OLD TESTAMENT: Ezra 9-10
POETRY: Psalm 142
NEW TESTAMENT: John 15:18 – 16:4
Ominous title, right? In John 15 and 16, Jesus warned his disciples that they would be hated by the world, just as he, himself, was hated by the world. His final warning makes me shudder:
Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. (John 16:2b ESV)
Jesus doesn’t say, people might not like you. Instead, he says, when people kill you. Jesus told his disciples they would die. And, they did.
While many reports of their deaths are extra-biblical, there is a range of sources (from pretty well-verified to pretty random) that enumerate the tragic deaths of the apostles. This list includes executions by the sword (Acts 12:2), upside-down crucifixions, beheadings, stabbings, stonings, burnings, and drownings.
The point is this: the disciples knew the dangers of following Jesus, but they did it anyway. The holiness of Jesus was worth emulating. The message of Jesus was worth spreading. The splendor of Jesus was worth striving for—even when it meant being spat on, looked down upon, imprisoned, and killed. They knew the terms. And they signed up anyway.
The next time you’re called a heretic, a prude, or a member of a cult, be encouraged by the apostles who came before us. These apostles faced greater persecution but remained steadfast followers of Christ.
We know why they did it—it’s the same reason we do it. But how did they do it? I think the answer lies in having an eternal perspective, in remembering that a crown of thorns will be exchanged someday for a crown of glory. The pain is temporary, but the glory is eternal.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV)
-Mackenzie McClain
Reflection Questions
- Do you feel you have experienced any persecution yet because of your faith?
- How does one prepare for persecution?
Seek Grow Love 