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JG: This was about the time that Jesus sent His followers out to evangelize in a sometimes hostile environment. My first thought is that this is not a universal promise but a temporal promise.
We know that we can't mess with snakes and drink poison etc. without paying the price and He isn't saying "Throw aside all caution and common sense friends." He is saying, however, in this particular time I empower (ordain) you with powers you may never receive again, nor will most others have them. This ordination may have carried a special dispensation from all harm, but when that task was complete, they needed to watch their asps.
The other possibility is that someone in the many layers of translation placed this idea in the text to elevate the disciples to an exalted place, above mere mortals. Thus when they or their appointed successors speak, it carries the authority of Christ Himself. The same thing happened in the last chapter of Mark where some uncharacteristic commands about snakes and poison were not part of the oldest texts/codices.
I know that scares fundamentalists, but when we can't reconcile the big truths of the Word with the small ones, we need to consider other possibilities. Yes, some monks had agendas, as did most of the early Church Fathers.
It's also possible that this was, hyperbole, a statement made to encourage his fearful followers. Hyperbole need not be untrue, but a colorful way to speak the truth, with a sometimes exaggerated tone. "Oh stop whining! Go out there and do your job. And don't worry about the boogey man or even snakes". Jesus used hyperbole in His parables too, but that's another subject.
Is it your personal experience that nothing harmful ever came your way while faithfully following Christ? Probably not. Therefore, if you choose to be rigid, you may say one of two things: 1) God's word is not true, or 2) You are such a terrible hypocrite that His promises don't apply to you. Neither is true. So, you must go to a third, or fourth, or fifth option and consider things like: 1) the context of the promise, is it temporary/localized, or eternal? and/or 2) is the text itself suspect because it does not resonate with the great body of Christian witness? and 3) What can you glean from the text as the greatest truth, and cling to it?
Clearly it doesn't mean anyone who is an evangelist is always immune to decay, demise or destruction. We only remember those who lived a long time but many died too young as well, and are unknown or forgotten by humankind.
Obviously, there are many more explanations ranging from the far right to the far left of the theological scale. For me, the further I get from the extremes the easier it is to understand such things. As I age, I loosen the grip of dogma and superstition that characterized me for so long, and snuggle up to things that sound like, look like and feel like Jesus. Remember, we don't worship the scripture, we worship the God and the Truth behind it.
When one teaching supersedes another, choose the strongest, most sensible and closest to the nature of Christ and go with it.
Maybe this helps?
Blessings.
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