The document discusses a Bible passage where Jesus warns his disciples that before signs of the end times occur, they will face persecution for preaching about him. This includes being arrested, imprisoned, and brought before Jewish and Roman authorities. However, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will give them wisdom and courage to testify about their faith during these trials. The persecution is described as turning into an opportunity for the disciples to bear witness and a testimony to their faith in Jesus.

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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
Luke 21:12-19 The Persecutionand Endurance of Christians, Part 2 - John
MacArthur

9. 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.

10. 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

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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...

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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.

18. 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

19. 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)

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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....

24. (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."

25. 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.

26. 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

27. 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.

28. 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,

29. 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)

30. 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

31. Luke 21:12-19 The Persecutionand Endurance of Christians, Part 1 - John
MacArthur
Luke 21:12-19 The Persecutionand Endurance of Christians, Part 2 - John
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...

32. 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

33. 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,

34. 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.

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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.

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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.

41. 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,

42. 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

43. 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.

44. 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.

45. 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.

46. 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

47. 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

48. 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

49. 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

50. 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."

51. 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.

52. 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

53. 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

54. 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

55. 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

56. famines and the plagues either but these are the generalrealities. But, Lord,
we know that if and when those things come, even if it's just in our family or
friends who condemn us, hate us, because ofthe gospeland because ofChrist,
that You will give us what we need to say that can't be refuted or resistedand
that You will give us opportunity to make a goodconfession, evenas Jesus
made a goodconfessionbefore Pontius Pilate, even as Paul made a good
confessionas he stoodbefore his executors, evenas saints of the ages make
that goodconfession, You will enable us in all things, all struggles to make
that goodconfession, a true gospelconfessionand You will use our testimony
to advance the gospelto the ends of the earth.
History is Your story. You are writing it. And we see it againunfold exactly
the wayYou said it would. You are the true God. Christ is the true
Redeemer, and the true Savior who speaks to us the truth. We restin that
truth. We're not surprised, we're not shocked. We're not stunned. We don't
falter and stumble in our faith because ofpersecution. You said to expect it
and it has come. If they hated You, they will certainly hate us in Your name.
Father, we pray for those who are still a part of that kingdom of darkness,
who are not under Your protection. We pray, Lord, that those who do not
know Christ and forgiveness andsalvationwould receive that gift today.
Lord, we do know that it is a greatjoy to suffer for Your sake. Bring on that
suffering for righteousness'sakethatproduces joy and effective testimony.
May we be bold and confident that the Spirit will give us what to sayin that
hour! We pray, Lord, that as Your true church moves ahead and feels the
increasing hostility even of our culture, the chaff will fall awayand the real
grain will stand the testand have an impact for the gospel. These things we
ask only for Your glory in Christ's name. Amen.

57. JOHN MACARTHUR
The Persecutionand Endurance of Christians, Part 2
Sermons Luke 21:12–19 42-258 Nov4, 2007
A + A - RESET
We return in our study of the Word of God to the 21stchapter of Luke's
gospel. Luke is the predominant historian of the New Testament, having
written this gospelas well as the entire book of Acts. And, of course, the focus
in Luke's writing is on the personand work of Jesus Christand the spreadof
the gospelofChrist after His ascensionand sending of the Holy Spirit.
But as we come to chapter 21 of Luke's gospel, letme just review for you
where we are in the story of our Lord. It is Wednesdaynight. It is Wednesday
night of PassionWeek, the final week ofour Lord's life and ministry before
the cross. OnThursday, He will celebrate the Passoverwith His disciples. On
Friday He will be crucified. And on Sunday He will rise from the dead.
Following that, He will make appearances only to those who believe in Him,
after which He ascends back to heaven to reign and to intercede. It is
Wednesdayof that final week.
On Monday, He came into the city. It is calledHis triumphal entry. He was
hailed as potentially the Messiahalthoughthe same crowdthat hailed Him as
Messiah, by Friday are screaming for His blood; fickle, superficial, and
shallow.
It was Monday that He came into the city. It was Tuesday that He went into
the Temple and threw out the money changers for the secondtime in His

58. ministry and said, "You have turned My Father's house, a house of prayer,
into a cave of robbers."
The next day, Wednesday, He came back to the Temple, spent the whole day
there teaching the crowds and being confrontedby the leaders, the Pharisees,
the Sadducees,and the Herodians who tried to trap Him in His words so that
they could have some reasonto bring Him to the Romans for execution. He
has managedto parry every blow they thrust at Him. He ended His day in the
twilight and walkedout of that Temple ground. Following Him were His own
disciples. It was the last time He would ever set foot in that place until He
comes again. And, in fact, when He comes again, His feet will land on the very
Mount of Olives where He was sitting in the evening of that Wednesday,
talking to His disciples about His SecondComing.
Everything looks grim. Everything looks disappointing. Everything looks as
bad as it can get, even to the disciples. And yet they have a glimmer of trust
and hope that somehow He is going to bring the kingdom. And so, He sits
with them on the side of the Mount of Olives, the westernside, looking at the
easternwall and the Temple Mount and He speaks to them about His coming
in glory and judgment to reign.
What He tells them is it is not now, it is much later. He is going back to
heaven and in the future He will come againto fulfill all kingdom promise and
all judgment promise. They don't have that in their theology. Nottwo
comings of Messiah, they thought it would all happen with one. Jesus makes
clearthe first time He comes to die, to provide the sacrifice for sin. The
secondtime He comes to reign, to judge sinners and to reign with the saints.
And so, in this 21stchapter, Jesus speaksconcerning His SecondComing.
You might say this is Jesus’ownsermon on His SecondComing. The full text

59. of what He said will be brought to your mind if you compare the 13th chapter
of Mark and Matthew 24 and 25. But we're in Luke so we'll look at the Lucan
text.
Whenever you talk about the SecondComing, whenever you talk about
prophecy, there is among many people the assumption that you're dealing
with something that is just frankly dark, mysterious, hidden, secret, obscure
and that maybe we shouldn't even spend much of our time dealing with it
because it is so oblique, so hard to comprehend. Prophecycan be bizarre. I
agree with that. It can be oblique, it can be esoteric. It canbe made
mysterious. But you have to work hard to do that because,frankly, the Bible
is clear. I am one who believes that what the Bible says about the future is as
clearas what it says about the present or the past, that what the Bible says
about things to come is as clearabout...as aboutwhat the Bible says regarding
things that are.
And in order to understand its clarity, you must, first of all, assume its clarity.
That's not a stretch, is it? Remember, the Bible is revelation, not mystery. It
intends to end the darkness, to bring knowledge where there is ignorance. It
is revelation. That is, it reveals, it discloses, it opens up. That is its purpose.
When Jesus talks about the future, it is so that we can understand the future,
not be confusedby it.
But there is a foundational interpretive principle that you have to bring to
bear on prophetic literature in Scripture just like any other element of
Scripture, and it is this, we must interpret Scripture beginning with this
foundational principle: How would the original hearers of this truth have
understood it? How would they have understood it? Because it is first and
foremosta revelation to them, which is then recordedfor all the rest of us; it is
intended to make clearthe truth to those who heard it. And when it comes to
prophetic text, as any other text, the truest interpretation will determine what

