Jesus was showing purpose for persecution

JESUS WAS SHOWING PURPOSE FOR PERSECUTION
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 21:12-13 12"Butbefore all this, they will seize
you and persecute you. They will hand you over to
synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be
brought before kings and governors, and all on
account of my name. 13And so you will bear testimony
to me.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Afterwards
W. Clarkson
Luke 21:13
And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
No chastening for the present seemethto be joyous, but grievous:nevertheless
afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness.Concerning any
course we take the question how it affects us now is not so important as is the
question to what it leads, or, in the words of the text, "to what it turns." And
while that which is very pleasant often "turns to" much that is painful and

bitter, or even shameful (see Revelation10:10), on the other hand, that which
is very trying and even saddening at the time often "turns to" an issue that is
full of honor and of joy. The context suggeststhat -
I. PERSECUTION TURNSTO TESTIMONY- to a most valuable proof of
sincerity and faithfulness. When a man endures the blows and buffetings of
the cruel hand of the persecutor, "we know the proof of him;" we write him
down a true, loyal, noble servant of Christ. To how many men, not of the
earliestage only but of all ages,has this steadfastnessin the hour of trial been
acceptedby us as a "testimony" of the very greatestworth, so that their
names are treasured by us as those of men that have done highesthonor to
their race!And their martyr-sufferings have turned to a testimony in the
heavenly country; they have gained for them there the commendation of their
Lord and the greeting of their glorified brethren. When, from "wandering in
deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves ofthe earth," the persecuted
Christians of Madagascarcame forth to be welcomedby those who were then
living under a kindly rule, they were greetedas such faithful and heroic men
deservedto be; their persecutionhad turned into a testimony. In a similar
way we may say that -
II. TOIL TURNS INTO ACHIEVEMENT. The toil of the desk, of the field, of
the shop, of the factory, may be hard and wearisome;our back may bend
beneath our burden; our mind may be strained to its utmost capacityof
continuance;but let us take courage andwork on at our task;further on is the
precious goalof achievement; after a while we shall look with unspeakable
satisfactiononthe work that has been done, the result that has been reached.
III. PRIVATION TURNS INTO ENRICHMENT.Sadand serious indeed are
the privations, the losses, whichare suffered when men are suddenly reduced
in their temporal possessions,orwhen they are bereavedof near relatives or
most intimate friends. Yet is there something more than compensationwhen

the loss of the one leads, as it has often led, to the enrichment of the soul, by its
finding refuge in God and in his service;or when the loss of the other has
brought to the soul the fullness of the sympathy and friendship of Jesus
Christ; privation has turned to enrichment.
IV. SERVICE TURNS INTO RULE. The soldier in the ranks becomes an
officer of the army; the apprentice becomes the master;by long and faithful
service in any one of the fields of human activity we prepare to rule. Thus is it
in the spiritual realm. Obedience to Divine law turns into a perfect self-
command, which is another name for liberty. And a lifelong service of Jesus
Christ will turn to an occupancyof that heavenly sphere for which our fidelity
shall have fitted us; the "faithful and wise servant" his Lord will "make ruler
over all his goods" (Matthew 24:45-47). Faithful service here "turns to"
happy and helpful rule hereafter.
V. PATIENT WAITING TURNS TO BLISSFUL PARTICIPATION. Some
souls have much waiting for the hour of deliverance, for the redemption of
our body; it is a weary and a trying time. To "learnto wait" is the hardestof
all lessons. Butthough the night seemvery long, the morning will come in
time; and if the steadfastsoulwait patiently the holy will of God, the long
endurance shall turn to a full and joyous participation in the glory that is to
be revealed- the "glorious liberty of the children of God." - C.
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(13) It shall turn to you for a testimony.—There are but two writers in the
New Testamentwho use the verb (literally, to come out) in this figurative

sense. St. Luke is one, and the other is St. Paul, in a passageso closelyparallel
to this as to read almost like an echo of it (Philippians 1:19). The “testimony”
is defined by Mark 13:9, as being borne to the kings and rulers before whom
the disciples were to stand.
BensonCommentary
Luke 21:13-19. It shall turn to you for a testimony — The persecutions which
you suffer shall become a glorious proof both of your innocence and of their
guilt in rejecting the gospel. Settle it, therefore, in your hearts, &c. — As the
Holy Ghostwill assistyou in your defences, let it be a fixed point with you, not
to meditate before what ye shall answer. See on Matthew 10:19, and Mark
13:11. I will give you a mouth and wisdom, &c. — “I will suggestto you such
sentiments, and enable you to deliver them with such eloquence, that your
defences shallbe unanswerable;and your adversaries shallbe struck with
them, especiallywhenthey find by your manner that you have spokenwithout
premeditation.” Of the fulfilment of this promise, we have evident examples in
the defences made by the proto- martyr, Stephen, and by the Apostle Paul,
especiallybefore King Agrippa and the Roman governors. But there is no
need to insist upon particulars. The prevalency of the gospel, whereverit was
preached, demonstrates, beyond all doubt, that the defences made by the
preachers thereofwere unanswerable. Ye shall be betrayed by parents and
brethren, &c. — See on Matthew 10:22, and Mark 13:12-13. There shallnot a
hair of your head perish — A proverbial expressiondenoting absolute safety.
The specialprovidence of God shall watch over you for your preservation,
and you shall not suffer before the time appointed by God, nor without a full
reward. But the promise seems to refer especiallyto their preservationduring
the siege ofJerusalem;of which, see on Luke 21:20. Thus Jesus encouragedall
to steadfastnessin the midst of the fiery trial that was to try them. In patience
possessye your souls — Be calm and serene, masters ofyourselves, and
superior to all irrational and disquieting passions. Bykeeping the government
of your spirits, you will both avoid much misery, and guard the better against
all dangers.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

21:5-28 With much curiosity those about Christ ask as to the time when the
greatdesolationshould be. He answers with clearnessand fulness, as far as
was necessaryto teach them their duty; for all knowledge is desirable as far as
it is in order to practice. Though spiritual judgements are the most common
in gospeltimes, yet God makes use of temporal judgments also. Christ tells
them what hard things they should suffer for his name's sake, and encourages
them to bear up under their trials, and to go on in their work,
notwithstanding the opposition they would meet with. God will stand by you,
and own you, and assistyou. This was remarkably fulfilled after the pouring
out of the Spirit, by whom Christ gave his disciples wisdom and utterance.
Though we may be losers forChrist, we shall not, we cannotbe losers by him,
in the end. It is our duty and interest at all times, especiallyin perilous, trying
times, to secure the safetyof our own souls. It is by Christian patience we keep
possessionofour ownsouls, and keepout all those impressions which would
put us out of temper. We may view the prophecy before us much as those Old
Testamentprophecies, which, togetherwith their greatobject, embrace, or
glance at some nearerobject of importance to the church. Having given an
idea of the times for about thirty-eight years next to come, Christ shows what
all those things would end in, namely, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the
utter dispersion of the Jewishnation; which would be a type and figure of
Christ's secondcoming. The scatteredJewsaround us preach the truth of
Christianity; and prove, that though heavenand earth shall pass away, the
words of Jesus shallnot pass away. Theyalso remind us to pray for those
times when neither the real, nor the spiritual Jerusalem, shallany longerbe
trodden down by the Gentiles, and when both Jews and Gentiles shall be
turned to the Lord. When Christ came to destroythe Jews, he came to redeem
the Christians that were persecutedand oppressedby them; and then had the
churches rest. When he comes to judge the world, he will redeem all that are
his from their troubles. So fully did the Divine judgements come upon the
Jews, that their city is set as an example before us, to show that sins will not
pass unpunished; and that the terrors of the Lord, and his threatenings
againstimpenitent sinners, will all come to pass, even as his word was true,
and his wrath greatupon Jerusalem.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible

Synagogues, and into prisons - See the notes at Mark 13:9-10.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
13. for a testimony—anopportunity of bearing testimony.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
That is, your persecutionshall turn to you for a testimony: for a testimony
againstyour adversaries;so as they themselves shall be brought by your
confessionofme to ownme as the true Messiah;and their cruelty, which they
mask under the vizor of religion, shall be openly detected, and it shall at last
appear to all the world, that the judgments of God are just, for the cruelty
they have exercisedupon you. And to you it shall be for a testimony; you shall
have a more ampler occasionoftestifying, both before kings and greatmen,
that I am the true Messiah. Your faith, patience, and constancyshallbe made
more manifest; you shall also testify that my kingdom is not of this world, and
that my disciples care not to expect a terrene felicity. They shall also be a
testimony to you, that you expectnot your portion and felicity in this, but in
another life.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And it shall turn to you for a testimony. By this means they would have an
opportunity of leaving their testimony for Christ before kings and rulers; and
what they should meet with from them, would be a means of strengthening
and confirming them in the truths of the Gospel;and be a proof and evidence
to them of the certainty of the above things Christ had said should be
accomplished;as well as be for a testimony againstthe rulers and governors,
Jews, andGentiles, before whom they should be convened; see Matthew
10:18.
Geneva Study Bible
And it shall turn to you for {c} a testimony.
(c) This will be the result of your troubles and afflictions: they will be
witnesses bothbefore God and man of the treacherous and cruel dealing of

your enemies, as well as of your steadfastness:A noble saying, that the
afflictions of the godly and holy men pertain to the witness of the truth.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 21:13. ἀποβήσεται, it will turn out; as in Php 1:19.—ὑμῖνεἰς μαρτύριον,
for a testimony to you = to your credit or honour; = εἰς μαρτυρίου δόξαν,
Theophy. So also Bleek. J. Weiss (Meyer), following Baur and Hilgenfeld,
renders: it will result in your martyrdom. This meaning is kindred to that of
Theophy., but can hardly be intended here (Schanz). The idea belongs to a
later time, and the sense is scarcelyconsistentwith Luke 21:18.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
13. for a testimony] See Mark 13:9. “In nothing terrified by your adversaries,
which is to them an evident tokenof perdition, but to you of salvation,” Php
1:28. “A manifest tokenof the righteous judgment of God,” 2 Thessalonians
1:5.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 21:13. Ἀποβήσεται, it shall turn out) with salvationas its issue:Php 1:19
[“This shall turn to my salvation”].—ὑμῖν, to you) In Mark, ch. Luke 13:9, it
is αὐτοῖς, “a testimony to [‘against’] them.” The apostles were aboutto
discharge the function of a testimony in relation to them.
Vincent's Word Studies
It shall turn (ἀποβήσεται)
Lit., turn out; issue.

PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 21:12 "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and
will persecute you, delivering you to the synagoguesandprisons, bringing you
before kings and governors for My name's sake
KJV Luke 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and
persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues,and into prisons, being
brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.
NLT Luke 21:12 "But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great
persecution. You will be draggedinto synagogues andprisons, and you will
stand trial before kings and governors becauseyou are my followers.
But before all these things Lk 11:49-51;Mt 10:16-25;22:6; 23:34-36;Mt 24:9-
10; Mk 13:9-13;Jn 15:20, 16:2,3;Acts 4:3-7; Acts 5:17-19,40;Acts 6:12-15;
Acts 7:57-60;Acts 8:3; Acts 9:4; Acts 12:1-4; Acts 16:22-26;Acts 21:30,31;
Acts 22:30;Acts 24:1-9; Acts 25:1,2,11,12,22-25;Acts 26:2-11;1 Th 2:15,16;1
Pe 4:12-14;Rev 2:10
for My name's sake 1 Peter2:13
Luke 21 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 21:5-24 Staying Sane When the Whole World Goes Crazy - Steven Cole
Luke 21:12-19 The Persecutionand Endurance of Christians, Part 1 - John
MacArthur
MacArthur

JEWISHPERSECUTIONOF
CHRIST FOLLOWERS
But before all these things - This is not only a contrast(but), but also an
expressionof time! This begs the question -- before what things?These things
refers to what Jesus has just warned the disciples would precede the end. In
other words while in the previous section(Luke 21:6-11)Jesus referredto
things that will occurin the time betweenHis first and secondcomings and
before the end, in this next section(Luke 21:12-19)He warned of persecution
of believers that would happen before these other things. The book of Acts is
filled with descriptions of the persecutionof the disciples.
Darrell Bock - Jesus has alreadynoted that false claims, socialupheaval, and
cosmic signs do not signalthe coming of the end (21:7–11). He now describes
something that precedes these “non-end” events: persecution. He seems to
make the point that persecutionis the church’s short-term destiny. Only Luke
has a temporal note, which helps to organize Jesus’reply and clarify the
relationship betweenevents. (BECNT-Luke)
Guzik emphasizes that although these things will go on until the end of this
age, they also went on prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 A D - All
these things precededthe destruction of Jerusalem. Were there wars? The
Romans were frequently at war with the Jews, the Samaritans, the Syrians,
and others during this period. Were there earthquakes? Historians tell us of
greatearthquakes in the Roman Empire before Jerusalemwas destroyed.
Were there famines? Acts 11:28 tells of one in this period. Were there fearful
sights? Pompeii blew its top just seven years before Jerusalemwas destroyed.
Were there signs in the heavens? Notlong before Jerusalemwas destroyed, a
cometthat lookedlike a swordhung over the city by night for a year.

They will lay their hands on you and will persecute you - Who is they?
Observe the context. This clearly refers to Jews (cf synagogues)who would
persecute the Jewishdisciples. Jews persecuting Jews!Did these things
happen? Absolutely. The greatestexample was Jewishpersecutionof the
greatestJew, Jesus!The book of Acts chronicles the persecution(by both Jews
and later by Gentiles)of the Jewishfollowers ofJesus - see Acts 4:3-7; Acts
5:17-19,40;Acts 6:12-15;Acts 7:57-60;Acts 8:3; Acts 21:30,31;Acts 22:30;
Acts 24:1-9; Acts 25:1,2,11,12,22-25;Acts 26:2-11
Luke recordedseveralevents where hands were laid on the disciples (or
apostles, including Paul)...
Acts 4:3; And they (JEWS)laid hands on them and put them in jail until the
next day, for it was alreadyevening.
Acts 5:18 They (JEWS)laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public
jail.
Acts 12:1 Now about that time Herod the king (GENTILE)laid hands on
some who belongedto the church in order to mistreat them.
Acts 21:27 When the sevendays were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon
seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowdand laid hands on him
(PAUL).
Will persecute (1377)(diokofrom dío = pursue, prosecute, persecute)means to
follow or press hard after, literally to pursue as one does a fleeing enemy. It
means to chase, harass,vex and pressure and was used for chasing down

criminals. Dioko speaksofan intensity of effort leading to a pursue with
earnestnessand diligence in order to obtain.
In the Upper Room Discourse before His Crucifixion Jesus had plainly
promised "If they persecutedMe, they will also persecute you." (Jn 15:20)
And beloved this "promise" still holds for all of the followers ofJesus!So do
not be surprised when you are persecuted. Justmake sure it is because ofHis
Name's sake, notbecause ofsome fleshly reaction, etc.
Jesus had given a similar prediction in Luke 11:49-note
“Forthis reasonalso the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets
and apostles, andsome of them they will kill and some they will persecute
(dioko),
Hopefully the disciples also remembered Jesus'wonderful promises in His
Sermon on the Mount where He actually used the verb "persecute"(dioko)
three times in three verses...
Matthew 5:10 “Blessed(makarios = fully satisfiedindependent of the
circumstances)are those who have been persecuted(dioko)for the sake of
righteousness, fortheirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:11 “Blessedare you when people insult you and persecute (dioko)
you, and falsely sayall kinds of evil againstyou because ofMe.

Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice(presentimperative) and be glad ("jump for joy" -
command in present imperative), for your rewardin heavenis great;for in
the same way they (JEWS)persecuted(dioko) the prophets who were before
you.
Paul wrote that followers of Jesus are commanded to "Bless (present
imperative - only wayto habitually obey this unnatural" command is by
relying on the supernatural power of the indwelling Spirit of Jesus - cf
Stephen's reactionas the stones were falling on him - Acts 7:60! How could he
say that? See Acts 7:55! There is NO other way!) those who persecute (dioko)
you; Bless (presentimperative - IN CASE YOU MISSED THE FIRST
COMMAND!) and do not curse (present imperative with a negative).(Ro
12:14)
Delivering you to the synagoguesand prisons - NLT has a vivid paraphrase =
"You will be draggedinto synagoguesand prisons." Mark 13:9 adds "to the
courts" the word sunedrion (literally a sitting togetherand thus a council)was
the JewishSanhedrin, which were localcourts modeled after the one in
Jerusalem.
MacArthur explains that "The synagoguesservedas the localJewishcourts,
and handled both civil and criminal cases. To be brought before the
synagogue courtwas consideredto be a humiliating and degrading
experience. In those courts, Christ’s followers were to be flogged(Acts 5:40; 2
Cor. 11:24) and imprisoned (Acts 5:18; 8:3). (MacArthur New Testament
Commentary – Luke)
Delivering (present tense = continually)(3860)(paradidomi from para =
alongside, beside, to the side of, over to + didomi = to give) conveys the basic
meaning of to give over from one's hand to someone orsomething, especially

to give over to the powerof another. The present tense depicts this as an
ongoing activity by the enemies of the Gospel. The point is they (and we)were
not to be surprised or caught off guard. Mark 13:9 uses paradidomi - "But be
on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged
in the synagogues, andyou will stand before governors and kings for My sake,
as a testimony to them.
Mark has a similar phrase but adds a warning command...
Mk 13:9 But be on your guard (blepo [used also in Luke 21:8+] in present
imperative - the warning command for constantvigil is only in Mark in this
parallel passagebut clearly is Jesus'"theme" throughout entire discourse);
for they will deliver (paradidomi) you to the courts, and you will be floggedin
the synagogues, andyou will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as
a testimony to them.
Matthew has a similar but slightly different description...
Matthew 24:9-note “Thenthey will deliver you to tribulation (thlipsis - same
word used of "GreatTribulation" in Mt 24:21-note, but not that specific
time), and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because ofMy
name (see Jesus'relatedteaching - Jn 15:18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23-25, Jn 17:14-
15).
Luke documents recounts Paul's confessions in Acts regarding his malicious
treatment of the saints...

Acts 9:2 and askedfor letters from him to the synagogues atDamascus, so
that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might
bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Acts 22:19 “And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one
synagogue afteranother I used to imprison and beat those who believed in
You.
Acts 26:11 “And as I punished them often in all the synagogues,I tried to
force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enragedat them, I kept
pursuing them even to foreigncities.
Acts 22:4 “I persecuted(dioko) this Way to the death, binding and putting
both men and womeninto prisons,
Acts 26:10 “And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up
many of the saints in prisons, having receivedauthority from the chief priests,
but also when they were being put to death I castmy vote againstthem.
GENTILE PERSECUTION OF
CHRIST FOLLOWERS
Bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake - This means the
persecutionwould not just be Jewishbut would also be Gentile because the
Gentiles were the kings and governors. The disciples were first persecutedby
the Jews andas the Gospel spread throughout the Roman Empire, the
Gentiles beganto persecute the believers. See Acts 12:1-4 ("Herod the king
laid hands on some who belongedto the church"); Acts 16:19-26 (= Paul and

Silas "dragged...before the authorities and...the chief magistrates");Acts
25:12 (= "Thenwhen Festus had conferredwith his council, he answered,
“You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesaryou shall go.”)
This should not have been surprising for Jesus had taught His disciples
“Rememberthe word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greaterthan his
master.’ If they persecutedMe, they will also persecute you; if they kept My
word, they will keepyours also." (Jn15:20) So even as Jesus was led awayto
Caiaphas (Mt 26:57), so too His disciples would be brought before the
authorities.
Bringing (520)(apago fromapó = from + ágō = to carry, lead) means to carry
or lead away, leading from one place to another. Leading an ox or donkeyto
water(Lk 13:15). In the figurative sense (passive voice)it meant to be
deceivedor be influenced "by mute idols" before they became believers (1
Cor 12:2) Apago was used as a legalterm meaning to leadone from one point
to another in legalproceedings (to trial, punishment, prison or execution), just
as Jesus was "led...awayto Caiaphas, the high priest." (Mt 26:57), "to Pilate"
(Mt 27:2) and finally to be crucified (Mt 27:31, cf prison guards who were led
away[to execution]Acts 12:19). Apago meant to leadaway a prisoner or
condemned man (Mk 14:44;15:16; Rev 13:10). Apago (intransitively) is used
by Jesus to refer to a way which leads either to eternal punishment or eternal
life (Mt 7:13-14-note).
In this verse apago is in the presenttense indicating this was ongoing and
passive voice signifies the disciples would continually be brought before the
authorities.
Gilbrant - Apagō is a very versatile term in classicalGreek. Its range of
definition extends from the simple idea of “to lead” or “to carry away” to the

more technicalnotions of “to arrest” and “to bring before a magistrate.” It
can describe God’s “driving” Israelinto other lands (as punishment;
Deuteronomy 28:36,37).In the Septuagint agagomay refer to someone
“escorting”(leading)another (e.g., 1 Ki 1:38) or “abducting” another (2 Chr
36:6; Jer 40:1 of being led awayto Babylon; cf. Ps 125:5). But positively the
Psalmistrelied upon Godto lead him (Ps 60:9; 108:10).
Agago - 16x in 16v - bringing(1), lead(1), lead...away(2), leads(2), ledastray(1),
led away(1), led...away(6), took(1), took...away(1).
Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate;for the gate is wide and the
way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through
it.
Matthew 7:14 "Forthe gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life,
and there are few who find it.
Matthew 26:57 Those who had seized Jesus ledHim awayto Caiaphas, the
high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together.
Rick Renner - Once Jesus was in their hands, Matthew 26:57 tells us that they
"led him away." This phrase comes from the Greek wordapago—the same
word used to picture a shepherd who ties a rope about the neck of his sheep
and then leads it down the path to where it needs to go. This word pictures
exactly what happened to Jesus that night in the Gardenof Gethsemane. He
wasn't gaggedand draggedto the high priest as one who was putting up a
fight or resisting arrest. Instead, the Greek wordapago plainly tells us that
the soldiers lightly slipped a rope about Jesus'neck and led Him down the
path as He followedbehind, just like a sheepbeing led by a shepherd. Thus,
the Romansoldiers and temple police led Him as a sheepto slaughter, just as

