Q&A: “What Did Jesus Mean by Being Wise as Serpents & Harmless as Doves?” - DJ Dickerson

This evening, we visit our series of

lessons. And as I stated even this

this morning at the end of services that

from time to time, I will bring this

series back up. Usually once a month,

sometimes depending on the questions

that come in, we might do twice a month.

that and that is our Q&A asking for a

friend where um you know anyone who has

a question the Bible they can certainly

submit those put them in the box one of

the boxes or if you just want to hand

that uh question to me in person that's

fine but but I always uh mention that uh

that and I always express my

appreciation for uh the time that you

spend and studying the word and and the

questions that that may come up and a

lot of times I always say that it's not

just questions that you have but you

know what the fact is other people have

the same questions and so uh this

question may be one that's been on your

mind as well so it works wonderfully so

I've enjoyed doing these series of

lessons um from month to month um so the

Q&A for this evening's lesson uh again

actually derives from a question uh from

our yearly Bible reading. Uh it's one of

those moments just as we saw with our

Q&A last month uh with that of Pharaoh

and his hardened heart uh where we find

ourselves immersed in in reading a

chapter and verse by verse and and and

think well I understand the words but

what exactly does that mean? Sometimes

we run into that. I mean, I do. And so I

that's, you know, we that's part of our

studies. Well, in our asking for a

friend series, we we tackle the

questions that people are thinking but

may not always ask out loud, right? Uh

so today's question comes from the words

of Jesus himself. And I want you to go

to Matthew chapter 10 in your Bibles,

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 10. And I want us to

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

look at a verse. And there's several

verses we'll look at together here in

just a moment from this text. But

specifically Matthew chap 10 and verse

16. Verse 16,

Jesus says, "Behold, I send you out as

sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore,

be wise as serpents and harmless as

doves."

Now the question that we are

specifically looking at this evening is

what did Jesus mean by being wise as

serpents and harmless as doves?

Now sometimes we look at that and we

think we know what he means.

But if we're honest

at first that sounds like a

contradiction, doesn't it? It looks like

it. I mean, first of all, we got sheep

among wolves. Then it says, "Be like a

serpent, but also like a dove." Now,

those sound opposite, don't they? Well,

we know that. So, is Jesus telling us to

be sneaky? Uh, is he telling us to be

naive? Is he telling us to fight? Is he

telling us to flee? Which one is it?

Right? So, we're going to walk carefully

through the text and and and hopefully

that when we leave here this evening, we

are equipped with knowledge and when we

might be asked this question ourselves

in studies with others, we'll be able to

talk about some of these specific things

that we find throughout the scriptures

that has to do with us being wise as

serpents and harmless as doves. So,

first of all, let's talk about the part

sheep in the midst of wolves. I think we

have to use that as kind of a

springboard into where we're going. Uh

because he's talking about really the

reality of disciplehip. Now, when Jesus

begins with realism,

behold, I send you out as sheep in the

midst of wolves. Now, I want you to

notice first what he says. I want to put

this in a box here. I send

sin. He sends them. They are not

wandering into danger accidentally.

Right? I want us to make sure we note

that they are being actually

commissioned into it. This chapter is

Jesus sending out the 12 and there's

warnings that are given here and he

warns them of certain things like

persecution, rejection, betrayal,

hatred. Read on in verse 17- 22.

But beware of men, for they will deliver

you up to councils and scourge you in

their synagogues. You'll be brought

before governors and kings for my sake

as a testimony to them and to the

Gentiles. But when they deliver you up,

y'all see that? But when they deliver

you up, do not worry about how or what

you should speak. For it is not you who

for it is for it is not you who speak,

but the spirit of your father who speaks

in you. Now brother will deliver a

brother to death and a father his child

and children will rise up against

parents and cause them to be put to

death. And you will be hated by all for

my name's sake. But he who endures to

the end will be saved.

Now, it's kind of a gloomy passage. All

right? It's kind of gloomy with uh this

uh warnings that Jesus is giving.

