TEXT [Commentary]
2. Jesus warns of persecution (10:16-23)
16 “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. 17 But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. 18 You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me.[*] 19 When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. 20 For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. 22 And all nations will hate you because you are my followers.[*] But everyone who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth, the Son of Man[*] will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel.”
NOTES
10:16 I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. In this passage, the disciples were warned that those who rejected the Kingdom message would not leave it at passive unbelief. They would take active steps to oppress the messengers of the Kingdom. Metaphors from the animal world abound in this verse. The disciples are likened to sheep among wolves (cf. 7:15; John 10:12; Acts 20:29; Ezek 22:27)
as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. The disciples were encouraged to be as shrewd as snakes (cf. Gen 3:1) and harmless (cf. Rom 16:19; Phil 2:15) as doves. This command inculcates wisdom accompanied by integrity, a combination of intellectual and ethical characteristics. It is striking that the disciples will be among wolves as they minister only in Israel—their fellow countrymen, not Gentiles, will pose significant danger for them. The wolves of 10:16 are the religious leaders whose opposition to Jesus mounts as the narrative unfolds.
10:17-18 The persecution from the “wolves” is described in detail in the following verses (cf. Mark 13:9-13). Both Jews and Gentile rulers will be involved, with 10:17 probably alluding to religious persecution from Jewish courts (cf. Acts 5:27; 6:12) and 10:18 to negative treatment at the hands of provincial rulers and kings, usually Gentiles (cf. Acts 25:23; 27:24).
will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. Punishment in the synagogues would involve painful flogging (cf. 23:34; 2 Cor 11:23-25), but persecution for the sake of Jesus and his Kingdom was ironically an opportunity for further testimony. Jesus himself would be brought before both Jewish and Gentile authorities (cf. 26:57, 59; 27:2, 11), but the language of these verses looks beyond the immediate ministry of the disciples to their work after the resurrection of Jesus (cf. Acts 4:1-22; 5:17-41; 6:12; 12:1-3; 16:19-21; 21:27; Phil 1:12-18).
10:19-20 don’t worry. Disciples need not worry (cf. 6:25, 31, 34) about what they will say during these coming times of duress because God will give them the appropriate words through the Spirit (cf. Mark 13:11-13; Luke 21:12-15).
the Spirit of your Father. This continues the frequent references in Matthew to God as the father of Jesus’ disciples (5:16, 45, 48; 6:1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14, 15, 18, 26, 32; 7:11; 10:20, 29; 13:43; 23:9). But God is the father of Jesus’ disciples because he is first the father of Jesus (7:21; 10:32, 33; 11:25-27; 12:50; 15:13; 16:17, 27; 18:10, 14, 19, 35; 20:23; 25:34; 26:29, 39, 42, 53). Up to this point in Matthew, the Spirit has been mentioned solely in connection with Jesus and his Kingdom ministry (1:18, 20; 3:11, 16; 4:1; cf. 12:18, 28, 31-32). As the disciples extended the message of Jesus and the Kingdom, they too would experience the work of the Spirit in their lives (cf. John 14:15-17; 15:26;). Eventually, the post-resurrection church would experience Jesus’ baptism with the Spirit (3:11) and be led by the Spirit in responding to persecutors (Acts 4:8, 31; 5:32; 6:5, 10; 7:55; 13:9).
10:21 A brother will betray his brother to death. In this most poignant verse of the discourse, it is predicted that even one’s own family members will further this persecution (cf. 10:35-37), to the point of Jesus’ disciples being killed because of the betrayal of their own siblings, parents, and children (cf. Mic 7:6, to which this verse alludes). Such betrayal is extremely distressing, but it is mollified somewhat by the existence of a new Kingdom family of disciples, with God as the father (10:20; 12:46-50; 23:8-9). It is a difficult teaching, but the primary allegiance of disciples must be to Jesus and to their new family of Kingdom disciples, not to their natural families (10:34-39). See the commentary on 10:24-33 for additional discussion.
10:22 everyone who endures to the end will be saved. During such a horrible scenario, in which disciples are universally despised, endurance is the mark of the true disciple (cf. 7:21, 24; 13:21). When disciples face persecution, only those whose perseverance demonstrates the authenticity of their faith will be saved.
10:23 the Son of Man will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel. As the disciples encountered persecution on their mission in one town, they were to flee to the next town (cf. 23:34) with the assurance that Jesus would come before they had finished going through the towns of Israel. Various views of this extremely difficult verse are discussed in the following commentary. It seems best to conclude that the “coming” of Jesus mentioned here is his return to earth. Therefore, this verse anticipates a continuing mission to Israel until the second coming of Christ.
COMMENTARY [Text]
This section contains two cycles of warning and encouragement. The first warns of persecution from religious courts and civil rulers (10:16-18) but encourages the disciples with the promise of the Spirit, who will speak through them in these dire circumstances (10:19-20). The second cycle warns of what is almost unthinkable—betrayal by one’s own family (10:21)—and encourages by stressing the coming of Jesus, who will save those who remain faithful to the end (10:23).
The reference to the coming of the Son of Man in 10:23 is one of the more difficult passages in Matthew. There are several plausible explanations:
1. Jesus will soon “follow up” the ministry of the disciples. In this view the “coming” is not eschatological but simply refers to Jesus rejoining the disciples before they complete their immediate ministries.
2. Jesus’ resurrection amounts to a “coming,” since by it the new era of the church is inaugurated (Albright and Mann 1971:125; Stonehouse 1979:240).
3. The coming of Jesus is a process beginning with the resurrection, continuing through Pentecost, and culminating in his return to earth (Hendriksen 1973:467-468).
4. The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 amounts to a coming in judgment upon Israel (Carson 1984:252-253; Hagner 1993:279-280).
5. Jesus will return to the earth before the disciples complete their mission to Israel (Davies and Allison 1991:192; Blomberg 1992:176; Gundry 1994:194-195; Harrington 1991:147-148).
Choosing between the various views is not easy. One’s decision must be made with three matters in mind. First, one’s view of other Matthean “coming” texts (16:28; 24:30, 44; 25:31; 26:64) must be considered. Presumably, a consistent picture should emerge when these texts are interpreted. Second, at least some of these “coming” texts depend on Daniel 7:13, and one must look carefully at it also. Third, one must decide whether Jesus’ mission discourse in Matthew 10 describes solely the original mission of the Twelve, or in some places anticipates the later mission of the post-resurrection church. It seems best when all these things are considered to opt for view 5, but certainty is not possible.
Jesus’ mission discourse does anticipate the mission of the church throughout the period between his first and second comings (Davies and Allison 1991:179-180), and that mission includes ongoing mission to Israel during the outreach to all the nations.