60. the originalhearers would have understood. And, frankly, while people have
languished in confusion overthis particular sermon of our Lord, I find it
utterly unnecessaryto do so. It is anything but obscure. It is anything but
confusing. It is plain, straightforward, and simple if you just understand that
He's talking to plain, straightforward, simple men.
When Jesus was speaking to the disciples, He was not speaking to the
theologicalelite. He was speaking to fishermen, people working with their
hands, uneducated, no rabbi, no scribe, no Pharisee, no one of any significance
at all. They had a hard time believing almost anything He said. That's why
He had to repeat it so many times. And even when they heard it, they...they
couldn't quite trust in it and that's why Jesus identified them so often as "Oh
you of little faith." No matter what He said, they seemedto be confusedby it.
They were not elite theologians. Theywere not gifted with some unusual
ability to grapple with deep things. They were just plain people
understanding things in a very plain way. In fact, the whole Bible was written
for plain people.
You can make prophecy bizarre. Many people have workedhard to do it.
You can make it esoteric, mysterious. And you can invent interpretations of
prophecy that would have been inconceivable and incomprehensible to the
mind of the disciples. And if they couldn't get it, then it's got to be the wrong
interpretation because this was said to them. So here we join Jesus and His
disciples again. And we feel at home because we're a lot like them. He speaks
to them concerning the future. And He tells them in this sermon, in Luke 21,
that He is coming again. That's in verses 25 to 28. That's kind of the high
point of the sermon. In fact, you remember I pointed that out to you last time
that in verse 27 He says you will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud and
greatglory. And He's referring to His SecondComing. So He does promise
them that He's coming.

61. But He also...andHe's already said this severaltimes...He also promises them
that there's going to be an intervening time before He comes. And He
explains to them what is going to happen in the world during that time. He
says He's coming. That's verses 25 to 28. But He says in the preliminary time,
before He comes, there are going to be things that will happen and He lays
them out specifically. These are preliminary to His coming and they go from
verse 8 through verse 19.
Then in verses 20 to 24: an event that's going to happen right before He
comes. So you've gotthe promise of His coming in the middle. You've got the
preliminaries to His coming. And then starting in verse 29 to the end of the
chapter, you have the preparation for His coming. So this is a very well
thought out and well crafted presentationby Luke of Jesus'teaching.
Now we're looking at the preliminaries to His coming. Let's pick up our
Lord's words in 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. And when you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified
for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow
immediately." And He continued by saying to them, "Nationwill rise against
nation and kingdom againstkingdom. There will be greatearthquakes, and in
various places plagues and famines. There will be terrors and greatsigns
from heaven. 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. Itwill lead to an opportunity
for your testimony. So make up your minds to prepare beforehand to defend
yourselves, for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your
opponents will be able to resistor refute. But 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 account of My name. Yet not a hair
of your head will perish. By your endurance, you will gainyour lives."

62. Now the disciples had a very, very sort of well-defined eschatologythat they
were familiar with because it was the current eschatologyofthe Judaism of
their day. They had hopes and expectations about the arrival of Messiah. In
fact, that was the brightest hope in the heart of any Jew. And what did they
expect? WellI have told you in the past. Let me just give you a brief
summary.
They had an intense interest in the Messiah'sarrival to setup His kingdom.
And the Old Testamentpromised all kinds of elements in that kingdom and
they were aware of them, that Israelwould be restoredto prominence, freed
from its enemies, its enemies would be punished by the arrival of Messiah,
who would set up the throne of David againand reign in Jerusalem. And
there would be a transformation of the land itself, a river flowing out of
Jerusalemto the eastthrough the desert. The desert would blossomlike a
rose. It would change the nature of the world so that animals that were
formerly enemies now became compatible and people would live long age. All
kinds of things like that. They understand it would be dominated by
righteousness andpeace. Theyunderstood that Jews from all over the globe
would be gatheredtogetherinto the land and that the Lord would reign,
Israelwould be prominent and the Lord would actually reign from Israelover
the whole earth. They were waiting for this to happen with the coming of
Messiah. Theyknew Isaiah9:6 and 7, that a Child would be born to us, a Son
will be given to us, “the government will be upon His shoulders, and His name
will be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, EternalFather, Prince of peace."
They were familiar with the words of Isaiah. “There will be no end to the
increase ofHis government, or of peace on the throne of David. And over His
kingdom to establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness fromthen
on and forever more, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” They
knew all of that very well. They were very familiar with Isaiah11:1 and 2:
that a Messiahwouldspring from the stem of Jesse, a branch from His roots
would bear fruit and the Spirit of the Lord would rest on Him, the spirit of

63. wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, and the fear of the
Lord.
They were familiar with the words of Jeremiah in chapter 23, "Behold, the
days are coming," declares the Lord, “whenI will raise up for David a
righteous branch and He will reign as King and act wiselyand do justice and
righteousness in the land. In his days, Judah will be saved. Israelwill dwell
securely. And this is His name by which He will be called, the Lord our
righteousness."
They knew the words of Zechariah14 that the day will come when the spoil
that had been takenfrom them would be brought back to them. That living
waters would flow out of Jerusalem. Thatthere would be no more curse and
Jerusalemwould dwell securely. They were familiar with Daniel2:44: that
the Godof heavenwould setup a kingdom never to be destroyedand the
kingdom not left for another people but for them, and it would lastforever.
They expectedtheir Messiahto come and establisha kingdom. Theyknew
that before that kingdom there would be a time of Tribulation. There would
be a time of judgment. There would be a judgment of Gentiles. There would
be a judgment of rebels among the Jews. Theyknew there would be wars and
catastrophes;there would be an escalationof iniquity. All of that is in the Old
Testament;that the Lord would triumph over it all and establishthe glory of
His kingdom, save Israel. Salvationwould spread to the world, and the Lord
Messiahwouldreign and rule.
As far as they were concerned, the time was now. The time was ready. The
time was ripe. After all, they were believers in the Messiah. He was here.
And they knew the Messiahwouldhave a forerunner, one like Elijah, and that
was John the Baptist, and he had come as well and pointed to the Messiahand

64. said, "Behold, the Lamb of God that takes awaythe sin of the world." And
now the Messiahis here and He entered Jerusalemtriumphantly and several
hundred thousand people hailed Him as the Son of David and gave Him
hosannas with expectationthat He would be that Messiah. Butit's all fading
very fast.
In the first place, He stripped the leadershipof Israelpublicly and openly by
cleansing the Temple. He engagedin conversationwith them and unmasked
them as false. The people are turning awayfrom Him. And He keeps talking
about His death. He has stopped short of doing what they expected Him to do.
When is the triumph going to begin? When is the glory going to come? When
is judgment going to fall? When is the kingdom going to be established?
And that's what they askedin verse 7, "Whenwill these things be?" And He
has to tell them: not for a long time. Long being relative, they probably
thought it was weeks,maybe months, maybe a few years. We now know it's
as least2,000 years. Yes He's coming. Yes He's coming. Yes every generation
should be prepared for His coming. He lays that out at the end of this
message. Butfor the beginning of it, He says there are some things you should
expect. This is very, very important, folks, because youwant to be sure that
the plan that Jesus establisheddidn't go bad. He ends up on a cross. The
world gets worse. Somebodymight say, "Wow, whoeverJesus claimedto be,
He was not. Whatever He claimed to do, He did not do. The world hasn't
changedsince He came. It's worse than it is now every way you look at it."
Was that a surprise to Him? Not at all, and so, to secure us from being fearful
or terrified, He explains exactlythe way things will go until He comes;three
things to expect. Verse 8, deceivers, deception, false Christianity will flourish.
"Many will come in My name," many saying, "I am He, the time is at hand.”
“Do not go after them." And the Bible is clear about the proliferation of these
false Messiahs andfalse apostles. Itold you, Josephus says that after the