He does not say

you might encounter wolves.

Didn't say that, did he?

He didn't say if things get difficult.

He says plainly, "You are sheep

surrounded by wolves." And then he goes

on in verse 23, "When they persecute

you, not if they do, no fangs." The

realization is there's no fangs. There's

no venom, no camouflage.

So you kind of get the imagery here.

That's intentional. That's intentional

imagery. Christians are not called to

dominate culture through force. You

don't find that in the scriptures.

We are not called to overpower the world

with intimidation.

How are we portrayed in the scriptures,

right? We we we want sometimes we want

to think about ourselves in something

different than other than sheep. But

that's not Jesus. Jesus gave us what he

says you're sheep.

Now sheep don't have all of these other

things I mentioned earlier.

Sheep don't have fangs and venom and

camouflage and all those other things,

do they? No. As sheep, what does that

mean? We're dependent. We're vulnerable.

And what does that mean? We trust our

shepherd.

Remember Psalm 23? What's that reminder

that the psalmist gives in Psalm 23 and

verse one? The Lord is my shepherd. I

shall not want. Lot of lessons right

there. The safety of the sheep is not in

their shrink but in their shepherd

because that's the whole dependence part

of it. And and the fact is we must stop

being shocked when culture pushes back

against truth. That has always been

always

because even Paul who understood this

well quite well because what did he do?

He pushed against truth didn't he? He

persecuted when he was Saul of Tarsus.

At the end after he became a Christian,

he also felt those effects of those

persecuting him because now he is the

sheep

and he would be able to explain and

emphasize to that even of Timothy in 2

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

Timothy chapter 3 and verse 12. Yes, in

all who desire to live godly in Christ

Jesus will suffer persecution.

Now kids and I have this thing

sometimes, you know, the idea between a

pessimist and an optimist. So we kind of

go back and forth versus pessimist and

optimism. So I just tell her, I'm a

realist. That's how I fix that one,

right? A realist. Well, you know, here's

what Jesus is doing. Jesus is not he's

not painting a pessimistic culture.

Rather, Jesus is painting a realistic

one. The Christian life is not a

playground, my friends. It's a mission

field.

And so

that's when we look at this what he's

saying.

And it's kind of a surprising phrase. I

I can tell you that every time I've read

Matthew chapter 10 and when I get to

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

verse 16, it does kind of just kind of

what

I mean, he's he's talking about

being wise as serpents. Well, here's

what I want us to look at that part.

Strategic discernment. Strategic

discernment. When you go back to that

passage of verse 16, it says,

"Therefore, be wise as

serpents." WHY SERPENTS OF ALL TO pick

from?

Why serpents?

Because throughout scripture,

think about this, serpents symbolize

shrewdness.

Serpents symbolize

awareness. Even Genesis 3 and verse one,

the serpent was described in such a way.

The serpent was more cunning

than any beast of the field which the

Lord God had made. Now,

I want us to be clear.

Jesus is not praising evil.

He's not doing that.

He's not praising deception.

He's not doing that. But you know what?

He is

emphasizing and that is prudence.

Now, when you break this down a little

bit

and think about the uh word here, when

you think about serpents and how it is

connected to a word called the word

wise,

there's a Greek word and the Greek word

for wise, and I'm not going to try to

pronounce that because y'all know my

Burke billion will come out and I will

ruin all of that right there together.

But what it does, that Greek word is

used to describe the qualities of being

thoughtful,

discreet, there's that word, prudent,

and it implies a cautious character.

That's what that is.

And when you put that together for just

a moment, what that means for us,

be aware of your surroundings.

Understand

the times. Speak truth strategically.

Don't be reckless. Does that make sense?

