Innocent and Vulnerable
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16) What is important about contrasting these two concepts? Is this a balancing of opposites , or is it something else? Where might we find the original contrast of these two? Let's go back to the very beginning and see what we might find there. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed . Now the serpent was more crafty ( shrewd ) than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman.... (Genesis 2:25 – 3:1) Do you see it there? I find the same kind of contrast in this passage as in the words of Jesus – shrewd and innocent. And I don't believe it is any coincidence either. Let me share a paraphrase I wrote from looking up the definitions of the words of Jesus from the Greek that provides some interesting insights. Be very aware that I am sending you out like vulnerable sheep int...