Mt 10:16-23
[Jesus said to the Twelve,] 16“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. 17But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, 18and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. 19When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. 20For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 22You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. 23When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
SHEEP IN THE MIDST OF WOLVES: The Bible refers to sheep more than 500 times, with specific terms indicating types on the basis of age, sex, and breed; in the Hebrew Scriptures most references are literal, while in the New Testament most are metaphorical.
Domestic sheep are valued for the necessities they provide—milk, meat, hides, and wool. They are favored as sacrificial animals (Lv 1:10; 4:32), so it is not surprising that the crucified Jesus is identified as the Lamb of God in Johannine literature (Jn 1:29; Rv 5:6). Sheep are gentle and docile, largely defenseless and in need of constant supervision. For this reason, the people of God are depicted as a flock under the care of God (e.g. Ps 78:52) or Jesus (Jn 10) or human leaders (Ez 34).
Wolves, on the other hand, are terrifying creatures: they devour, tear, and destroy their prey, especially helpless sheep. Their terror and ferocity provides the context for the revulsion the biblical writers and Jesus have for evil people and institutions that they compare to wolves.
As Jesus sends the Twelve, he describes them as sheep in the midst of wolves. They will be defenseless and vulnerable as they go about their mission. But they are not to be afraid of bearing witness to Jesus who as their shepherd will protect and care for them. God’s Spirit will be the power that will speak through them.