I think that does. And as I was

preparing

uh this lesson, I couldn't help but

think of the recent lesson from Acts

Acts 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17. That was just last Sunday

night, wasn't it? Acts 17.

uh and throughout Paul's missionary

journeys, you know, the the way that

that that Paul uh addressed those in

Athens, the Athenians there on Mars

Hill, very strategic, I believe, uh and

and a lot of which you can go back and

listen to that lesson. I won't go

through it all again, but but think

about how Paul did this missionary

journeys all together, how he was

actually demonstrating what Jesus is

saying in our text of Matthew chapter

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

10.

I'm going to give you another one that

if you kind of go to Acts chapter 23,

Acts 23 · chapter mention

Acts 23 and uh look at the example uh in

verse 6

when standing before the Sanhedrin. Look

what look what happens here.

But when Paul perceived that one part

were Sadducees and the other Pharisees,

he cried out in the council.

Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the

son of a Pharisee. Concerning the hope

and resurrection of the dead, I am being

judged. Now,

what happens in the next verse?

If you look at verse seven,

immediately

division broke out with dissension that

arose between the Pharisees and the

Sadducees wherein the assembly divided.

That was being wise as a servant. That's

exactly what that is because he was in

the mixture of two different sex groups,

right? The Pharisees and the Sadducees.

Now, here's the point though. Paul's not

compromising truth, right? He was wisely

navigating a hostile environment because

it was a hostile environment. When you

read that,

you know what that is again? That

serpentike

wisdom.

It's not manipulation.

It's discernment.

in applying this today even we must

understand there's a difference between

being bold and being foolish

when I said being reckless earlier okay

that goes in the foolish category all

right so think about what proverbs 22

teaches us in verse three a prudent man

there's that word that connects that

Greek word wise earlier right a prudent

man foresees evil and hides himself but

the simple pass on and are punished

Now what the proverb writer would go on

to say in so many wisdom means knowing

when to speak,

knowing how to speak.

How about knowing when silence is

powerful. I tell you what, in marriage,

knowing when silence can really be

powerful, right?

Sometimes us men, we just like, you know

what? We're just going to not say

anything. Maybe that's the right way,

right? There's some wisdom there

sometimes.

But how about understanding the heart of

your audience, that's a big one. And you

take all of those things that I

mentioned, knowing when to speak, how to

speak, knowing when silence is powerful,

and understand the heart of your

audience. Is that not what Jesus did? Is

that not what Paul did?

example after example after example, we

have that Jesus himself modeled this

Matthew 22.

If you go and you read all Matthew 22,

which if you're in the yearly Bible

reading program we're doing this year,

guess what? You've already read Matthew

22 because we've already completed

Matthew, right? In our yearly Bible

reading so far. So Matthew 22 what

you're what you found in that chapter he

was being asked trap questions now very

easily that when you go through there

and it's not just Matthew 22 there are

other ones of course where you find this

where you have the the religious leaders

and you have uh the scribes and the

Pharisees of course and you go through

there and and how they would try to

twist things. I'll give you one real

quickly. Uh verse 35, right? Uh 34 and

35.

But when the Pharisees heard that he had

silenced the Sadducees,

they gathered together. Then one of

them, a lawyer, asked him a question.

What What does it say the next two

words? Testing him.

Yeah, we're going to throw that trap out

there. We're going to try to get a

snare. You see those words? testing him

and saying, "Teacher, which is the

greatest commandment in the law?" Over

and over again, you'll see that where

where they would try to send out those

trap questions. Well, we're going to

test him. Well, he answered in ways that

did what? Exposed motives

without falling into their snare.

Jesus was being wise

as serpents.

That's what that means.

He had great discernment.

Friends, wisdom,

as the proverb writer attests in many

other passages, wisdom is spiritual

awareness

in a hostile world.

You think about the persecution

of what they were dealing with in the

first century for that matter. Very

intense. Again, Paul understood that

very well from from both sides.

He understood the importance of

spiritual awareness as a disciple of

Jesus Christ being wise as serpents.

Now, but then you find this other part

wise as serpents, but he also says to be

harmless as doves. And what I believe is

that's speaking of moral purity.