Isaiah53:7 had prophesied many centuries earlier. Specificallyon that night,
however, the soldiers led Jesus to Caiaphas the high priest.
Matthew 27:2 and they bound Him, and led Him awayand delivered Him to
Pilate the governor.
Matthew 27:31 After they had mockedHim, they took the scarletrobe off
Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him awayto crucify
Him.
Mark 14:44 Now he who was betraying Him had given them a signal, saying,
"WhomeverI kiss, He is the one; seize Him and lead Him awayunder guard."
Mark 14:53 Theyled Jesus awayto the high priest; and all the chief priests
and the elders and the scribes gatheredtogether.
Mark 15:16 The soldiers took Him awayinto the palace that is, the
Praetorium), and they calledtogetherthe whole Roman cohort.
Luke 13:15 But the Lord answeredhim and said, "You hypocrites, does not
eachof you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead
him awayto waterhim?
Luke 21:12 "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and
will persecute you, delivering you to the synagoguesandprisons, bringing you
before kings and governors for My name's sake.

Luke 22:66 When it was day, the Council of elders of the people assembled,
both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him awayto their council
chamber, saying,
Luke 23:26 When they led Him away, they seizeda man, Simon of Cyrene,
coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind
Jesus.
Acts 12:19 When Herod had searchedforhim and had not found him, he
examined the guards and ordered that they be led awayto execution. Then he
went down from Judea to Caesarea andwas spending time there.
Acts 23:17 Paul calledone of the centurions to him and said, "Leadthis
young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him."
Acts 24:7 "But Lysias the commander came along, and with much violence
took him out of our hands,
1 Corinthians 12:2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led
astrayto the mute idols, howeveryou were led.
Zodhiates - In your state of idolatry or paganism, Paul tells the Corinthians,
you were being carried awayas captives to destruction
Agago - 48x in 46v in the Septuagint

Ge. 31:18; Gen. 31:26; Gen. 39:22; Gen. 40:3; Gen. 42:16;Gen. 42:19;Deut.
28:36;Deut. 28:37; Jdg. 4:7; Jdg. 19:3; 1 Sam. 6:7; 1 Sam. 23:5; 1 Sam. 30:20;
1 Sam. 30:22;1 Ki. 1:38; 2 Ki. 6:19; 2 Ki. 11:4; 2 Ki. 17:27;2 Ki. 24:15; 2 Ki.
25:20;2 Chr. 36:6; 2 Chr. 36:17;Est. 1:1; Job 21:30;Job 24:3; Ps. 60:9; Ps.
108:10;Ps. 125:5;Ps. 137:3; Prov. 16:29; Isa. 16:3; Lam. 3:2; Dan. 4:25
In the Septuagint of the Lord bringing the Jews into subjection to another
nation (Dt 28:36), of the LORD driving the Jews among the Gentiles (Dt
28:37). Pr 16:29 "A man of violence entices his neighbor And leads him in a
way that is not good."
For My name's sake - They persecute you because they hate the Name of
Jesus (The parallel Mt 24:9 has "because ofMy Name"). The hate all that His
Name stands for. Have you ever been in a conversationwith an unbeliever
and you mentioned the Name "Jesus"(not as a curse word as the world
besmirches His greatName - Acts 4:12-note)? What happens? The reaction
varies, but the truth usually is that they hate His Name!They hate His Gospel
messageand so it is not surprising they would hate the messenger. NLT
paraphrases this verse "there will be a time of greatpersecution...because you
are My followers." Thesemen are followers of Jesus and are loyal to Him and
they give offer an aroma of Jesus and they do not like the aroma! As Paul
said,
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and
manifests through us the sweetaroma of the knowledge ofHim in every place.
For we are a fragrance ofChrist to God among those who are being savedand
among those who are perishing; 16 to the one an aroma from death to death,
to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?
(2 Cor 2:14-16)

My Name's Sake -Below are some other notable examples of this greatphrase
in the New Testament - it costs to bear this great Name!Have you experienced
that? Have you been rejectedor scornedor made fun of because youare His
follower? If not, perhaps you are not really His follower(cf Php 1:29-note, 2
Ti 3:12-note, 2 Cor 13:5-note).
Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or
father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many
times as much, and will inherit eternallife.
John 15:21 “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake,
because they do not know the One who sent Me.
Acts 9:16 for I will show him (Saul of Taurus) how much he must suffer for
My name’s sake.”
Revelation2:3-note and you (Church at Ephesus) have perseveranceand
have endured for My name’s sake, andhave not grown weary.
Stein on My Name's sake (or"on accountof My Name" = NIV; "because you
are my followers" = NLT) - Although this expressionwas a common one in
the early church (cf. John 15:21;1 Pet 4:14, 16; 3 John 7; Rev 2:3), it occurs
most frequently in Luke-Acts - Luke 9:48–49;10:17;21:17; 24:47;Acts 2:38;
3:6, 16; 4:10, 17, 18, 30; 5:28, 40–41;8:16; 9:15–16, 21, 27 (NAC).
PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS
BY THE GENTILES

The Torches ofNero
See Christians in Upper Right
Dr. John MacArthur discusses the pathogenesis (sorrybut as a pathologistI
think this term is very apropos)of the Gentile persecutionof the disciples of
Christ in some depth:
The history of Gentile persecutionbegins in the book of Acts. And it begins
with the Romans who persecutedChristians for severalreasons. At the outset
of Christianity the Romans left the Christians alone (cf Acts 18:12–15). Why?
Becauseoriginallythe Romans viewed Christianity as a sectof Judaism and
Judaism was religio licita, i.e., "permitted religion," or "approved religion".
The Romans did not perceive a threat from Judaism so it had not been
banned. However...the influx of Gentiles into the Church became a
problem...the Romans beganto see Christianity as distinct from Judaism....It
did not take Rome long to figure out that if the Jews hatedChristians, then
Christianity was not part of Judaism....
Christianity was outlawed, and became an illegalreligion and there were
severalfactors...
(1) First, there were political motivations. The Christians allegianceto Christ
was....farabove their allegiance to Caesar. This arousedsuspicionthat they
were disloyal to the Romanstate....The Romans gave greatfreedomto the
nations they conquered, but one thing they askedwas totalloyalty to be the
Caesar. If you demonstrated loyalty to the Caesar, youwere demonstrating
loyalty to the Roman state. (Ed: See Imperial Cult in Rome;see 13 page
article = "The Worship of the Roman Emperors" - Henry F Burton - The
Biblical World. Vol 40. No. 2. August, 1912 orhere) Keep in mind that in
ancient Rome there was a union of religionand state. In fact, the first nation

in history that did not have an allegiance betweenreligionand the state was
the USA. Prior to that, all civilizations had religion and the state joined
inseparably. Refusalto worship the Roman gods or the emperor was
consideredtreason. And the Christians refused to worship the emperor or the
Roman gods. They also refusedto make the required sacrifice in worship of
the emperor. They were therefore seenas traitors. They also proclaimedthe
Kingdom of God which causedthe Romans to suspectthem of trying to
overthrow the government. They had another King and they had another
Kingdom. The Christians in the first century knew they were under suspicion
and to avoid confrontation with Roman authorities,theybegan to hold their
meetings in secretat night in clandestine places, for example, the
Catacombs....Furthermore, Christians generallyrefused to serve in the
Roman army wich causedthem to be viewed as disloyal.
(2) There were religious motivations - The Romans had a tolerantattitude
toward religion and allowedtheir subjects to worship whatevergods they
desired, as long as they also worshipedthe Roman gods. Their approachto
religion was all inclusive and what bothered them about Christianity was
Christianity was exclusive. Christians preachedan exclusive message that
there is only one true God, one Savior, and one way of salvation. And they
were evangelistic, trying to win converts among the nations that were part of
the Romanworld which went againstthe prevailing atmosphere of religious
pluralism. Christians therefore were even denounced as atheists because they
rejectedthe Romanpantheon of gods, because theywould not worship the
emperor as god, and because theydid not worship idols. And the Romans
could not disassociatea god from an idol, so if you had no idol, you had no
god. And so they were atheists. So here are these subversive atheists,
assaulting the unity and the peace ofRome with their exclusive God and
exclusive message.The secrecyof Christians also led to lurid false rumors of
gross immorality. They assumedthat they were in dark,secretive placesdoing
evil things because that is what the Romans did even in the open. They
misunderstood what was meant by eating and drinking the elements during
the Lord’s supper, which led to charges ofcannibalism and that Christians
met to engage in lurid, immoral activity and eat eachothers flesh! They even

attackedthe Christian gesture of a holy kiss which was an embrace, as best we
can tell, from cheek to cheek. (cfRo. 16:16; 1 Cor16:20; 2 Cor 13:12;1 Th
5:26; 1 Pe 5:14) That gave rise to false accusations ofincestand other sexual
perversions. The Romans painted a very lurid picture of the Christian's
religion.
(3) Sociallythe Romans had another motivation, because the Romanleaders
fearedthe influence of the Christians on the lowersocialclasses. Youhave to
understand that there’s no middle class in ancient world as is still true in some
countries in the world, especiallythird world countries....Whatyouhad was a
mass of humanity that are poor and a small group of elites at the top who
controlled all the wealthand powerand usually abused the poor. This is what
foments revolution. This is why there was a RussianRevolution and a French
Revolution. This is why there is revolution typically anywhere in the world.
The oppressedhave the numbers. And finally they arise, getorganized and
overthrow the elite. Well the leaders of Roman societyfeared the influence of
Christians on the lowerclassesbecause the Christians were drawing people
from the lowerclasses.Remember1 Corinthians 1:26 “Forconsideryour
calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not
many mighty, not many noble. ” which is to say there were a growing number
of Christians who were from the slave population, and there were 10-12
million slaves in the Roman Empire. The wealthy aristocrats were easily
threatened by the fear of slave revolt and, fearedthat Christians were
fomenting this revolt, particularly because Christians taught that there’s
neither bond nor free in Christ (Gal 3:28, Col3:11). And so they failed to
recognize the status of the elite....Christians held themselves alooffrom much
of public life, because everything was connectedto idols. If you went to a
theatricalevent, a sporting event, any kind of civil event, there would be
sacrifices to pagandeities. And there would also be the kind of behavior that
went along with their evil idolatry. So Christians could not really engage in
the activities of the culture and were completely counter-culture because their
consciencerestrainedthem....