65. death and resurrectionof Jesus Christ, there were so many people claiming to
be the Messiahin the days after that, that Pilate was executing one a day.
And it goes ontoday. False Christianity abounds and flourishes. It's larger
than the true church.
Secondly, disasters, and we lookedat that. Verses 9 through 11, wars and
disturbances are further describedin verse 10, nation againstnation, kingdom
againstkingdom, globalwars. Greatearthquakes, plagues, famines, terrors
like fire, hurricanes, winds, tornados, tidal waves, you name it. Greatsigns
that come from heaven and we discussedthose.
But the third thing...the first is deceivers, the secondis disasters, andthird is
the distress of persecution. Before allthese things, verse 12, "They will lay
their hands on you and will persecute you." This had to be the biggestjolt
that they had yet heard. I mean, the idea was the Messiahcomes, setsup the
kingdom and everything is goodfor us. What? The Messiahcomes, doesn't
setup the kingdom and it's going to be bad for us. If you're a followerof
Jesus Christ, it's going to be bad. And it's going to be bad and it's going to get
worse and worse and worse until He finally comes. This is a total shock. This
is outside the box of any of their thinking, totally unconventional, hard to
believe.
And then He describes that persecutionas being delivered to synagoguesand
prisons. That describes the Jewishpersecution which was vicious againstthe
early church, but ceasedin 70 A.D. when Judaism was crushedby the
Romans in the destruction of Jerusalem. But betweenthe words of our Lord
in 30 A.D. and the destruction of Jerusalemin 70 A.D., forty years of Jewish
persecutionof Christians. Following the Jewishpersecutioncame the Gentile
persecution, referred to in verse 12, bringing you betweenkings and
governors for My name’s sake. And that has not stopped, that still goes on.

66. Christians are still persecutedin the world today. And it escalatesand
escalatesand escalates.
But then He gives us a hint about why. Verse 13, "It will leadto an
opportunity for your testimony and don't worry what you're going to say, I'm
going to help you by the Holy Spirit give you a goodconfession." The
strategy, amazing strategyof the Lord is this. BetweenHis first and Second
Coming, fulfill the great commission. BetweenHis first and SecondComing,
go into all the world and preach the gospelto every creature. BetweenHis
first and SecondComing He gathers in the redeemed church.
And in order to expedite that, He brings persecution. What does persecution
do? It does two things. One, it scatters the church. We see that in the book of
Acts very early. The believers went everywhere because they were
persecuted. Theyhad to flee for their lives and with the fleeing came the
spread of the gospel. Acts 8, Saul was in hearty agreement, putting him to
death, that is Stephen, “and on that day a greatpersecutionarose against the
church in Jerusalemand they were all scatteredthroughout the regions of
Judea and Samaria.”
Well isn't that what Jesus saidto them in Acts 1? You are to preach the
gospelin Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the world? Well to help them getto
Judea and Samaria, they might not have gone unless they are persecutedand
it's been that way, the persecutionof the church is the scattering ofthe
church. There's a secondcomponentin persecution:The persecutionof the
church demonstrates the triumph of saving faith. When you can survive the
persecutionand you candie a triumphant death, confessing Jesus Christand
not denying Him, there's a viability, a credibility, and a powerto your
testimony.

67. Let me put it another way. There is no other religion in the world that has a
Foxe's Book ofMartyrs, only Christianity. And there's no other religion on
the face of the earth that's been persecutedanywhere close to the way
Christians have been persecutedand the blood of the martyrs becomes the
seedof the church. This is an evangelistic strategy. As the Lord gathers in
His church by scattering His church through persecutionand making their
testimony powerful and viable and credible as they face death triumphantly
and make a goodconfessionofChrist, which the true believer does make
because the Lord enables him by the Holy Spirit and He doesn't have to worry
about what he's going to say, the Lord will show him what to sayin that hour.
So, Jesus saidyou're going to be persecuted. You're going to be persecutedby
the Jews. And they were. We went through the history of that last week.
Then you're going to be persecutedbefore kings and governors. This is
Gentile persecution. Let me talk about that for a little bit, give you some
history.
The history of Gentile persecutionbegins in the book of Acts also. And it
begins with the Romans. It begins with the Romans. The Romans persecuted
Christians and they persecutedChristians for severalreasons. Originallythey
left the Christians alone, according to Acts 18 verses 12 to 15. They left the
Christians alone. Why? Because originallythe Romans viewed Christianity
as a sectof Judaism and Judaism was religio lecita, that is “legalreligion.”
The Romans didn't see a particular threat to Judaism so it hadn't been
banned. And they saw Christianity as simply a sectof Judaism and they left
them alone originally.
However, it didn't take long for this to change dramatically. The influx of
Gentiles into the church became a problem for the Romans. As Paul beganto
move and have an impact and as churches were being establishedand the
gospelwas penetrating the Roman world — Rome obviously dominating the

68. world of the Mediterraneanat that time — the Romans beganto see
Christianity as distinct from Judaism. For one reason, the Jews hated
Christians. It didn't take Rome long to figure out that if the Jews hate
Christians, then Christianity is not a part of Judaism. And so because of
Jewishhostility towardChristians, because ofthe influx of Gentiles into the
church, the Romans beganto recognize Christianity as distinct from Judaism.
Christianity they then outlawed. It became an illegal religion.
And there were severalfactors — and I think it's helpful to understand this —
that led to this outlawing of Christianity and the subsequent persecution. So
let me give you a little bit of that history.
First of all, there were political motivations, political. The Christians
allegiance to Christ was singular. It was dominant. And they obviously had
an allegiance to Christ that was far about their allegiance to Caesar. This
arousedsuspicionthat they were disloyal to the Roman state.
To maintain controlover their vast empire...Now you remember, the Roman
Empire is vast, surrounding the Mediterraneanand moving eastward. The
one thing the Romans asked...Theygave greatfreedomto their nations that
they colonizedand conquered, but one thing they askedis that their subjects'
ultimate loyalty to be the emperor. The emperor was the embodiment of the
Roman state. And if you demonstratedloyalty to the Caesar, youwere
demonstrating loyalty to the Roman state.
Now keepin mind, in ancient times always there was a union of religion and
state. In fact, the first nation in human history that did not have an allegiance
betweenreligion and the state is the United States ofAmerica. Prior to that,
all civilizations had religion and the state joined inseparably. So there was a
union of religionand state.

69. Refusalthen to worship the Romangods or the emperor was treason. It was
treason. Well, the Christians refused to worship the emperor. They refused
to worship the Roman gods. Theyrefused to make the required sacrifice in
worship to the emperor. Theywere therefore seenas traitors. Nothing was
more serious to the Romans than traitor attitudes.
They also proclaimed the kingdom of God, which causedthe Romans to
suspectthem of trying to overthrow the government. They had another King
and they had another kingdom. Now the Christians knew they were under
pressure, under duress, under persecution. So to avoid any unnecessary
confrontation with Romanauthorities, Christians began to hold their
meetings in secret. Now we're still in the first century. They beganto hold
their meetings in secretand at night in clandestine places, oftenassociated, for
example, with the catacombs.
Well the Romans eventually knew they were doing this and that heightened
the Romans suspicions, that if they have to do this in secret, they must be
hatching some kind of anti-government plot. Furthermore, Christians
generallyrefused to serve in the Roman army. This also causedthem to be
viewed as disloyal; plenty of political motivation for the persecution.
But in addition to that, there were closelytied religious motivations, secondly.
The Romans had a very broad and somewhattolerantattitude toward
religion. Theyallowedtheir subjects to worship whatevergods they wantedto
worship, as long as they also worshiped the Roman gods. Their...Their
approachto religion was all inclusive and what bothered them about
Christianity was Christianity was exclusive. Christians preachedan exclusive
messagethat there is only one true God, one Savior, and one wayof salvation.
And they not only believed that, but they propagatedthat. They preached

