the Lord spoke to Paul and assured him that he would go to Rome to proclaim what God was doing through His Son, Jesus Christ.
“That night the Lord stood near him and said, ‘Keep up your courage! For just as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also in Rome.'”
— Acts 23:11
God’s Leadership
Paul and Frank Laubach are heroes of the faith. Few of us will do the things God did through them. Still, we can learn from them and follow their example.
First, God loves people. If we want to help others know His love, we must love them too.
Second, God’s Spirit works through us. He gives us the words we need to say.
Finally, all of this flows from a relationship with God through prayer.
Paul spoke to God, and God spoke to Paul. The same was true for Laubach, and it can be true for us too.
Let’s meet with the Lord regularly in prayer and see what He will do through us.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Acts 23:6–11 on YouTube today.