(4) There were economic reasonswhy the Romans persecutedthe Christians.
It is overlookedbut the persecutionof the early church had a lot to do with
the dent that the Gospelwas making in the false god trade. RememberActs
16:16-24 whenPaul casta demon out of a girl, a slave girl at Philippi who was
making a fortune for her masters by telling people’s fortune.....And when he
castthe demon out, they lost their source of income. The same thing happened
in Acts 19:23-27 which causeda riot at Ephesus and they tried to kill Paul
because he made such a dent in the the idol trade. Paul's preaching of the
gospelhad causedpeople to burn all their idols and shut down the sale of
idols. Early in the secondcentury, Pliny, the Roman governorof Bithnia,
lamented in a letter to Emperor Trajan that the spread of Christianity had
causedthe pagan temples to be desertedand the sales ofsacrificialanimals to
plummet. You remember now, you’re living in a superstitious time. People
attribute plague, famine, and natural disasterand all the other things that
happen in life, to the gods being unhappy. And the idea was, the gods are
unhappy because the Christians are forsaking them. And all of this is coming
on us because allthese Christians are forsaking the gods and the gods are
mad. It prompted the Christian apologistTertullian to remark, “If the Tiber
reaches the walls, if the Nile does not rise to the fields, if the sky doesn’t move
or the earth does, if there’s a famine, if there’s a plague, the cry is at once,
‘Christians to the lion.’” The gods were mad because of the Christians. For
these and other reasons, Christianity became a hated and despisedreligious
sectin the RomanEmpire. His letter to Emperor Trajan, Pliny scorned
Christianity. He said, “It is a depraved and extravagantsuperstition.” And
went on to complain “The contagionof this superstition has spread not only in
the cities but in the villages and the rural districts as well”.
The Gospelwas penetrating, people were being converted, the church was
growing and it had a detrimental effecton Roman life. The Roman historian
Tacitus, a contemporary by the way of Pliny, describes Christians as "a class
hated for their abominations." Suetonius, anothercontemporary of Pliny,
dismissedthem as "a set of men adhering to a novel and mischievous
superstition."

And so persecutionof Chrsitians began to foment....The first official breakout
of persecutionis July, 64 A.D., six years before the destruction of Jerusalem,
under the Emperor Nero. On July of A.D. 64 a fire ravagedRome, damaging
much of the city. Popular rumors pinned the cause onNero himself. You
remember Nero fiddling while Rome burned. That is probably not accurate
but Nero neededa scapegoat. He needed someone that the populace already
consideredresponsible for bad things, and that was the Christians. And so he
blamed the Christians and beganto savagelypersecute them. Christians were
arrested, cruelly tortured, thrown to wild animals, crucified and dousedwith
oil and put on sticks and lit as torches for Nero’s gardenparties at night (See
Picture). This first official organized persecutionwas in the vicinity of Rome,
but attacks onChristians began to spread and were uncheckedby the
authorities. According to tradition, both Peter(Ed: See Picture of Peterbeing
crucified upside down) and Paul (see note) were martyred under this
persecutionin the time of Nero.
Three decades later, in the 90's of the first century, during the reign of
Emperor Domitian, another government sponsoredpersecutionof Christians
breaks out (See Wikipedia discussion). We don’t know a lot of the details but
it extended all around Israeland all the wayto Asia Minor, modern-day
Turkey. It was this persecutionunder Domitian that caughtJohn the Apostle
and had him exiled to the Isle of Patmos (Note). And among those martyred at
that time was a man named Antipas, a faithful pastor.
One notable example of Christian martyrdom in that time is Polycarp, the
agedbishop at the church at Smyrna, around 160 A.D. He was arrestedfor
being Christian, tied to a stake and burned. And when askedto deny Christ,
Polycarpsaid this, “Eighty and six years … eighty and six years have I served
Him and He never did me any injury. How canI then blaspheme My King
and My Savior?” And he died triumphantly.

It wasn’t long until there was empire-wide persecutionof Christians,
extending throughout the Roman Empire in the year 250 A D under Emperor
Decius. Rome at that time facedserious internal issues, economic crisis,
natural disasters, externalissues, the incursion of barbarians. Decius was
convinced that all these difficulties were coming again because ofthe
Christians who were forsaking Rome’s ancientgods. He issuedan edict (See
below) requiring everyone to offer a sacrifice to the gods and to the emperor
and obtain a certificate attesting that they had done that. And if they didn’t do
that, they were to be imprisoned, tortured and then slaughtered.
In January 250, Decius is said to have issuedone of the most remarkable
Roman imperial edicts. From the numerous surviving texts from Egypt,
recording the act of sacrifice, it appears that the edict itself was fairly clear ---
All the inhabitants of the empire were required to sacrifice before the
magistrates oftheir community 'for the safety of the empire' by a certain day
(the date would vary from place to place and the order may have been that the
sacrifice had to be completed within a specifiedperiod after a community
receivedthe edict). When they sacrificedthey would obtain a certificate
(libellus) recording the fact that they had complied with the order.[2] That is,
the certificate would testify the sacrificant's loyalty to the ancestralgods and
to the consumption of sacrificialfood and drink as well as the names of the
officials who were overseeing the sacrifice.[11]
It didn’t lastlong, however, by July of the next year, 251 A D, Decius died in a
battle but persecutiondid not end. Now jumped from 251 A.D. to A.D. 303.
Fifty-two years later the most violent empire-wide persecutioncame under an
emperor named Diocletian. It was an all-out attempt to exterminate the
Christian faith (Ed: See The GreatPersecution). He issueda series of edicts
ordering churches to be destroyed. All copies ofthe Bible to be burned. All
Christians offer sacrifice to the Romangods or be killed. It was not until the

Edict of Milan in which Constantine participated in 313 A D that 3 years of
Christian persecutionended. And by 324 A D, Constantine had established
Christianity as the religion of the RomanEmpire.
Did that end persecution? No. The Holy RomanEmpire, the false form of
Christianity began to persecute the true church. In the most massive
persecutionyet came during the Middle Ages. The horrors of the Inquisition,
(Ed: See also MedievalInquisitions) the St. Bartholomew’s DayMassacre,
and the martyrdoms of many believers, epitomized the Roman Church’s
effort to suppress the true gospelof Jesus Christ. When I saymassive, I mean
massive. According to historian, John Dowling, (The history of Romanism :
from the earliestcorruptions of Christianity to the presenttime) a reputable
historian, the RomanCatholic Church put to death 50 million heretics
betweenA.D. 606 and mid-1800’s, many of them true Christians … 50 million.
Murderous was that period of time.
The Reformers came along, denouncedthe Catholic system of indulgences and
works righteousness. In the time of the Reformation, the 1500’s,the response
from Rome was vitriolic and violent. And, of course, added to the 50 million
that were slaughteredduring that time. Godly leader like John Hus, Hugh
Latimer, William Tyndale (90 minute movie), Patrick Hamilton, George
Wishert(?), many others, martyred for their faith. It was Huss securedto a
stake where he would be burned, said with a smile, “My Lord Jesus was
bound with a harder chain than this for my sake, why then should I be
ashamedof this rusty one.” When askedto renounce, Huss declined saying,
“What I taught with my lips, I now sealwith my blood,” and gave testimony
to the glory and honor of Christ and the truth of the gospelin his death. And
that’s what Jesus saidwould happen. It will turn out for your testimony
because the Spirit will show you what to say.

As he was about to be burned at the stake, the Czech reformer John Hus
confidently proclaimed,
The Lord Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, was bound with a harder chain, and I,
a miserable sinner, am not afraid to bear this one, bound as I am for his
name’s sake.…In the same truth of the Gospelwhich I have written, taught,
and preached, drawing upon the sayings and positions of the holy doctors, I
am ready to die today. (David S. Schaff, John Huss, His Life, Teachings and
DeathAfter Five Hundred Years [New York: Scribners, 1915], 257)
Watch the 80 minute online movie of John Hus Christian martyr
The triumph and testimony of John Hus has been the cause ofthe conversion
of who knows how many … countless thousands … through history. He died
singing a hymn as the flames engulfed his body.
No other religion has this history. In many places in the world today, believers
continue to be persecuted. Muslim and Hindu-controlled countries, especially
Africa and the Middle East, especiallymurderous toward Christians. Though
other nations such as Communistic states are also antagonistic andduring the
development of Communism, Christians were massacredwholesale.
A February 11, 1997 article in the New York Times reports
'Millions of American Christians pray in their churches eachweek, oblivious
to the fact that Christians in many parts of the world suffer brutal torture,
arrest, imprisonment and even death -- their homes and communities laid
waste -- for no other reasonthan that they are Christians. The shocking
untold story of our time is that more Christians have died this century simply
for being Christians than in the first nineteen centuries after the birth of
Christ. They have been persecutedand martyred before an unknowing,

indifferent world and a largely silent Christian community. (See Original NY
Times Article)
In addition, an incalculable number of faithful believers have been rejectedby
their families, hated by their parents, hated by their siblings, by their friends,
arrested, beaten, persecutedshort of death … all on accountof loyalty to
Christ. There’s a relatively new book called The New Persecuted, published in
2002.
A Roman Catholic journalist, Antonio Soociestimates that in the two
thousand years of church history, seventy million Christians have been
martyred. The number is likely much greatersince he minimizes the number
of those executed under the RomanCatholic Church. God knows, I don’t
know how many but the numbers are staggering.
Under the Roman Catholic Church, which replacedImperial Rome as the
dominant power during the Middle Ages, persecutionbroke out anew.
Ironically, this time the persecutionagainsttrue believers came from those
who calledthemselves “Christian.” The horrors of the Inquisition, the St.
Bartholomew’s DayMassacre,and the martyrdoms of many believers,
epitomized the Roman Church’s effort to suppress the true gospelofJesus
Christ. More recently, believers have been brutally repressedby Communist
and Islamic regimes. In fact, it has been estimatedby none other than a
Roman Catholic source that, in all of church history, roughly 70 million
Christians have been killed for their professionoffaith, with two-thirds of
those martyrdoms occurring after the start of the twentieth century (Antonio
Socci, I Nuovi Persequitati[The New Persecuted]CasaleMontferrato:
Edizioni Piemme, 2002). The actualnumber is likely much greater. The
Catholic journalist cited in this news article estimates that an average of
100,000 Christians have been killed every year since 1990. (Source:
MacArthur Commentary on John)