70. that. They were evangelistic, trying to win converts among the nations that
were part of the Romanworld.
This went againstthe prevailing, dominant role of religious pluralism.
Christians therefore were denounced, strangely, as atheists because they
rejectedthe Romanpantheon of gods, because theywould not worship the
emperor as God, and because they didn't worship idols. And the Romans
couldn't disassociatea god from an idol. If you had no idol, you had no god.
They were atheists. And so, here are these subversive atheists, assaulting the
unity and the peace ofRome with their exclusive God and exclusive message.
The secrecyofChristians also led to lurid, false rumors of gross immorality.
They assumedthat they were in dark places and secretive placesdoing
wicked, evil things because that's what they did even in the open. That is, the
Romans. They misunderstoodwhat was meant by eating and drinking the
elements during the Lord's Supper, which led to charges ofcannibalism; that
the Christians met to engage in lurid, immoral activity and eateachother.
They even attackedthe Christian gesture of a holy kiss, which was an
embrace, as best we can tell, cheek to cheek. Thatgave rise to false
accusationsofsexual misconduct. They painted a...a very, very evil picture of
Christians, religiously. What kind of religion was that?
Sociallythey had another motivation, another categoryoverlapping. The
leaders of Roman societyfearedthe influence of the Christians on the lower
classes. Youhave to understand that there's no middle class in ancient world
as there is still in some countries in the world, no middle class, typically Third
World countries. You have no middle class, whatyou have is a mass of
humanity that are poor. And you have a small group of elite people at the top
who control all the wealth and have all the powerand usually abuse the

71. people who are poor. This is what foments revolution. This is why there was
a RussianRevolution. This is why there was a French Revolution. This is
why there...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 Romansocietyfearedthe influence of Christians on the
lowerclassesbecausethe Christians were drawing people from the lower
classes. Remember1 Corinthians 1? "Notmany noble, mighty, lowly, the
base, the lowly, the no-names, the nobodies," which is to say, there was a
growing number of Christians who were from the slave population, ten to
twelve million slaves in the Roman Empire. The wealthy aristocrats, easily
threatened...easilythreatenedby the fear of slave revolt, feared that
Christians were fomenting this revolt, particularly because Christians taught
that there's neither bond nor free in Christ. And so they failed to recognize
the status of the elite.
Haunted by the ever-presentspecterof the potential of the slave revolt, the
wealthy aristocrats beganto turn up the heat on Christians. And it is true
Christians held themselves alooffrom much of public life. Everything was
connectedto idols. If you went to a theatrical event, if you went to a sporting
event, if you went to any kind of civil event, there would be idolatry involved
in it. And there would be all the kind of behavior that went along with their
evil idolatry. And so Christians just could not really engage in the activities of
the culture. They were completely counterculture. They did nothing to
accommodate the culture whatsoever. Theycouldn't, their conscience
restrained them from doing that.
To put it in the modern vernacular, they had no interest in contextualizing.
They couldn't participate because everything involved a sacrifice to a pagan

72. deity. And so they threatenedon every level: politically, religiously and
socially.
One other factorprobably should come into play, economic. There were
economic reasons whythe Romans went after the Christians. It's overlooked
but the persecutionof the early church had a lot to do with the dent that the
gospelwas making in the false god trade. You remember Acts 16? Paulcasta
demon out of a girl, a slave girl at Philippi who was making a fortune for her
masters by telling people's fortune. She was a medium for demons that were
speaking through her and doing their demonic magic, as it were. And when
he castthe demon out of her, they lost their source of income. Do you
remember? The same thing happened... That's in Acts 16. In Acts 19 there
was a riot at Ephesus and they tried to kill Paul because he made such a dent
in the idol trade there. Rememberhis preaching of the gospelhad caused
people to burn all their idols and shut down the sale of idols? They went after
him.
Early in the secondcentury, Pliny, the Romangovernor of Bithynia, lamented
in a letter to Emperor Trajan that the spread of Christianity, he says, has
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
reasons, perhaps relatedreasons, Christianity became a hated and despised
religious sectin the RomanEmpire. In the...In his letter to Emperor Trajan,
Pliny scornedChristianity. He said, "It's a depraved and extravagant

73. superstition." And went on to complain, quote: "The contagionof this
superstition has spreadnot only in the cities but in the villages and the rural
districts as well," end quote. It's going everywhere.
Sure the gospelwas penetrating, people were being converted. The church
was growing. And it had a detrimental effecton Romanlife. The Roman
historian Tacitus, a contemporaryby the way of Pliny, describes Christians as
a class hatedfor their abominations. Suetonius, another contemporary of
Pliny, dismissedthem as a setof men adhering to a novel and mischievous
superstition.
And so persecutioncame and it began to foment and it began to develop. The
first officialbreakout of persecutionis 64 A.D., the month of July, six years
before the destruction of Jerusalem, under the Emperor Nero. You
remember July of A.D. 64 a fire ravagedRome, destroying or damaging much
of the city. Popular rumors pinned the cause orthe source on Nero himself.
You remember Nero fiddling while Rome burned. Probably not accurate but
Nero needed a scapegoat. He needed somebodythat people already thought
were responsible for bad things, and that was the Christians. And so he
blamed the Christians already destroyedby the populace, began to savagely
persecute them in an organized way. Christians were arrested, cruelly
tortured, thrown to wild animals, crucified and doused with oil and put on
sticks and lit as torches for Nero's gardenparties at night.
This first, official, organizedpersecutionbasically was in the vicinity of Rome.
But attacks onChristians beganto spread and move wider. And they were
uncheckedby the authorities. According to tradition, both Peterand Paul
were martyred under this persecutionin the time of Nero.

74. Three decades later, you move into the 90s, the first century, during the reign
of Emperor Domitian, anothergovernment sponsoredpersecutionof
Christians breaks out. We don't know a lot of the details but it extended all
over the area around Israel and it went all the way to Asia Minor, which is
modern-day Turkey. It was this persecutionunder Domitian that caught
John the apostle and had him exiled to the Isle of Patmos. 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 of 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...eightyand six years have I served
Him and He never did me any injury. How can I then blaspheme My King
and My Savior?" And he died triumphantly.
It wasn't long until you had an empire-wide persecution, extending through
the whole Roman Empire in the year 250 under Emperor Decius. Rome at
that time facedserious internal issues, economic crisis, natural disasters,
external issues, the incursion of barbarians. Decius was convincedthat all
these difficulties were coming againbecause ofthe Christians who were
forsaking Rome's ancientgods. He issuedan edict 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.
It didn't lastlong, however. By July of the next year, 251, Decius died in a
battle. Persecutiondidn't end. Jump from 251 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. He issueda series of edicts ordering churches to be destroyed, all copies
of the Bible to be burned, all Christians offer sacrifice to the Roman gods or

75. be killed. It wasn't until the Edict of Milan — Constantine was part of that —
in 313 that that persecutionended, ten years of it. And then by 324,
Constantine had establishedChristianity as the religion of the RomanEmpire.
Did that end persecution? No. The Holy Roman Empire, the false form of
Christianity, beganto persecute the true church. In the most massive
persecutionyet came during the Middle Ages. WhenI say massive, I mean
massive. According to historian John Dowling, a reputable historian, the
Roman Catholic Church put to death 50 million heretics betweenA.D. 606
and the mid-1800s, 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 1500s, the response
from Rome was vitriolic and violent, and, of course, addedto the 50 million
that were slaughteredduring that time. Godly leaders like JanHus, Hugh
Latimer, William Tyndale, Patrick Hamilton, George Wishart, many others,
martyred for their faith. It was Hus, 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. Whythen should I be ashamed of this rusty one?"
When askedto renounce, Hus 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 said would
happen. It will turn out for your testimony because the Spirit will show you
what to say.
The triumph and testimony of Jan Hus has been the cause of the conversionof
who knows how many countless thousands through history. He died — by the
way — singing a hymn, as the flames engulfed his body.

