Sheep, Wolves, Snakes and Doves

By Rick Carrol

In Matthew 10:16, Jesus told his followers that “I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” Now that’s a very interesting analogy to work your way through with four very different animals being part of the call Jesus gives us. So let’s break it down.

Jesus first calls us to be sheep. Sheep are most often represented as followers of Jesus in the Bible, who know the voice of their shepherd. They are gentle and have no defence mechanism. And as we share the gospel, we are to be led by Jesus, in a gentle, peaceful way, at times without the need to defend.

He then calls it out that as sheep, we are among wolves. Wolves are hunters, often aggressively taking out the sheep they can find. Many times, as Christians, we’re so passionate about sharing the gospel that we get caught up being wolves among wolves, aggressive in sharing God’s word. But we were never designed to be like wolves. Even if we become vulnerable, we are to be sheep amongst the wolves.

Then he says we can be cunning like a snake. A snake, although often characterized as a sinful animal, knows how to avoid conflict. When they feel the footsteps of a human, they escape the danger coming their way. Although we are defenceless, we don’t need to invite the danger. We can use shrewd cunning to avoid an attack.

He then sums it all up, reminding us to be gentle as doves, the symbol of the Holy Spirit in the Bible:

Agents of peace, like a sheep
Avoiding attacking like a wolf
Wise and cunning like a snake
But always full of the Spirit like a dove.

This is Jesus’ model for going into the world and sharing the gospel.