Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. – Luke 10:3
When Jesus sends out the seventy-two disciples in pairs to go and teach, preach, and heal in his name; I’m usually taken back by the authority in which the disciples operate. The demons are cast out, the people are healed, and everywhere these disciples go, even they are amazed at the things they are able to do because of the authority Jesus has given them. The disciples are sent with the bare minimum for survival, yet they are provided for in whatever town they happen to be passing through. Jesus has sent them out, but it seems as though the Holy Spirit, has gone ahead of them, and prepared the way.
As I read the passage again, however, the above verse stuck out a little more. When we read it in full context, it doesn’t seem as though the disciples had any trouble, their mission was a huge success, yet in Jesus own words, they were “sent out like lambs among wolves.”
This analogy is quite disturbing to those who are accustomed to the work of shepherding lambs. Lions, wolves, and the like were not the things any shepherd would want to face. They would fight one off if they had to, but I can imagine it was never a desirable part of the job. The disciples, though, are not being compared to the shepherd, but the lambs.
Lambs are mostly defenseless, especially when they are young, and especially if they have recently been sheered. Jesus looks at these who have followed him, and as a shepherd, he sees them as little lambs, precious, valuable, but potentially unable to defend themselves. Wolves don’t travel alone, they work in packs, and typically try to separate a potential victim from the heard and from the shepherd, it’s not a single wolf one needs to watch out for, but the entire pack.
As we have been apart from one another, it feels as though we have been separated from our herd. Some of us have felt more isolated than others, but we have missed the joy of being together. The longer this time lasts, the more important it is for us to check in on one another, to pray for one another, and find ways to continue to stay connected. I am always hopeful by knowing we will be back together one day, and hopefully soon, but I still don’t know when soon will be. Today, the words of Jesus remind us, again, that we have been sent out into the world. We may be apart from one another, but we are working to fulfill the mission Jesus has given us to love and care for one another. To call one another, and to remember to speak peace everywhere we go, even when it is difficult.
Be safe out there, and know your shepherd is watching over you.
Grace & Peace,
Sam