76. No other religion has this history. In many places in the world today,
believers continue to be persecuted. Muslim- and Hindu-controlled countries,
especiallyAfrica and the Middle East, especiallymurderous toward
Christians; though other nations such as communistic states are also
antagonistic and during the development of communism, Christians were
massacredwholesale. 1997,an article in the New York Times reports, quote:
"More Christians have died this century simply for being Christians than in
the first nineteen centuries after the birth of Christ." Twentieth century, more
Christians died than in the nineteen centuries before, New York Times,
February 11, 1997.
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 calledThe New Persecuted, published in 2002.
A Roman Catholic journalist, Antonio Socci:He estimates that in the 2,000
years of church history, seventy million Christians have been martyred. The
number is likely much greatersince he minimizes the number of those
executedunder the Roman Catholic Church. God knows. I don't know how
many but the numbers are staggering.
He also says that of these seventy million Christians, two thirds have been
killed in the last hundred years. He claims that an average of160 thousand
Christians have been killed every year since 1990;160 thousand a yearsince
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 and worse.
And we see it played out just the wayHe said it. Don't think for one split

77. 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 wayit is in the history of the world. And it's going to getworse,
not better. If you think persecution of believers is going to go away, you're
wrong. The church is going to continue to be persecutedbecause 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 persecutionso
to demonstrate its truthfulness and validity, and persecutionwill continue and
get worse.
Let me jump all the way to the book of Revelationchapter 6, as we close, and
take you into the future time called the time of tribulation when persecution
will reachits greatestpoint. Come into chapter 6 of Revelation, you're in the
time of tribulation. The church has been raptured. The gospelhas been
preachedto the world after the rapture. The gospelhas been preached with
powerby two witnesses, preachedwith the supernatural means by an angel
flying in the heaven preaching the everlasting gospel, beenpreachedby 144
thousand Jews, twelve thousand from every tribe. The results are the greatest
revival in human history. People are being converted. And when they're
being converted in the time of tribulation because Antichrist rules the world,
they're also being persecuted, persecutedlike never before. Many of them are
martyred.
We meet them in chapter 6 verse 9. "He broke the fifth seal." This is the
angelbreaking the judgment in the time of tribulation. "I saw underneath the
altar the souls of those who had been slain because ofthe Word of God and
because ofthe testimony which they had maintained."
Now you've gotthe people who were slain and killed. When? During the time
of the tribulation. They are given a white robe, and to resta little while longer
until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be

78. killed even as they had been should be completed also. Godknows it's going
to happen. He even knows the exactnumber of those who come to faith in
Christ after the rapture of the church who will be then martyred.
Chapter 7 and verse 9, "After these things I lookedand behold a great
multitude which no one could count from every nation, all tribes and peoples
and tongues standing before the throne and before the Lamb clothedin white
robes, and palm branches were in their hands, crying with a loud voice saying,
'Salvation to our God that sits upon the throne and the Lamb.'" Here is a
group of people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation gathered
around the throne. They have been saved. They're crying out about
salvation. They're celebrating the work of the Lamb. Who are these people?
Verse 14, "Who are they?" Verse 13 he asks the question, "Where did they
come from?" I said, "My Lord, you know." He said to me, "These are the
ones who come out of the Great Tribulation. They've washedtheir robes,
made them white in the blood of the Lamb and they are now before the throne
of God serving Him day and night."
These are the martyrs of the time of the tribulation, those who were
slaughteredfor their faith. Two witnesses inchapter 11, verse 7, two
witnesses,Godsends two amazing witnesses. Chapter 11 verse 7, "After they
had finished their testimonies,” their testimony concerning the gospel, “the
beastthat comes out of the abyss,” the Antichrist, “will make war with them
and overcome them and kill them." Chapter 12 verse 17, "The dragon,"
meaning Satan, "is enragedwith the woman," the womanrepresents Israel,
"and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring who keepthe
commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus." One of the
greatestslaughters in the time of the tribulation is going to be the Jews that
Antichrist will kill who will have come to faith in Christ.

79. Chapter 13 verse 7, speaking againof the Antichrist, the greatblasphemer
that dominates the world at that time: "It was given to him to make war with
the saints and overcome them and authority over every tribe and people and
tongue and nation was given to him. And all who dwell on the earth will
worship him, every one whose name has not been written from the foundation
of the world in the Book ofLife of the Lamb who has been slain." He's going
to rule the whole word, that is everybody who is not in the Lamb's Book of
Life, and he's going to make war with the saints. They're going to be killed,
martyred, gatheredunder the altar from every tongue and tribe and people
and nation crying, "How long, oh Lord, how long, how long until You come
and bring judgment on those who kill Your people?"
False religionhas killed millions and millions and millions of people through
the centuries. The final system will even be more deadly in the future. We
don't expect persecutionto go away. It will keepgoing like this until the Lord
comes to judge.
Why? BecauseGodspreads His gospelthrough persecution. Because God
gives testimony to the strength of saving faith and the glory of the gospel
through martyrdom and through suffering.
Now let's go back to Luke 21 and close. Here is the end of this on persecution,
however. Verse 17 says, "You'll be hated by all on accountof My name."
That is exactly the way it's been through the history of the world. "Yet not a
hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives."
Powerfulstatements and I'm going to tell you what they mean next Sunday.
Let's bow in prayer...and they're absolutelyimportant words.
As we bow our heads in prayer for just a moment, I don't know how to make
the messageanymore urgent than the Scripture makes it. I'm not intending

80. to do that. Exceptto drive it home to your own heart and say this, look,
history is not random, it's not cyclical. It has a beginning and an end. And it
is prewritten by God and Jesus knew exactlythe wayhistory would go. He
didn't expect to come and build some wonderful religion that everybody
would embrace. He knew better than that. He knew the truth would be so
exclusive that it would be hated; so narrow, so defined that it would be
despised, even inside families. And that's exactlythe way it's been.
This has led to the spread of the gospel. It has led to the opportunity to
proclaim the gospelin the direst of situations. And this kind of persecution
short of death even leads to the strengthening of believers who are made
perfect by their trial and who are given assurance becausetestedfaith is
assuredfaith. When your faith stands the test, then you know it's the real
thing.
So the Lord has His purposes in our suffering, purposes of dependence,
purposes of evangelism. The question comes downto you. This is the truth.
Look at history. Jesus knew exactly what would happen, and it did. It is and
it will be this way. This is God who is speaking here. And when He says He's
the only Savior, that's the truth. That's the truth. You must turn to Him and
Him alone. Do that today.
RICH CATHERS
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.
all – hapas – quite, all, the whole, all together, all

81. Before the signs in the heavens …
they shall lay – epiballo – to castupon, to lay upon; used of seizing one to lead
him off as a prisoner; to throw one’s selfupon, rush in
persecute – dioko – to make to run or flee, put to flight, drive away;to run
swiftly in order to catcha personor thing, to run after; to pursue (in a hostile
manner); in any way whateverto harass, trouble, molest one; to persecute;to
be mistreated, suffer persecutionon accountof something
delivering – paradidomi – to give into the hands (of another); to give over into
(one’s) poweror use; to deliver up one to custody, to be judged, condemned,
punished, scourged, tormented, put to death; to deliver up treacherously;by
betrayal to cause one to be taken
synagogues– sunagoge – a bringing together, gathering (as of fruits), a
contracting;in the NT, an assembling togetherof men, an assemblyof men; a
synagogue
prisons – phulake – guard, watch; of the place where captives are kept, a
prison
rulers – hegemon – a leaderof any kind, a guide, ruler, prefect, president,
chief, general, commander, sovereign
sake – heneka – on accountof, for the sake of, for; for this cause, therefore
Lesson
Persecution
We see some ofthis happening in the New Testament.
Peterand John being arrestedand put on trial before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4).
Paul being arrestedmany times through the book of Acts.
Apparently Paul’s disciple Timothy had a reluctance towards pain like I do:
(2 Tim 1:6-8 KJV) Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the
gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. {7} For Godhath