He also says that of these 70 million Christians, two thirds have been killed in
the lasthundred years. He claims that an average of 160 thousand Christians
have been killed every yearsince 1990 … 160 thousand a year since 1990.
So was our Lord right when He said you can expect this in the time between
My first and My secondcoming? He was right about the wars. He was
absolutely right about the earthquakes and the plagues and the famines, that
they would increase and escalateand become worse and worse. Don’tthink
for one split secondthat the purpose of Jesus failed at the cross. Don’tthink
that what He intended to do didn’t come to pass. He laid out exactlywhat
would happen and that’s the way it is in the history of the world. And it’s
going to get worse, not better. If you think persecutionof believers is going to
go away, you’re wrong. The church is going to continue to be persecuted
because it’s going to continue to be scatteredforpurposes of evangelism. And
it’s going to continue to have to give its testimony of triumph in the face of
persecutionto demonstrate its truthfulness and validity and persecutionwill
continue and getworse. (The Persecutionand Endurance of Christians, Part
2)
Luke 21:13 "It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.
KJV Luke 21:13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
Philippians 1:28; 1 Th 3:3,4;2 Th 1:5
Luke 21 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 21:5-24 Staying Sane When the Whole World Goes Crazy - Steven Cole

MacArthur
MacArthur
A CHANCE TO
BE A MARTYR!
It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony - Literally it reads "and it
shall become to you for a testimony." or "It shall be to you for a witness."
Jesus explains that they suffering for His Name's sake is not meaningless. To
the contrary, the purpose of their persecutionleads to the their privilege of
His proclamation!This is the glorious outcome of suffering for the sake ofthe
Name above all names! We receive the goldenopportunity of a lifetime to tell
about the life of the Only One in Whom there is eternal life!
The paradox of persecutionis that it opens a wide door of opportunity for the
Gospel, one that leads to a testimony about the Lord Jesus Christ. Recallthat
Paul had appealedto Caesarand to Caesar(Acts 25:10,11)andto Caesarhe
went, but this imprisonment opened up an opportunity to present the Gospel
in places it may never have been presentedotherwise. Forexample, Paul was
chained to a Roman guard round the clock and we know what they heard. In
Acts 27:24 an angelof God told Paul "you must stand before Caesar." In
Philippians 4:22 written from a Romanprison Paul writes "all the saints greet
you , especiallythose of Caesar'shousehold." How did they hear the Gospel?
Mostwriters believe that they had been led to Christ by the prisoner Paul.
In Acts 4 Luke describes an open door of opportunity which was brought
about by Jewishpersecution...

As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple
guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 being greatly disturbed because
they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrectionfrom
the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next
day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the
messagebelieved;and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
5 On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gatheredtogether
in Jerusalem;6 and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John
and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. 7 When they had
placed them in the center, they began to inquire, “Bywhat power, or in what
name, have you done this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to
them, “Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are on trial today for a benefit
done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, 10 let it be known
to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ
the Nazarene, whomyou crucified, whom God raisedfrom the dead–by this
name this man stands here before you in goodhealth. 11 “He is the STONE
WHICH WAS REJECTEDby you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME
THE CHIEF CORNER stone. 12 “And there is salvation in no one else;for
there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which
we must be saved.” 13Nowas they observedthe confidence of Peterand John
and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were
amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. (Acts 4:1-13)
Acts 4:33 sums up this opportunity to give a testimony or witness
And with greatpowerthe apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:33)
MacArthur - Christ’s warning of the persecutionto come shockedthe
disciples, who were still expecting Him to inaugurate the golden age of the
messianic kingdom. Incredibly, the very next evening, during the Last Supper

they, unable to shake the persistent hope of the kingdom, bickeredover which
of them would be elevatedto the greatesthonorin the kingdom (Luke 22:24).
There was no place in their theologyor their minds for Messiahto be killed
and His followers persecuted. But persecutionof Christians would have an
outcome opposite what the enemies of Christ intended. Far from destroying
the Christian faith, it would help spread the gospelby leading to an
opportunity for believers’gospeltestimony. Over the centuries persecution
has provided opportunities to proclaim the gospel, purified the church, and
demonstrated the triumph of saving faith. (Luke Commentary)
Opportunity for your testimony (3142)(marturion/martyrion; English
"martyr") means evidence, proof. The contentof what a witness tells.
Marturion is is the declarationof facts which confirms or makes something
known. A person can only testify to what he himself has seenor heard or
experienced. A witness in a courtroom is to report only what he knows
objectively, factually, and personally. He is not to speculate, guess, ordeduce.
See Stephen's eloquent testimony below.
In later centuries (after the first century AD) marturion came to be used as a
description of martyrdom. Edward Myers says "The word originally referred
to one who was a legalwitness but came to refer to one whose testimony for
Jesus ends in death." (Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible).
Tertullian wrote that “The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in
number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed” (Apology, chap. 50).
MacArthur - The persecutionof the church always brings gospel opportunity.
Persecutionofthe church always purifies the church. The persecutionof the
church always makes the church strong, it makes the church
bold....PersecutionofChristians has allowedChristians to give, strong, bold,

confident, faithful testimony to the glory of the gospel. You read Foxe's Book
of Martyrs. And you hear these incredibly stirring, beautiful testimonies of
those who were brought to the edge of the flames, about to be burned to death,
or to the edge of the sword, or the guillotine for their love for Christ and how
powerful their testimony is now resounding.
GENE BROOKS
Luke 21:12-19:The disciples will know severe persecutionfrom the
authorities and family. In the synagoguesofthe first century were judicial
hearings. Paul’s hearings that led to five lashings by the Jews (2 Cor. 11:24)
probably were held in localsynagogues.Godgave then, and is still giving
words and wisdom to those on trial for their faith (Luke 21:15)just as He did
Moses (Exod. 4:12, 15) and Jeremiah (Jer. 1:9). Jesus says evenfamily and
friends will betray (Luke 21:16; cf. Micah7:6), but not a hair of your head
will perish (Luke 21:18), an idiom for complete protection, even in light of
martyrdom (Luke 21:16).
f. APPLICATION:Believers must expect persecutionand not be
disheartenedby it (Luke 21:12-19). There will be religious and political
persecution(Luke 21:12), generalpersecution(Luke 21:12), and family
persecution(Luke 21:16). Don’t worry when the persecutioncomes. Be a
witness to your persecutors (Luke 21:12-16). After all, the folks in realtrouble
are the ones who oppress God’s believers. Let the Spirit fill your mouth with
words about Jesus and your hearts with love for your enemies. Don’tgive up,
even when everyone seems to turn againstyou. Others canhate you. But they
can’t do you any lasting harm.

THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verses 12-15
Before the calamities of the Tribulation, Jesus" disciples wouldexperience
persecutionfrom their enemies spokenof generallyhere as "they." Jesus
proceededto describe what His disciples could expect from the time He spoke
until His return. He warned them about what to expectso they would not
yield to persecution.
They would undergo examinations from hostile Jews in synagogues(cf.
Matthew 10:17; Mark 13:9), and they would experience confinement in
prisons. Gentiles also would arrestthem and bring them before kings and
governors because oftheir allegiance to Jesus (cf. Matthew 10:18;Mark 13:9).
Nevertheless these situations wouldprovide opportunities for witness. The
disciples should not fret about their verbal defense aheadof time but should
rely on Jesus" promise to provide them with the words (cf. Exodus 4:11;
Exodus 4:15; Ezekiel29:21)and the wisdomthey would need then (cf. Luke
12:11-12;Matthew 10:19-20;Mark 13:11). This would come to them through
the Holy Spirit"s ministry to them ( Mark 13:11). They would discoverthat
their witness would be very powerful. We have examples of this happening in
the early church (e.g, Acts 4:14; Acts 6:10; Acts 8:3; Acts 12:4; Acts 21:11;
Acts 22:4; Acts 27:1; Acts 28:17)and throughout church history. It will
continue through the Tribulation.
JOHN MACARTHUR
The Persecutionand Endurance of Christians, Part 1
Sermons Luke 21:12–19 42-257 Oct28, 2007
A + A - RESET

We have had an unusual week here in Southern California, as you know, and
yet it's not something unexpected. We have had our lives dominated this past
week by the horrific fire storms that have torched Southern California. The
combination with which we are very familiar, severe drought, dry brush,
excessive heat, dry Santa Ana winds with gusts up to 100 miles an hour, fallen
powerlines, and a few crazy arsonists have engulfed our communities in an
inferno that has for a while, at least, put a million people out of their homes,
the largestmass evacuationofpeople in the history of the state of California.
We are all fully aware ofthe terrible dangerof wind and fire in our
community. We see it with our own eyes and have friends who even lost their
homes in these fires lastweek. But fire is not new. We've seenit before here
in Southern California. The world has seenit throughout all of its history,
really. In fact, the world has a long history of fire. Though we can't do
without fire — even the ancient world was dependent on fire for warmth,
dependent on fire for cooking — fire could also destroy and fire can also kill.
Just in the lastfew hundred years, there have been some severelydevastating
fires even in our own country. In 1846, a period of twenty years of fires in the
state of Oregonburned about two million acres offorestthere. 1871, a very
famous fire took place in Wisconsin, it burned 1.2 million acres and it started
the same day as the famous Chicago fire which burned down the city of
Chicago to the ground and thousands were consumed in that fire.
This year in our own United States there have been massive fires in Georgia,
Florida, Utah, Idaho, more in California burning at leasttwo million acres of
brush. And you can throw in fires from Australia and Poland and Greece and
Italy and France and Spain and Portugal and Bolivia and Brazil and...and
particularly in Indonesia. Overthe last 25 years there have been some
amazing fires in Indonesia. In 1982 and '83, one fire in Indonesia burned nine
million acres offorest. A lot of lives were lost in 1997 and '98, another part of