Moral purity. Look at that verse again

in Matthew 10:16 that simply says again

Matthew 10:16

that therefore be harm be wise as

serpents and harmless as doves. Now

again I was looking this up and thinking

about well that word harmless in

relation to that of doves well again the

Greek word that you see before you on

the chart means unmixed

as in innocent. Your translation may

have that word harmless,

simple. Again, that's from Strong's

Greek dictionary.

Because when we go back to the

scriptures, just as we just mentioned

briefly about the serpents, doves in

scripture symbolize purity. Doves

symbolize gentleness. You see, we are

never permitted to win by becoming like

the wolves.

That's not how the Bible portrays and

says for us to be.

I mean, if you think about this

carefully,

anybody's had any dealings with

serpents? I've had my fair share. Uh, a

serpent protects itself by being alert.

A dove though symbolizes peace and

purity. And yet Jesus says we must have

both.

Here's the key.

Without wisdom,

innocence becomes naive weakness.

And without innocence,

wisdom becomes

manipulative cunning.

You see, God never authorizes

sinful tactics to accomplish righteous

goals. Romans 3 hits on this in verse

eight where it condemns the idea of

doing evil that good may come. See,

and this goes to what we call balance.

We have a balance here.

Now, some can lean too far in one

direction.

Some can be all dove and kind and

gentle, but there's a lacking of

discernment, undiscerning and easily

deceived. Why? Why do we see all many

scriptures about deceive? Be careful

that we're not deceived.

We deceive ourselves. But then you have

some that think about the serpent side.

Could be sharp, could be strategic, but

there might be some harshness. There may

be some combiveness.

And again,

how do you even combine this?

Because Jesus says we must have both.

But look at how the words are broken

down. And again, keeping all in context

of what Jesus is saying here regarding

persecution.

I want you to notice a passage what Paul

mentions there in Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

Ephesians chapter 4 I believe is a a

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

prime area and what he what Paul is

emphasizing along with uh here in our

text Ephesians chapter 4 again prove all

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

things according to God's word not DJs

that he notes there in verses 14 and 15

and 15

that we should no longer be children

tossed to and fro and carried about with

every wind of doctrine

by the trickery of men in the cunning

craftiness of deceitful plotting, but

speaking the truth and love may grow up

in all things into him who is the head

Christ. This is what really in a warning

that's being given here. It is

truth without love crushes

and love without truth

compromises.

But yet Christ embodied both perfectly.

So let me mention that Jesus the perfect

model.

When you put this wise as serpents and

harmless as doves, we used again couple

examples already that of Jesus and Paul.

Take your mind to that of

Jesus's trial.

He stood before Pilate.

What is it that we see?

What was that encounter like?

Did we see Jesus lash out?

No. Didn't see that.

Did Jesus manipulate

in any sort of way? No.

Well, what about compromise and truth?

Well, we know the answer to that one,

don't we? No, he didn't do that.

But you know what else he didn't do? He

didn't answer

every accusation.

You see the wisdom there?

Now, if you take all the way back to the

prophecy that speaks of the suffering

savior, Jesus himself, Isaiah 53 and

verse 7.

Isaiah 53 and:e7

speaks of Jesus. That's prophecy. It

says, "He was oppressed and he was

afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter

and as a sheep before its shears is

silent. So he opened not his mouth.

Walk through this with me. How do we

start the lesson out? What's what's this

verse verse 16 saying? We're talking

about sheep, serpents, and doves. That's

the three we're dealing with tonight.

All right.

What do you see in this first point here

in Jesus? Here's the sheep.

This is the sheep part.

But earlier

when confronting hypocrisy,

what did he do in Matthew 23? And I like

I don't have time to go all through

Matthew 23 tonight. As much as I would

love to, I will not. But Matthew 23 and

verses 27 and 28, here's kind of a

portion of it. One of the many woes that

he said to the scribes and the

Pharisees. Woe to you scribes and

Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like

whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear

beautiful outwardly, but inside are full

of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.

Even so, you also outwardly appear

righteous to men, but inside you're full

of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Jesus had

a lot to say again in Matthew 23. But

what I'm what I'm showing you this this

evening in this that when confronting

that hypocrisy, he is speaking boldly

and he's speaking precisely.

You know what that's called? That's

serpent-like wisdom.

Serpent-like wisdom.

But how was all of this wrapped up as

sheep

and wise as a serpent?

It was all wrapped up

in perfect holiness.

And that's the dove.

You know, when we think about

the applications and I had to I was

dwelling on this and how to end the

lesson was well, basically DJ, how do we

live this out?

What does that mean to me? And what does

that mean to you about here? We are

sheep in the midst of wolves to be wise

as serpents and harmless and stuff. You

know, we see Jesus, how he dealt with

this and so perfectly and masterfully.

And we see Paul

Well, what about us?

What does that look like for us in

report 2026?

Well, I thought about the workplace.

You know, you don't compromise

integrity,

but you also do not unnecessarily

provoke. Think about Colossians 4:es 5

and six. Look at these words. This can

go into all areas, right, of life. Walk

in wisdom for those who are outside,

redeeming the time.

Let your speech always be with grace,

seasoned with salt, that you may know

how you ought to answer each one. Do

y'all see how what Jesus say in Matthew

Matthew 10:16

10:16 is applying here in Colossians

4:es 5 and 6?

Is that what Jesus modeled

that that you notice that phrase know

how you ought to answer?

What's that called?

Wisdom.

That's why he says, "Walk in wisdom."

Think about our culture.

Um the world is full of rage and outrage

and all sorts of things.

We don't mirror the outrage of the

world. We're called to be different

because Jesus didn't call us to fight

flesh with flesh, right? He didn't do

that.

2 Corinthians 10 and:es 3-5 gives us a

reminder of this. 2 Corinthians 10

and:es 3-5.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do

not war according to the flesh. For the

weapons of our warfare are not carnal,

but mighty in God. for pulling down

strongholds,

casting down arguments and every high

thing that exalts itself against the

knowledge of God, bringing every thought

into captivity to the obedience of

Christ. This is a a simple reminder that

Paul has given the Corinthian brethren

and and for us today that our weapons

are not carnal. We do not shout wolves

down.

We shine light.

I mean, even go to Ephesians chapter 6

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

and what are we told to put on? Put on

the whole armor of God.

Put on the whole armor of God. Because

again, what are we fighting against?

Spiritual.

What about evangelism?

We don't soften truth. We don't do that.

How are we told to present it?

with compassion.

You know, Jesus speaks about how he

moved with compassion.

Uh think about Jesus when he met the

woman at the well. Uh there's a lot

there in that passage. And again, I'm

kind of bringing this verses down in

John 4:es 16-19 as well as verse 39. I

want you to go to there and look look

and again prove prove this according to

the word, right? Not DJs, but according

to God's word. But John 4 16-19 said

Jesus said to her, "Go call your husband

and come here." The woman answered and

said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to

her, "You have well said, I have no

husband, for you have had five husbands,

and the one whom you now have is not

your husbands,

and that you spoke truly." The woman

said to him, "Sir, I perceive

that you are a prophet." Now, if you go

down to verse 39, notice what's going

on. And many of the Samaritans of that

city believed him because of the word of

the woman who testified, "He told me all

that I ever did."

You see, Jesus in this encounter that he

has with this woman at the well,

Samaritan woman,

what did he do?

He exposed sin.

But how he did it,

it's beautiful. He did so gently. And

what he did is he led her step by step.

Three things. You know, you notice what

what was happening there. And I can take

you through through each and every one

of Jesus encounter. And you're going to

find this.

He's in and his teachings

how he does it

with wisdom, purity, and balance every

time.

I was trying to think how to illustrate

this.

And not that we see a lot of frozen

lakes around here, but um who knows? We

may get one. It's Texas. You never know.

could be tomorrow. Uh but just imagine

walking across a frozen lake. Maybe we

can just imagine it for that moment.