82. not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
{8} Be not thou therefore ashamedof the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his
prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospelaccording to the
powerof God;
It would seemthat Timothy shied back from things a little out of fear.
Yet Paul had set an example for Timothy:
(2 Tim 3:10-12 KJV) But thou hast fully knownmy doctrine, manner of life,
purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, {11} Persecutions, afflictions,
which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I
endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. {12} Yea, and all that will
live godly in Christ Jesus shallsuffer persecution.
will – thelo – to will, have in mind, intend; to be resolvedor determined, to
purpose; to desire, to wish; to love; to like to do a thing, be fond of doing; to
take delight in, have pleasure
godly – eusebos – piously, godly, dutifully; doing what’s right before God
live – zao (infinitive) – to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not
dead); to enjoy real life; to live i.e. pass life, in the manner of the living and
acting
shall suffer persecution– dioko – to make to run or flee, put to flight, drive
away;in any way whatever to harass, trouble, molest one; to persecute;to be
mistreated, suffer persecutionon accountof something
If you have a desire to do what is right before God, you will be persecuted.

83. Timothy had observedPaul’s life. It wasn’t an easylife.
Timothy could see that God had been faithful to Paul. Even though Paul was
writing Timothy from a prison in Rome, awaiting his execution.
Timothy did pay attention to Paul.
From Fox's Book of Martyrs: (pg.6-7) – Persecutionof Emperor Domitian –
“Timothy was the celebrateddisciple of St. Paul, and bishop of Ephesus,
where he zealouslygovernedthe Church until A.D. 97. At this period, as the
pagans were about to celebrate a feastcalledCatagogion, Timothy, meeting
the procession, severelyreprovedthem for their ridiculous idolatry, which so
exasperatedthe people that they fell upon him with their clubs, and beat him
in so dreadful a manner that he expired of the bruises two days after.”
:13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
it shall turn – apobaino – to come down from, i.e. a ship; to turn out, result, to
be the outcome
a testimony – marturion – testimony
(Luke 21:13 NLT) This will be your opportunity to tell them about me.
Lesson
Tough times to witness
Some times we have this idea that if we’re going to be a “goodwitness” for the
Lord, that we have to have perfect lives, perfecthealth, lots of money, and
have everyone wish they were in our shoes.
But God wants to use us when we’re in the fire, under the pressure.

84. People will pay attention to how you respond to your trials.
“Hated By All On Account of My Name”
Luke 21:5-24
The ReverendDr. J. Ligon Duncan III
If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to the gospelof Luke.
We’re in the twenty-first chapter as we continue our way through this
gospeltogether, and we’ve come to a sectionin Luke in which Luke records
Jesus’teaching to His disciples about the end, about the future, about what is
to come. It’s provokedby a
conversationthat Jesus overhears, to which He makes a comment, which then
causes the disciples to ask Him a question that gets Him into the issue of the
future.
But I want to make one simple observation before we begin to read the
passage

85. and that’s this — whenever the Bible begins to talk about prophecy, prophecy
of
the future, its concernis present.
It’s not speculative;it’s about how we’re supposed to live right now.
Whenever the Bible talks about what theologians calleschatology, orthe
end, its concernis ethics;it’s our behavior; it’s how we live right now.
Prophecy, Bible teaching about the future or about the end, is never
merely speculative in the Bible. It
is always practical. It is always
designedto teach us how we are to live in the here and now, how we are to
serve
the Lord right now, and you’ll find that that’s the case in the passagebefore
us today.
It would be very interesting to go back and look at this passagefrom the
standpoint of the numerous, immediate, practicalimplications that it had for
Jesus’disciples when they were first hearing it.
As tempting as that is for me to do though, I want to focus with you
today on three or four things that this passagesays to you and me right now.
So before we read God’s Word, let’s pray and ask for His help and
blessing.

86. This is Your Word, Lord. It’s meant
for our edification. It’s meant to
build us up and equip us for every goodwork.
It is Your Word and so we ask that by Your Spirit, Your Word would
accomplishYour purposes in our hearts and lives.
Open our eyes to behold wonderful truths in it.
Grant us that we would receive it as what it is, the very Word of God.
Instruct us in it and conform us to it, we ask in Jesus’name.
Amen.
This is God’s Word beginning in Luke 21 verse 5:
“And while some were
speaking ofthe temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings,
He
said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not
be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’
And they askedHim, ‘Teacher, whenwill these things be, and what will be
the signwhen these things are about to take place?’
And He said, ‘See that you are not led astray.
For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I
am He!’ and ‘The time is at hand!’
Do not go after them. And when you

87. hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take
place, but the end will not be at once.’
Then He said to them,
‘Nation will rise againstnation, and kingdom againstkingdom.
There will be great earthquakes, andin various places famines and
pestilences. And there will be
terrors and great signs from heaven.
But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you,
delivering you up to the synagoguesandprisons, and you will be brought
before
kings and governors for My name’s sake.
This will be your opportunity to bear witness.
Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to
answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your
adversaries
will be able to withstand or contradict.
You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and
friends, and some of you they will put to death.
You will be hated by all for My name’s sake.
But not a hair of your head will perish.
By your endurance you will gain your lives.

88. But when you see
Jerusalemsurrounded by armies, then know that its desolationhas come
near.
Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who
are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter
it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in
those days! For there will be great
distress upon the earth and wrath againstthis people.
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all
nations, and Jerusalemwill be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the
times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.’”
Amen, and thus ends this reading of God’s holy, inspired, and inerrant Word.
May He write its eternal truth upon all our hearts.
Many Christians in the world today live in situations where they face
persecutionfor Christ just like Jesus warns these Christians here in Luke 21
that they would face. Perhaps you
have been following the case ofYousef Nadarkhani, a thirty-two year old
Iranian
Christian pastor who has been sentencedto death for converting to
Christianity.
He was a Muslim who, as a teenager, came to faith in Christ and has been

89. serving as a pastor in Iran. And the
casesrun all the way up to the Supreme Court and it’s reported that in the
decisionof the Supreme Court they said that if he did not reconvertto Islam,
if he did not renounce Christ, that he would be liable for the death penalty.
That case is still pending.
Well we live in a culture that is increasinglyantagonistic to the claims of the
Gospel. In our culture, there is no
one right now who’s being called up on the death penalty for being a
Christian
or for converting to Christ, but we see an increasing antagonismin our own
culture againstChristianity, againstChrist, and againstthe Gospel.
Maybe you saw in the last week, anop-ed article in USA Todayby a
former reporter for The Wall StreetJournal, Asra Nomani, arguing that
the Internal Revenue Service ought to deny tax-exempt status to any place of
worship that holds that there are different roles for men and women.
Now she acknowledges inthe article that that would be a violation of the
First Amendment that she said, “This is so important that we’re just going to
have to work around that.”
And this is actually very typical in our culture because the whole issue of the
definition of manhood and womanhoodand marriage has become confused
before our