Indonesia, eastSumatra, 24 million acres consumedin a fire. In fact, some
scientists calculated2.6 gigatonsofcarbon dioxide unleashedinto the
atmosphere out of that fire.
And we all know about city fires through history. Amsterdam has burned;
London; Stockholm;Copenhagen;WashingtonD.C.;Rome; Philadelphia;
Canton, China; Santiago, Chile;Moscow;Montreal;Tokyo;New York;
Detroit, Pittsburgh. We don't think of the Pittsburgh fire. That was in 1845.
One thousand buildings burned to the ground in Pittsburgh. Boston,
Vancouver, Seattle, Shanghai. One of the most amazing fires that I've ever
been made aware of on my severalvisits to Nova Scotia was the fire that
ensued in the harbor of Halifax, capitalof Nova Scotia, whenthe largest
explosionpre-atomic bomb in the history of the world took place. A munitions
ship sitting in the harbor exploded and literally setthe entire city on fire.
Volcanic fires, fires from incendiary devices and bombs, fires from atomic
bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki;deadly fires have been long a
part of human life.
And in a more primitive time in the world, fire was a very real dangerfor
those people who lived in structures that were flammable and most of them
did. But the fires that we have seen, the fires that we will see, are really just a
preview of the fires that are going to come into this world in the future
because just prior to the time when the Lord Jesus returns, this world is going
to experience some fires the likes of which they will not be able to
comprehend. Revelationchapter8 takes us forward to the period of the
tribulation just before Jesus returns to judge and to reign, to judge sinners
and to establishHis kingdom for His saints. Just prior to His coming
judgment will be unleashedon this world. One of the forms of that divine
judgment will be fire.

Revelationchapter 8 verse 6, "The sevenangels who had the seventrumpets
prepared themselves to sound them." These are angels and eachblows a
trumpet and the blowing of that trumpet unleashes a judgment. "The first,"
in verse 7, "sounded. There came hail and fire mixed with blood. They were
thrown to the earth. A third of the earth was burned up and a third of the
trees were burned up and all the greengrass was burned up. And the second
angelsounded and something like a great mountain burning with fire was
thrown into the sea and a third of the sea became blood, a third of the
creatures in the sea and had life died, a third of the ships were destroyed.
Third angel sounded. A greatstarfell from heaven burning like a torch.” Fell
on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. “The name of the staris
wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood. Manymen died from
the waters becausethey were made bitter."
And so, fire will come and consume the grass, a third of the greenplants, and
even pollute the sea and pollute the fresh water. In the 9th chapter of the
book of Revelationand verse 17, the end of the verse mentions fire, smoke,
and brimstone. A third, verse 18 says, of mankind was killed by these three
plagues, by the fire, and the smoke, and the brimstone. A third of the plants,
a third of the trees, and now a third of the population of the earth destroyed
by fire.
In the 14th chapter of the book of Revelation, there is a judgment that comes
from an angel and verse 18 introduces that angel to us with these words, "And
another angel, the one who has powerover fire." Fire is so much a part of
judgment that there is a super angelwho is in charge of fire to be dispensed in
divine judgment.
Chapter 16 and verse 8: Here are more angels, not trumpets this time but
bowl judgments. And in chapter 16 verse 8, "The fourth angelpoured out his
bowl upon the sun and it was given to it to scorchmen with fire and men were

scorchedwith fierce heat and they blasphemed the name of God who has the
powerover these plagues and they did not repent so as to give Him glory."
God has powerover the fire. Godhas assignedangels to dispense that fire to
this earth. And that will even include the sun becoming a source of fierce heat
that sets people, as it were, on fire.
In the 19th chapter of the book of Revelationand verse 19, at the time when
the nations of the world gatherto fight againstthe saints, gatherto fight
againstChrist, it says in verse 19 of chapter 19, "I saw the beast, the kings of
the earth, their armies assembledto make war againstHim who saton the
horse,” meaning Christ, “againstHis army,” those are the saints. The beast
was seized;with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his
presence by which he deceivedthose who had receivedthe mark of the beast
and worshipedhis image. These two were thrown alive into the Lake of Fire
which burns with brimstone." This is the fire of eternalhell.
The 20th chapter and the 10th verse, "The devil, who deceivedthem, was
thrown into the Lake of Fire and brimstone where the beastand the false
prophet are and they'll be tormented day and night forever and ever." Verse
15, "If anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was
thrown into the Lake of Fire." Fire has a very prominent place in the future.
In the future of this earth, God literally will torch this planet so that one third
of its plant life is destroyed and one third of its population is destroyed by fire.
And even hell is describedas a Lake of Fire. Fire has played a deadly role in
the history of humanity. It continues to escalateand escalate andescalate and
it will find its final form in those future days of tribulation that I just read
you, when the Lord unleashes fire as a part of His divine judgment in a deadly
way, waybeyond anything imagined, just before the return of Jesus Christ.
Should we be surprised by this? No, because this is exactly what Jesus said
life would be like. Let's go back to Luke 21, Luke 21. And as we go back to

Luke 21, we are sitting on the slope of the Mount of Olives with Jesus and His
disciples. And He is telling them about the future, telling them about the
future. He is telling them what to expect. They are asking Him, "When are
You going to establish Your kingdom?" When is going to come the end of this
age and the beginning of the glorious golden age? Whenare You going to
take Your power? And what should we be looking for as a signthat this is
going to happen?
Mark 13:3 and 4 actually tells us that four disciples posedthese questions:
Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They posedthem on behalf of the rest. But
they all wanted to know. Jesus had just walkedout of the temple for the last
time, never to return againuntil He comes in glory in the future. He turned
around with them. They lookedatthe temple. Jesus said, this temple is
coming down, “not one stone will remain on top of another stone." Forty
years later that's exactly what happened. And they tore down every stone
because the Romans came in 70 A.D., setthe temple on fire, consequently the
gold that was all over the walls melted and ran down into the cracks ofthe
stone. And in order to dig out all the gold, they took every stone apart. Jesus
said it would happen that way, that's exactly what happened forty years after
this, no one can know the future, not forty years into the future but God
Himself. And if He knows the future in forty years, believe me He knows the
future in thousands of years just as well. No man even knows what tomorrow
will bring. He knew. He said in verse 6, "These things you're looking at, the
day will come when there will not be left one stone upon another which will
not be torn down." He was right. Forty years later that's exactly what
happened. And, folks, Jesus saidthat because He wanted us to know that
what He says about the future is exactly the way it will be. And that was the
proof. He was dead right about that, forty years later. You can trust Him for
the whole future. If He tells you it's going to happen, believe me, it will
happen and you have proof that He knows the future.

So starting then in verse 8, He begins to describe for them what the future will
be like before He comes. The highpoint of this...this lessonthat He gives
through the whole 21stchapter is in verse 27. And in verse 27 He says, "The
Son of Man is coming in a cloud with power and greatglory." Yes He is
coming. Yes He is coming in power and greatglory. But before He comes
there are some things this world must experience. So you have the promise of
His coming in verses 24 to 28. You have the preliminaries to His coming in
verses 7 through 24: What is life going to be like before Jesus comes? And
here is His description of it. First of all, we have learned there will be
deceivers, verse 8. He said, "See to it that you be not misled for many will
come in My name saying, ‘I am He and the time is at hand.’ Do not go after
them." Religious deceptionwill abound. It will grow, as we already learned.
It will flourish. It will escalate. Itwill enlarge. It will engulf the world so that
while the true church grows, while true Christianity flourishes, while the Lord
builds His church and the gates of hell cannot prevail againstit, while the true
seedis bearing fruit in the true church, there will grow a false form of
Christianity out of all proportion that will be far largerthan the realthing.
The deceptionin the name of Christianity will flourish. False messiahs, false
christs, false teachers, false prophets, false forms of Christianity as well as
false forms of every other kind of religion, expectit and we have seenit.
Secondly, disasters will come. Disasters, verse 9, "Whenyou hear of wars and
disturbances, do not be terrified for these things must take place first. But the
end does not follow immediately." There's the indication that there's going to
be some events that happen before the end when He comes to judge and to
reign, namely wars and disturbances. What did He mean by that? Verse 10:
"He continued by saying to them, 'Nation will rise againstnation, kingdom
againstkingdom." That defines the wars.
Disturbances are defined this way. Verse 11, "There will be great
earthquakes and in various places plagues and famines. There will be terrors
and greatsigns from heaven.” into which categoryyou can put wind and fire,

wind and fire. We're not surprised. We're not surprised at all because we
expectthese kinds of things to happen because Jesus saidthey would happen.
Things from the sky like the wind, terrors like fire torching cities and lands
and people. Jesus saidexpectthis. Don't expectthings to get better. Don't
expectthe world to getbetter. Don't expect to be delivered from all the
difficulties of life. It's going to get worse and worse and worse because evil
men getworse and worse and worse. The consequencesofsin get worse and
worse. And this is a scarred, stained, cursed planet groaning for its
redemption and suffering the consequencesofthe Fall. Expect then
deception, expect disaster.
Human life will also in a very particular way be defined by a third
component: distress, and in particular distress of Christian believers by
persecution, distress of Christian believers by persecution. Look at verse 12.
And I believe this would have been the hardest thing for them to comprehend.
But before all these things, before nations start making war with other
nations, before kingdoms start taking on kingdoms and you have wars
stretching acrossthe globe, before massive earthquakes, greatplagues, great
famines, terrors from the sky, all of these kinds of things, before that, in other
words, most immediately this is what will happen. "They will lay their hands
on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues andprisons,
bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake." Persecutionof
the disciples of Christ, that very group to whom He was speaking, which
certainly included the twelve and perhaps some others who were true
followers of Jesus, the first thing that's going to happen is the opposite of what
you would expect. This is so shocking to them. Wars are one thing. They're
sort of outside of us. Plagues and famines and earthquakes and fires and
hurricanes and tornados and volcanoesand all those other cataclysms of
earthly life are outside of us. They could understand that that could be a
reality because thathad already been a reality. But persecution? Their whole
theologysaid when the Messiahcomes,with the coming of Messiahcomes the
golden age. Evenafter hearing Jesus saythis they couldn't swallow it because
they went right from here into discussions aboutwhich of them was going to
be the greatestin the kingdom; which of them again — the same old deal — is