And if you stomp recklessly,

it's a high possibility you might break

through.

But then if you tiptoe fearfully,

you may never cross.

But

if you move carefully,

attentively,

and confidently, you make it safely.

Is that not how the Christian life and

you think of all the balances that we

have in in what God has required of us

to stand out to be that light? Because

again, those people are different.

They're just different.

They're not like the world because we've

been called to be peculiar people. We're

not like that of the world. We live in

the world. We're not of the world,

right?

And we're called to walk circumspectly.

Paul told the Ephesian brother, walk

circumspectly. That that is a careful

walk. And what Jesus is teaching us and

certainly demonstrated through his own

life is for us to be alert but not

anxious.

Be gentle, not gullible.

Be bold,

but not brutal.

Those are things that we apply and we

learn

as we follow

Jesus Christ our savior.

I want you to remember in his conclusion

how the verse began.

Behold, I send you. Make that personal.

He said, "Behold, I send DJ.

Put your name there. I send you."

Here's a key.

Just as that that that song that we sang

uh brother Roland Morris led us in where

he leads I'll follow. Here's here it is

just like that song. You see he sins and

what do we do? We follow.

Friends, I have a whole thing about

sheep that you know my mind I'm thinking

that is the that is the best way to

characterize us the sheep. It really is

because sheep do not survive because

they are clever.

There there is a video and and I and I

don't have it here. I I tell you what,

it's one that I have thought about many

times that just pictures us really well.

This this uh this guy is over there and

I assume he might be the shepherd. I I'm

not really sure, but uh he he this this

this sheep had gotten stuck in this

crevice in this ditch and I mean was

just jammed off in the middle of it. And

this guy and he is working so hard and

he finally gets this sheep out of this

crevice.

And then that sheep just takes off and

it starts bouncing happily along and

then back in the crevice again. And I'm

like, "That's me."

Don't laugh too much at you, too. All

right. That came back full circle,

didn't it? Yeah. Y'all weren't ready for

that one.

But that's the truth. That's why sheep

is is it's it's it just hits home

because we're not clever IN THAT SUCH A

WAY. We survive BECAUSE WE STAY NEAR THE

SHEPHERD.

It's powerful.

But he is telling us

how we navigate

how

and all the words of wisdom all the way

back in Proverbs. There's so much we

gain,

but it all comes right back to John 10

John 10:27

verse 27. My sheep hear my voice and I

know them

and they follow me.

Again, friends, we're not called to

become wolves. That's not it. And we're

not called to become snakes. And we're

like, we're thankful for that one, too.

We are called to remain exactly as he

desires us to be, and that is sheep. And

sheep are those who walk wisely and live

purely.

Friends, in a world of predators and we

are surrounded by predators,

Jesus calls us to be perceptive

without being poisonous

and pure without being powerless.

that is being wise as serpents and

harmless as doves and always faithful to

the shepherd who laid down his life for

the sheep. And that's our Q&A for

tonight. I certainly do appreciate you

spending this hour studying the word of

God, worshiping God in spirit and in

truth tonight. certainly have been

encouraged throughout the day and for

this time that we've been able to spend

in God's word reminding ourselves

the very powerful words that Jesus has

given us so we may understand what our

role and our responsibility is how we

navigate throughout the predators that

are out there that is certainly trying

to prey upon us but realize God has

given us

everything that pertains to life and

godly He has helped us. We just got to

make sure to stay with the shepherd,

stay close, stay with him, follow him

wherever he leads. And I appreciate the

questions that are submitted with that.

A song of encouragement. Let's prepare

our hearts. Think about our lives. Well,

have we submitted to his will? Having

heard the word, do you believe that

Jesus Christ is the son living God? If

you can say, "I believe that he is,"

then what are we doing with him? Confess

him, repent of your sins, and be

baptized for the remission of your sins.

To rise and walk in newness of life, as

Romans 6 3 and 4 says, "And to remain

faithful, staying with the shepherd,

following him wherever he leads.