90. very eyes in the lastforty years.
In the recentdebates, for instance, over the definition of marriage, those
advocating for same-sexmarriage have done so on the basis that it is the right
thing to do for freedom, for equality, for justice, and fairness, and that has
meant that those who hold to a traditional or historic view of the definition of
marriage are now in the position of being enemies of freedom, equality,
justice,
and fairness. And that is going to
be an increasinglydifficult place for Christians who believe what the Bible
says about marriage as we live in our culture.
Perhaps you’ve followedthe case ofPeter Vidmar who had been appointed as
the
Chief of Missionby the United States Olympic Committee for our Olympic
team in
2012. And a greatcontroversybroke
out because he is a supporter of traditional marriage.
And one of the male figure skaters who is openly homosexual, Johnny Weir,
calledhis appointment “disgraceful.”
He said, “How could we possibly appoint someone who believes in
traditional marriage?” He says, “I
certainly wouldn’t want to be representedby someone who is anti-gay
marriage.
It’s not just about marriage, it is about being allowedequal rights as

91. Americans.”
Now, I believe that this is a position and a stance that we are going to
increasinglyhave to deal with in our culture, in our society, our community
now, and it is going to make Christians, if they take a stand, in business,
government, or education, it is going to make Christians, Bible-believing
Christians, persona non grata, very, very quickly if not already.
And it’s going to force us to count the costand to decide how we’re
going to be a witness when our time of testimony comes.
And I believe that Jesus’words in this passageactuallycontain for us
severalvery, very important truths that we need to considerregarding that
issue. Let me just point to three or
four of them this morning.
First, a reminder that Jesus gives, and you see it right out of the block in
verse 5 and 6. Then, an admonition,
an admonition that He gives in verse 8.
And then an exhortation, and that exhortation begins in verse 13.
And then a comfort, and you see that comfort in verse 18.
I’m going to look at these three or four things with you this morning.
A reminder that you are the house

92. The first thing is the reminder and the reminder comes in the context of the
conversationof verse 5. Look at it
with me. The disciples are looking
up at the temple mound and they’re looking at the temple building and they
see
how beautiful it is. It’s a very
impressive building and they comment on how wonderful it is architecturally
and
how it’s coveredwith precious stones and offerings are being taken.
And Jesus says to them in verse 6, “As for these things that you see, the
days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that
will
not be thrown down.” Now, Jesus is
of course referring to the destruction of the temple which will happen within
about forty years of His speaking these words.
In A.D. 70, the temple will be destroyed.
There will be another occupationof Jerusalemin A.D. 130, about sixty
years later, that will destroy the rest of it.
What Jesus says here comes literally true within the lifetime of the
people to whom He speaks.And He’s
speaking about an event very important in the history of God’s redemption.

93. But I want to pause for a secondand think about the implication of this for
you
and me. He speaks abouta building
that had uniquely servedas the place where God’s people experiencedHis
presence and favor and He tells them that there is going to come a day when
not
a stone of it is going to stand on the other.
Is that going to mean the end of the worship of God?
No. Even though the building
had been specificallyappointed by God to be built?
Right, the worship of God is not going to end.
Why? Because in the end, as
specialas the temple was, the temple that God is building is not made of
bricks
and mortar and stone; it’s made of people.
As Peter will tell us, we are living stones being built into the temple
of God, the house of God.
And so there’s something for us in Jesus’words that we need to remember
and
it’s this — you are the house that the Lord wants to be beautiful.
You are the house that the Lord wants to be beautiful.
It’s not just that the Lord wants us to worship in a beautiful house;
it’s that you are the house that the Lord wants to be beautiful.

94. It’s our privilege, week afterweek, to worship in one of the most
beautiful buildings in all of ProtestantChristendom.
You know you really do. I
doubt that there are many people who have never been anywhere else who can
adequately appreciate the simplicity and the dignity and the beauty of the
room
that we gather in as our meeting house.
I love this place. And it’s
so comfortable. Oh, I know some of
you think it’s too cold, but compared to sixty years ago, you’d be glad for the
cold, I promise you!
An Admonition to be on guard
But as beautiful as this meeting house is, what your pastors and elders are
trying to do, is to make you a beautiful house for God.
You know something I often think about is — what would this building look
like if it lookedlike my heart? And
I think about that collectivelytoo.
What would this building look like if it lookedlike our hearts and lives
collectively? I can pretty much
guarantee you that it wouldn’t look this beautiful, but our desire is, by the

95. sanctifying work of God’s Holy Spirit, that we would become more and more
a
beautiful house of God in the waythat we live individually and collectively
together.
So I believe that Jesus’words about the end of the temple remind us that you
are the house that the Lord wants to be beautiful.
That’s something very, very important.
We could well see a day when not one stone of this building will stand on
another because ofopposition and persecutionto Christ.
But even if that’s the case, ifthe congregationloves the Word of God,
loves the Lord Jesus Christ, has embracedthe Gospelof the Word of God,
then
that congregationcancontinue being beautiful even when not one stone of this
building stands on another. You are
the house that the Lord wants to be beautiful.
That’s the first things I want you to see and it’s a reminder that we get
when we see Jesus’words in this passage.
But the secondthing is this, and it’s an admonition — in answerto the
question, “When is this going to happen?” and “What are the signs going to
be
that it’s going to happen?” if you’ll look at verses 8 and 9, Jesus responds and
He responds with an admonition. “See

96. that you are not led astray.” Here
is His fundamental admonition — “Don’t be deceived.
Don’t be led astray. Don’t
stumble over what’s about to happen.
Be on guard againstdeception.”
There’s the admonition that Jesus delivers.
And look, it’s very specific.
“Formany will come in My name saying, ‘I am He!’”
So what’s that? False
messiahs, and we know from history that there were many false messiahs in
this
time that attempted to leadIsrael out into the wilderness.
And so Jesus says, “Don’tbe deceivedby false messiahs.”
We’ve already talked about the factthat Luke records for us Jesus’words
that make it clearthat it is impossible that you will miss it when He comes.
You don’t have to wonder about the certainty of Jesus’secondcoming.
If you have to ask, it’s not Him, because whenHe comes you won’t have to
ask. You will know.
So He warns againstfalse messiahs.
Notice what else He says. “Manywill
come in My name saying, ‘The time is at hand!’
Do not go after them.” There,

97. He warns againstthe idea that the end is going to come immediately and He
picks
up on this furthermore in verse 9.
“The end will not be at once,” and so He warns againstthe idea that His
second
coming is going to be immediate. You
know, His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, and then there’s an
expectationthat there’ll be an immediate secondcoming.
And He tells them ahead of time, “Don’tthink that the end is going to
come quickly.”
An Admonition to not be deceived
And then third, notice here — what’s it going to be like? What’s it going to be
like after My resurrection? What’s
it going to be like after my ascension?
“When you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things
must first take place.” Jesus is
telling His disciples, “Don’t think that after My resurrectionand ascension
that there are going to be no more trials.
In fact, you are going to live in times of trials and wars and
persecutions and you’re going to be hated by all for My sake.”