going to sit on His right hand and on His left hand. This was all about their
glory. This was all about the goldenage when God was going to exalt Israel
and when the Messiahwouldcertainly exalt those who believed in Him, when
they would be lifted into prominence and influence and power, when they
would have the fulfillment of all their expectations and everything the Old
Testamentprophets had predicted.
Persecution? This was just absolutelyopposite anything they would have
imagined. Before any of this other begins to really do its damage, you're
going to be persecuted. In fact, specificallythey will lay their hands on you.
That's arrestlanguage. Theywill arrest you and they will, having arrested
you, deliver you to the synagoguesfortrial and then put you in prison. That's
the form of persecution. Synagogues,by the way, contained the Jewishlocal
courts. In every village, in every town there were synagogues. In those
synagogueswas the dispensing of localjustice, both criminal and civil.
Twenty-three judges usually were required to sit and adjudicate on the cases
that were brought to the synagogue court.
To be brought, by the way, before that court, was considereda severe
discrediting and indignity. The court would listen to the case, the court would
make a decision, that is the judge would render his verdict, and punishment
was executedimmediately on the spot. Generallyspeaking, since the Romans
had not allowedthe Jews to have the right of capital punishment, the Jews
would have to do something to punish people short of stoning them to death.
And so they would scourge them with whips. The way Jesus was scourged, in
fact, by the Romans was the typical way the Jews scourgedthe guilty. One
judge would recite an appropriate psalm or Old Testamenttext that had
something to do with the crime committed. The secondwould count the
blows. And a third would command the blows and a servant of the
synagogue, he was called, would deliver the blows and they would come
immediately upon the adjudication and in full public view.

In the case ofthese believers, they would not only be scourged, but they would
be put in prison. This is just more than they could possibly process. Now
remember, they expectedJesus to conquer the Romans, not to be crucified by
the Romans. TheyexpectedJesus to be receivedby the Jews and exalted as
Messiah, notto be hated by the Jewishleaders who plotted His death with the
Romans. They expectedthe Messiahto capture the whole nation of people,
not to be rejectedby the whole nation of people. To process thatJesus is
rejectedby the people and by the leaders, to process thatHe has not
developed an army, that He's not going to conquer the Romans, that He's not
going to establish His power and His throne, but rather that He keeps talking
about dying and leaving, this is more than they could handle. In fact, it was so
hard for them to handle that even after He died and rose and spent days
teaching them, before He ascended, they said in Acts 2, "Will You at this time
restore the kingdom to Israel?" Theydid not see a gap before a first and
secondcoming. They saw everything the Messiahwas going to do happening
at the time He came and He came once. And now they hear, not only are we
not going to sit on His right hand and left hand there isn't going to be any
kingdom now. Notonly are we not going to be exaltedand elevatedand given
positions of power and influence, we're going to be persecuted. This is
absolutely antithetical to anything they would have imagined, contrary to all
their thoughts. Jesus saidit's going to happen and it's going to happen at the
hands of the Jews.
How do you know that? Because,He says they will lay their hands on you and
persecute you, delivering you to the synagoguesand then from there to the
prisons. And they had prisons. This is Jewishpersecutionof the followers of
Jesus. Notonly that though, there will be Gentile persecutions. Theywill also
be bringing you before kings and governors. There was no king and no
governorin the Jewishsocialstructure. The kings were Herods. They were
Idumeans. They were non-Jews. And the governors were Romans. So now
you have not only the promise of Jewishpersecution, but of Gentile
persecution. The whole world is going to gang up on you.

And that is certainly what happened. If you go in to the book of Acts, it
doesn't take you very long to find out that the persecutionbreaks out
immediately in the book of Acts and it comes from the Jews. It starts in
chapter 3. You see it in 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 14, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, persecutionby
the Jews, ofChristians. And as you keepreading in the book of Acts, you see
the gospelextend, chapter 13, toward the Gentiles. Gentile persecutionstarts
to break out. You see it in chapter 16, 17, 18, 21, 24, 25, 26. The whole world
gangs up on them. It is exactly as Jesus saidit would be. He saidexpect to be
persecuted. You will be persecutedby Jews andGentiles.
Why? End of verse 12, "ForMy name’s sake." Theypersecute you because
they hate Me. They persecute you because they hate Me. That's the issue. It
isn't that Christians are unkind, unlovable, not nice. It's what they represent
that the unregenerate Jews and Gentiles hate. They representthe gospel,
which indicts all these as sinners on their way to hell who need to repent and
believe in Jesus Christ, and that's the only way to be saved. They hate that
message. Theyhate the Christ of the gospel.
So they have to be scratching their heads and saying, "This is not according to
the plan." But Jesus gives them hope in verse 13. And He says this, "It will
lead to an opportunity for your testimony. It will lead to an opportunity for
your testimony." I love that. It's going to open up the door for you to take
the gospeleverywhere. Youremember what Paul said in Philippians chapter
1, that since he was a prisoner the gospelwas furthered by his chains, and
even brought into Caesar'shouseholdso that he had led some in Caesar's
household to the knowledge ofthe Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. The
persecutionof the church always brings gospelopportunity. Persecutionofthe
church always purifies the church. The persecutionof the church always
makes the church strong, it makes the church bold.

And a parallel passage, andremember now, Luke 21, teaching of Jesus here,
is part of what He said. The rest of what He said is containedin Matthew 24
and Mark 13, combine all of those. But in Matthew 24:14, this Jesus saidas
well on this same occasion, "This gospelofthe kingdom shall be preachedin
the whole world for a witness to all the nations. Then the end shall come."
Before the end comes, the gospelis going to go to the end of the world. Well
they might have wondered how that could happen then. How could that
possibly happen? How could it possibly happen that the gospelcouldgo to the
end of the world when we're going to be arrested, imprisoned and killed?
That's only part of the story. It's going to create opportunity for your
testimony. PersecutionofChristians has allowedChristians to give, strong,
bold, confident, faithful testimony to the glory of the gospel. Youread Foxe's
Book ofMartyrs. I've been reading it my whole life, just pieces and bits, and
pieces, and over and overagain. And you hear these incredibly stirring,
beautiful testimonies of those who were brought to the edge of the flames,
about to be burned to death, or to the edge of the sword, or the guillotine for
their love for Christ and how powerful their testimony is now resounding.
And so, in verse 14 the Lord says, "Make up your minds not to prepare
beforehand to defend yourselves.” Don'tworry about this. Don't think
you've gotto...This is literally technicallanguage in the Greek for preparing
and rehearsing a speech. Don'tdo that. Make up your minds not to literally
beforehand practice what you're going to say. No need. Why? Because, verse
15, "I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will
be able to resist or refute." I will give you what to say.
This isn't the first time the Lord told them that. This is not the first time the
Lord told them they're going to be persecuted. Butit was so hard for them to
graspeven though He said it again and again. Going way back into Matthew
chapter 10, way back in the early part of His ministry He said this to them in

verse 17 of Matthew 10, "Bewareofmen. They will deliver you up to the
courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you shall even be brought
before governors and kings for My sake," same thing, Jewishpersecutionand
Gentile persecution, "as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles." Verse 19,
"But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious about how or what you
will speak, forit shall be given you in that hour what you are to speak, for it is
not you who speak, it is the Spirit of your Fatherwho speaks in you." Ah,
what a promise. Don't worry, don't be fearful. Don't wonderwhether you'll
be able to say the right thing in that hour, in that moment.
I remember reading some of the literature down around the time of John
Calvin. And there were young ministers writing John Calvin passionate
letters, pleading with him to teachthem what to saywhen they had to stand
before the martyrs’ guillotine. And what did Calvin need to teach them to
say? Nothing, but to depend upon the promise of God who said, "In that hour
the Spirit will tell you what to say."
In Mark 13:11, "Whenthey arrest you and deliver you up, do not be anxious
beforehand about what you are to say but say whateveris given you in that
hour for it is not you who speak but it is the Holy Spirit."
Again, much earlier in the Lord's ministry, in Luke 12, verses 11 and 12,
"When they bring you before the synagoguesandthe rulers and the
authorities, do not become anxious about how or what you should speak in
your defense or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teachyou in that
very hour what you ought to say." That is so clear. There is nothing
ambiguous about that. Don't worry about it. You're going to be persecuted.
That's right. You're going to be persecuted. It will give you an opportunity to
give a testimony to the gospel, to make a goodconfessionof the gospeland
your faith in Christ. Don't worry about what you're going to say, the Holy

Spirit who dwells within you will show you what to say, and in such a way that
none of your opponents will be able to resistor refute you.
You can go through the book of Acts and you can see illustrations of this, how
that when they were brought before the authorities they said exactlythe right
thing, for which the authorities had no response. Evenin my little world, I
have restedon this promise. I getmyself in situations where I'm under fire
from people who hate the gospel, sometimes onworldwide television. And
people ask me, "How do you prepare for that?" And I have always said this,
"I prepare for that by simply trusting in the Holy Spirit." I'm actually
excited. It's an adventure. I'm eagerto find out what I'm going to say. And
sometimes I'll replay it and I'll say, "Wow!That was pretty good." But
they're never a match for the truth. They're never a match for the truth.
Yes, on the world stage there will come relentless persecution. Don'tworry,
it's going to come. You need to know it's going to come because that will
insulate you againstit. You don't need to be surprised by this.
Now He's already told them way back as we read in Matthew 10 and Luke 12.
But let me show you John 14. John14 is Jesus with His disciples the next
night. This is Wednesdaywhen He's on the Mount of Olives talking about His
SecondComing. The next night is Thursday. He's in the upper room. He's
having Passover with His disciples. This is one day later. And in John 14:29
He is talking to them, all through this section, from the 13th chapter on, but
look what He says in 29. "I have told you before it come to pass that when it
comes to pass you may believe."
So what He's doing is telling them to expectpersecutionso when persecution
comes they won't be surprised and say, "Hey, this whole thing's gone south on
us." Chapter 15, drop down to verse 19...well, verse 18, "If the world hates

