Matthew 9:35-11:1; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-6;
Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29; Luke 3:19-20; 9:7-9
Jesus is the ultimate Realist. He does not sugar-coat what the Apostles have ahead of them. As He sends out the Twelve in pairs on a preaching-healing-and-deliverance tour He warns them to expect persecution and deadly opposition:
Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for My sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.
Matthew 10:17-18
Although the Gospels are silent as to any opposition to the Disciples during this current short-term mission, the sequel to Luke’s Gospel, the Book of Acts, indicates plenty of opposition in the long term, and so do the Epistles. Lest we think that Jesus’ warning is limited to the Apostles and the early Church, we need only review history to see that it is replete with Christian martyrs and the suffering of saints at the hands of evil men. This persecution continues to this day all around the world.
With religious freedom secured by the First Amendment to our Constitution, we in the U.S.A. have long enjoyed legal protection from various persecutions, and for that we should all be extremely grateful. But we should also guard against the delusion that we are somehow thus immune from violence. As it is, those who take a firm stand for Truth may well face being “canceled” or shouted down in the public square, or they may face harassing litigation with its attendant high legal expenses. That, of course, is bad enough, but do we think it is going to end there? No. It won’t. So we should not be surprised when violence against Christians increases in this country. And we should not be surprised when that violence is sanctioned — or even promoted — by the very institutions that we currently might trust to protect us. Nor should we be surprised when some of that persecution comes from those whom we now imagine to be in our own ranks. (Remember, one of the Twelve is Judas Iscariot…)
Does Jesus warn of persecution just to frighten us? No, on the contrary, He specifically says not to fear such opposition. (Mt. 10:27-31) But, as I said, He is the ultimate Realist and He wants us to face reality, too. He does not want us to be deluded into thinking that following Him is to be a cakewalk, all happiness and sunshine, warm fuzzies and hot cocoa. If that is what we are looking for, then our faith will not withstand the slightest difficulty. No, Jesus calls us to face reality and trust in His Father, to take up our cross now (Mt. 10:38) and thereby disarm any threat of a cross later.
See also: