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The Coming Persecutions, Matthew 10:16-23, is part of Jesus’ speech of commission to his disciples. Immediately preceding these verses, he had commissioned them to evangelize the Israelites with his authority. As soon as he did this, he moved to telling them of the persecutions they will be subjected to for him, before moving to a description of the world in light of their teaching. ==10:16 Necessity of cunning and innocence== ''"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves."'' Inserting 'behold' into the midst of his commission of the Twelve Apostles draws attention to what Jesus begins to say here.〔Donald Hagner. ''Matthew 1-13: Word Biblical Commentary'' (Dallas: Word Books, 1993) 276.〕 It marks off this section as distinct from the preceding part of his instruction to the disciples. After drawing the attention of the disciples with 'behold', Jesus says, literally, 'I, even I, send you...'.〔Robert E. Morosco. '"Matthew’s Formation of a Commissioning Type-Scene out of the Story of Jesus' Commissioning of the Twelve" in ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' 103:4 (December 1984): 539-556, 550.〕 Though in a different tense, this is a quotation of the Septuagint reading of Exodus 3:12, where God commissioned Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. This would have brought to the disciples' attention that they were being commissioned to be the leaders of God's people, as was Moses. He sends them as sheep among wolves, which brings to mind the messianic time envisioned at Isaiah 11:6, which says that the ‘wolf shall dwell with the lamb’.〔Daniel J. Harrington, ''The Gospel of Matthew'': Sacra Pagina Series. (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1991), 144〕 Referring to them as sheep also highlights the danger they will face in their mission.〔Hagner, 277.〕 It draws attention to Jesus’ community as the true Israel, because Jewish literature had traditionally used sheep and wolf imagery of Israel and the nations. Because this verse follows on Jesus sending the twelve to the Israelites exclusively, the Jews hostile to his kingdom are now implicitly cast as wolves.〔W. D. Davies and Dale Allison, Jr., ''A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Gospel According to Saint Matthew''. (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1991), 181.〕 When he tells them to be as wise as serpents, this refers back to the Genesis story of Eden, where the serpent is called ‘subtle’, but the Greek is the same both here and there (at Gen 3:1).〔Harrington, 144.〕 This wisdom entails avoiding danger, but only in ways consistent with their mission.〔John Nolland, ''The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text'' (Bletchley: The Paternoster Press, 2005), 423.〕 Their wisdom is to be for self-preservation, rather than doing harm to others as did the serpent of Genesis.〔R.T. France. ''The Gospel of Matthew''. (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007), 391.〕 Augustine of Hippo saw this as an analogy in which Jesus was calling Christians to offer their whole body to persecutors rather than their head, as serpents do (they curl up their body around their head to protect it).〔St Augustine, ''De doctrina christiana'', II.xvi.23. R.P.H. Green, trans.'' On Christian Teaching'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 44.〕 This is emphasized by pairing the commandment to be like serpents with a commandment to be like doves. Commanding them to be innocent as doves tells the disciples to have pure intentions—elsewhere it is a characteristic of those with integrity.〔John Nolland, 423.〕 The literal meaning of the Greek word translated ‘innocent’ is ‘unmixed’.〔W.D. Davies and Dale Allison, Jr., 181.〕 Elsewhere in the New Testament it is used in a meaning related to the simplicity of children, and it is meant to instruct the twelve that they are to set themselves wholly upon the mission entrusted to them by Jesus. This further shows that the wisdom of snakes, and the innocence of doves, while different, are not at odds. Because doves were used at the time to symbolize Israel,〔David Hill, ed. ''The Gospel of Matthew: New Century Bible'' (London: Oliphants, 1972), 187.〕 the text further points to the twelve as the centre of the true Israel. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Coming Persecutions」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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