you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.” This is one night
later He's telling them this. "If you were of the world, the world would love
its own. You're not of the world, but I chose you out of the world. Therefore
the world hates You. Remember the word that I saidto you. A slave is not
greaterthan his master, if they persecutedMe, they will also persecute you. If
they kept My word, they will keepyours also." I'm telling you this.
Now go down to chapter 16 verse 1, and He says why. These things I've
spokento you that you may not be...thatyou may be kept from stumbling.
“These things I've spokento you that you may be kept from stumbling." I
don't want you to falter and fail when persecutioncomes because youdidn't
expectit.
Verse 2, "Theywill make you outcasts from the synagogue but an hour is
coming for everyone who kills you to think that he's offering service to God."
The Jewishpersecutionwill come and they will think they're serving God in
persecuting you. "These things they will do because they have not knownthe
Father or Me." The Jews not only do not know the Son, they do not know the
Father either.
Then verse 4 is the key verse. John16:4, "These things I've spokento you
that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them, and
these things I didn't say to you at the beginning because I was with you." As
long as I was with you, I took the heat. As long as I was with you, I took the
fury. As long as I was with you, I took the animosity. When I'm gone, it's
coming to you and you need to know it. You need to know it.
Now back to Luke. How intimate will this persecutionbe? Verse 16 of Luke
21, "You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and
friends and they will put some of you to death and you will be hated by all on

accountof My name." Everybody is going to hate you on accountof My name,
right down to your intimate circle of friends and family. You're not just going
to be hated by the Gentiles. You're going to be hated by the Jews. You're not
going to be hated by just the Jews. You're going to be hated by your own
parents and your own brothers and sisters who resentthe gospel. You're
going to be hated by everyone because ofMy name, for My name’s sake,
because you identify with Me.
I'm telling you this now so that when it comes you will remember that I told
you and you won't stumble. Expectit. Expect it.
Is that the wayit workedout? Was Jesus right? WellHe was right about the
wars. He was right about the earthquakes. He was right about the famines
and the plagues. He was right about the terrors in the sky, the wind and the
fire. He was right about all of those things. He was right about the
destruction of the temple, not one stone upon another. You cango there
today, stand there, and you will not see two stones on top of eachother where
the temple was. He was right about that.
Was He right about the persecution? Oh yeah. And did it come before
anything else? Absolutely. From its inception on the Day of Pentecost,here's
a little history, from its inception on the Day of Pentecost,the church of Jesus
Christ beganto face Jewishhostility. All you have to do is look at the church.
The church starts in Acts 2. In Acts 3 Peterand John heala man crippled
from birth. In response to the healing, Peterpreaches a powerful, evangelistic
sermon in Acts 3. And then we read this in Acts 4, "The priests, the captain of
the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, being greatly disturbed
because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the
resurrectionfrom the dead and they laid hands on them and put them in jail
until the next day for it was alreadyevening."

The church starts in chapter 2. Peterpreaches his first sermon in chapter 3.
They're put in jail in chapter 4 before anything else could happen, as exactly
as Jesus had stated it. Shortly after that, however, stung by the phenomenal
growth of the church, 3,000 onthe Dayof Pentecostand thousands more soon
after, you come in to chapter 5, the next chapter in Acts, and what do you
read? "The high priest rose up along with all of his associates, thatis the sect
of the Sadducees,filled with jealousythey laid hands on the apostles and put
them in a public jail." Justexactly what Jesus saidwould happen at the
hands of the Jews. That's chapter5.
You come to chapter 6. You meet Stephen, a servant in the church. Stephen is
falselyaccused. He is arrestedby the Jews. He is put on trial before the
Sanhedrin, the Jewishcouncil. And then he is, in chapter 7, stoned to death.
After his death, you come to chapter 8. How does chapter 8 begin? With a
generalpersecutionbreaking out againstall Christians, spear-headedby none
other than a man named Saul of Tarsus. The persecutionbegins and it
spreads.
It finally reaches the apostles in the 12th chapter. The first of the apostles to
be martyred is James, the brother of John, and he is executedby the will of
the Jews atthe hands of Herod, chapter 12.
Soonafter that, Peter, Andrew, Philip, James the son of Alphaeus, all
crucified. Bartholomew whipped to death and then crucified. Thomas
stabbed with spears. And these are the very men to whom Jesus saidyou will
be hated, persecutedand killed. And they were.
Even outside that original circle of disciples, Mark was draggedto death
through the streets ofAlexandria. James, the half-brother of Jesus and the
leaderof the Jerusalemchurch, was stoned by order of the Sanhedrin.

Matthew, Simon the Zealot, Thaddeus, and even Timothy were killed for their
unwavering commitment to Jesus Christ. It was Clement of Rome, a
contemporary of the apostles,who died around 100 A.D. who observed this,
quote: "Throughenvy and jealousy, the greatestand most righteous pillars of
the church have been persecutedand executed."
Jesus saidit would happen and it happened. Jesus wasn'tlimiting this
persecutionjust to them. He said it would start with them and it would
continue. The apostle Paul says, "All that live godly in Christ Jesus shall
su...shallsuffer persecution."
Turn to Paul. Before his execution, Paul encounteredfierce opposition from
the Jews primarily. His bold, fearless preaching ofthe gospelastonishedand
enragedthe Jewishpopulation in Damascus, who then sought to kill him. He
had to flee for his life. Acts chapter9, he was loweredfrom the city wall at
night in a basket. The incident really charted the course for the rest of Paul's
life. He was always on the run.
Luke records that in the course ofhis missionary journeys he was forced to
flee from Iconium. He was pelted with stones and left for dead at Lystra. He
was beatenand thrown into jail at Philippi. He was forced to leave
Thessalonica afterhis preaching starteda riot. He was forcedto flee from
Berea afterhostile Jews from Thessalonica followedhim there. He was
mockedand ridiculed by Greek philosophers at Athens. He was brought
before a Roman pro-consul at Corinth by his Jewishadversaries. And he
facedhostility constantly from the Jews and the Gentiles at Ephesus. And
that's Paul's life from Acts 14 to Acts 19.
As he was about to sail from Greece to Jerusalem, a Jewishplot againsthis
life forcedhim to change his travel plans, and that's Acts 20. On the way to

Jerusalemhe met the elders of the Ephesian church and he saidthis to them,
"I'm bound in Spirit on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen
to me there exceptthat the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me that in every
city...that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city” in other words,
the Spirit keeps repeating it “saying that chains and afflictions awaitme." I
don't know exactly what to expect when I get to JerusalemexceptI'm going to
become a prisoner.
When he finally arrived in Jerusalem, he was recognizedwhen he went to the
temple, by Jews from Asia Minor who knew him. He was then savagely
beaten by a frenzied mob. He would have been killed right there in the temple
area exceptthe Roman soldiers saw whatwas going on and savedhim from a
certain death. And they arrestedhim, and now you're into Acts 21. They
arrestedhim for his own safety.
While he was in custody in Jerusalem, under Romanguard, the Jews were
plotting another plan to kill him, prompting the Roman commander to get
him out of jail in Jerusalemunder heavy guard, take him to the governor in
Caesarea. And by then you're in Acts 23.
Eventually he has a harrowing sea voyage and shipwreck. In Roman custody
he arrives in Rome. There, Acts 28, localJewishoppositioncomes against
him. They trackedhim even to the end of the book of Acts because theyhated
Christ. The Romans releasedhim after two years of imprisonment — Acts
28:30 — eventually rearrestedhim and cut off his head under Nero's
persecution.
This is the story of the apostles. This is the story of the disciples, including the
one added later, our beloved Paul. Jesus saidit would be like this and this is
the wayit was. But under their ministry even in the midst of persecution, as

they stoodbefore kings and governors and councils and synagoguesand
proclaimed the glorious gospel, made a faithful confession, the gospel
flourished, the testimony was clear. Their boldness made the message
believable and people were convertedto Christ. That's always the way it is
with faithful Christian testimony under persecution.
The Jews, however, thoughtthey were serving God. They thought they were
honoring God. They consideredChristians to be heretics. As I read you in
John 16, "They will make you outcasts from the synagogue becausetheythink
they're offering service to God." And some of the Jews, particularly the
Sadducees andthe people in power, knew they had that powerbecause they
had managedto get into a relationship of complicity with the Romans. In
other words, they politically gottheir power by condescending to Roman
authority. They were afraid of Christianity because Christians put Jesus
above Caesarand they thought if Christianity flourished, it would so irritate
the Romans that they would lose their positions of power. So you had Jewish
persecutioncoming from those who were politically motivated and Jewish
persecutioncoming from those who were religiously motivated. But it was
persecution, nonetheless.
Oh by the way, Jewishpersecutionended when Judaism ended, 70 A.D. It
was over. When the temple came down; when the city was destroyed, it was
over. And Jewishorganizedpersecutionended. But Gentile persecutionwas
just getting started and it's still going on today. And I'm going to talk about
that next time. We think about 160 thousand Christians are killed every year
since 1990. This persecutionwill get worse, farworse, in the time of
tribulation. We'll leave that for next time.
I want to give you one word of hope. Look at verse 18. "Eventhough you will
be hated by all on accountof My name, yet not a hair of your head will

perish." You may die, but you're going to be OK. The worstthat can happen
to the believer is the best that can happen to the believer.
Father, we thank You for Your truth. Thank You for the powerof the words
of our Lord and sometimes we read these words and they just kind of fly by
and we don't grab their impact, but it's a stunning thing to see the accuracy
with which Jesus knew the future. It was counter to everything they expected.
Even just lining up with the conventional wisdomof His day He was saying
things that were just beyond comprehension.
And they were right. Everything He said was exactlythe way it is in the world.
Millions of believers have died since that original group died at the hands
primarily of the Jews and some Gentiles. Millions have died. And many more
will. And even more saints will be slaughteredin the time of tribulation by
the Antichrist and his agents. But the church will still grow and flourish,
according to Your plan. History is unfolding exactlythe way You saidit
would.
And, Lord, we pray that we will be faithful, that when we get into situations
with those who are hostile to the gospel, we might know that we are safe and
secure, not one hair of our head will be harmed. That's an idiomatic way of
saying we're safe in the care of the One who has given us life that is eternal
and we will never perish. But, Lord, help us in those situations to reston the
fact that You will give us what we need to say and You will allow us to make a
bold confessionno matter how trying it may be. We know that we live in a
part of the world and a time in the world when we canbe soft. We don't have
a strong experience ofpersecution, not like so many in the world, not like
Christians in Muslim countries and Hindu countries who are dying for their
faith. Not like Christians who live under tyranny of communism who are
executedfor their faith. We have a...We have a different environment for us.
And we know that not all of us experience the greatearthquakes and the

Jesus was showing purpose for persecution

Jesus was showing purpose for persecution

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