98. The admonition is this — don’t be deceived.
There are going to be false messiahs, there are going to be trials, and
the end is not going to come immediately.
What is Jesus doing but setting the expectationof His disciples.
You know, this week as the worship service for the morning services was
being
put togetherand I saw the hymns, “It Is Well With My Soul,” and then in just
a
few moments we’re going to be able to sing, “Whate’erMy God Ordains Is
Right,”
I thought, “You know, those will be goodhymns for people who are
undergoing
trials in our congregationto be able to sing together on Sunday morning.
There are some of us who need to sing those hymns.
Well Jesus is preparing us for exactlythose kinds of trials here.
He’s saying, “Don’t think that the
kingdom that I am bringing is going to be without trials.
There are going to be trials and tribulations and wars and tumults and
persecutions. Thatis not an
evidence that I am not ruling at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
it’s
an evidence that My words are true because I’m not inviting you to a party,
I’m

99. inviting you to a war.” This
Christian life that we are calledto is a fight; it’s a fight to the death.
And Jesus is giving us this admonition — “Don’t be deceivedand don’t be
discouragedwhenthe end isn’t quick and when there are many trials and
when
there are many others claiming to be the true Messiah.
Be discerning. Hold fast.
Endure the trials. This is exactly
the wayI said it would be.”
An Exhortation to be Prepared
And then there’s an exhortation. And
you see that exhortation especiallyin verse 13, don’t you?
“This will be your opportunity to bear witness — when they lay hands on
you and persecute you and deliver you to the synagoguesandprisons and
you’re
brought before kings and governors for My sake, this will be your opportunity
to
bear witness.” And He goes onto
say, of course, verse 17 — “You will be hated by all for My name’s sake.”
And His exhortation is simply this — we must be prepared to bear scorn
for Jesus Christ. And that will be

100. increasinglythe case in our culture because it is increasinglyin oppositionto
God, it’s increasinglyin oppositionto the Scriptures, it’s increasinglyin
opposition to Christian truth.
And young people especially, you will see this in two specific areas.
One is in the area of the truth of Christianity.
If you believe in the truth of Christianity, you will have contemporaries
in business and in education and in sociallife who will say to you, “How can
you be so arrogant as to believe that Christianity is true and that other
religions and other beliefs are not?
That’s arrogant, it’s narrow, it’s bigoted and it’s dangerous!”
If you believe that God’s Word is true, if you believe that Christ is
absolute, if you believe that He is the only Savior, you will be met with
dumbfounded stares ofabsolute incomprehension that such a troglodyte still
exists in this world. People will
say, “If you believe that, you’re dangerous to other people because you will be
intolerant and you will do things that are hurtful and not in their best
interest to them.” And so if you are
a Christian in this world today, you must be prepared for people, simply
because
you believe that this is true, to fear you as a dangerto themselves and to
society.

101. Secondly, in the area of morality, if you believe that what the Bible says about
how we live is the way that we ought to live, there will be people who say,
“How
in the world can you possibly believe that other people ought to have to live
according to your religion? Who made
you in charge of the rest of us? How
can you possibly impose your morality on the rest of us?”
In both of these cases, it will be okaywith your contemporaries if you
privately believe these things to be true as long as you do not expect anybody
else to believe them to be true or anybody else to live and practice that way.
And this kind of a confrontation is going to raise an issue for you in
your very testimony to Jesus Christ.
You are going to have an opportunity to count the costs.
And that’s a goodthing, that’s a goodthing because fora long time in
our culture we have thought that our culture was Christianized enough that
we
didn’t think that we had to take a choice or make a choice betweenChrist and
our culture. That is going to be
increasinglyimpossible to hold together.
You’re going to have to answerthe callof the song, “Who Is On The
Lord’s Side?” Are you on the Lord’s
side, or not? And that’s a good
thing. But what Jesus says in this

102. passageis, “You’d better count the costs now.
You’d better be prepared now.”
He says, “You don’t have to come up with your speech.”
He says, “I’ll help you with the wisdom to have the right words when the
time comes, but you do have to be ready to take the stand.
Where do you stand?”
Now by the way, before you cangive witness to Jesus Christ, you have to
believe
in Jesus Christ. You have to trust
in Him as He is offered in the Gospel. You can’t bear witness to Christ like
Jesus is talking about here unless you are a child of the living God through the
forgiveness that comes through Jesus Christ.
So the first part of being a witness is embracing the Gospel, trusting in
Christ as your Savior, but then determining that He is your Lord and Master
and
you will go the way of His truth and the waythat He teaches forlife.
There’s the exhortation — that we must be prepared to bear scornfor
Christ’s sake.
A WORD OF COMFORT

103. But there’s also encouragementin this passageand you’ll see it if you look
especiallyin verse 18. “Nota hair
of your head will perish. Even
though you’re hated by all for the sake of My name, not a hair of your head
will
perish.” Now this cannot mean that
Christians will not suffer personal losses, physicaltorment, and even death.
Think of it. The very first
Christian witness recordedin the book of Acts by Luke, the author of this
book,
a man named Stephen who bore public witness in the face of his
contemporaries
was stonedto death, but Jesus’words are still true.
Jesus does not mean that bearing witness to Him will mean that you will
not lose your reputation, that you will not lose your vocation, that you will
not lose your family, that you will not be exiled from your people, that you
will not endure physical persecution, or even ultimate martyrdom.
Jesus’words here do not guarantee us that we will be spared of any kind
of suffering and persecutionand death in this life, but it is a promise that
all those who are in union with Him cannever be takenfrom His hand.
The one thing the world cannottake from you is your God.
And you know I have to wonder if the apostle Paul, as he was writing Romans
8:31-39, didn’t have Jesus’words here in mind — that “neither death nor life,

104. nor angels nor principalities, nor nakedness orpersecutionor peril or sword
can separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ.”
And that’s what Jesus is saying here.
“No one cantake you from Me.
Not one hair of your head will perish.
You will live with Me forever.
They may take everything from you, including your life, but they can’t
take Me from you, and if you have Me, you have life eternal.”
There’s an incredible encouragementin this passage, thatno matter what
kind of stand that we have to take for Christ as we bear witness for Him,
Jesus
will rewardus a hundred fold in this life and in the life to come and not one
hair of our head will perish. That’s
what set for us in this passage as Jesus speaks aboutwhat is to come.
His concernis about how we live today.
What timely words for us in a culture increasinglyopposedto His Word
and to His rule.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, make us faithful witnesses to Jesus Christin our time and
culture. Make us to be gracious but

105. strong in the way that we hold fast to the Saviorand say to the world, “He is
my Savior. He has never forsakenme;
I will not forsake Him.” And use
this witness we pray, for the sake ofthe Gospel, for the sake ofthe wellbeing
of the nations, but most of all for Your own glory.
We ask it in Jesus’name.
Amen.
Now let’s encourage one anotheras we sing and give praise to God with
number
108 as we think about how God preserves us even in our trials.
Christian, in sorrow, death, or need, God’s promise to you is grace, mercy,
and
peace to you in Christ Jesus. Amen.
L. M. GRANT
But previous to these the disciples would be subjectedto bitter persecution, as
a result of the enmity of religious Jews. The disciples would be imprisoned
and brought before Gentile kings and rulers for the sake ofthe name of
Christ. This became true very soonafter the Lord Jesus returned to Glory.
But the Lord used this persecutionin a way that men did not expect, for a
testimony to Himself and to the gospelof His grace. Also, the disciples were to

106. depend completely upon His own power and wisdom when these things
occurred, not considering beforehand as to what to say, for His superior
powerwould intervene and give the words to speak that would silence the
opposition of their adversaries. We see this in Peterand John (Acts 4:13-14);
in Stephen (Acts 6:8-10; Acts 7:1-60); and in Paul on various occasions (Acts
22:1-21;Acts 24:24-25;Acts 26:1-31).
IRONSIDE
The better acquainted with history we become, the more we realize how
literally fulfilled were the words of our Lord during that forty-year period.
Then He said, “Before allthese, 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.”We needonly to read
the Book ,ofActs to see how this prophecy had its fulfilment in connection
with the early disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. They were persecutedby the
Jews in the synagoguesand also by the Gentiles; many were put to death for
His name’s sake. The Lord encouragedthe disciples by assuring them that
they did not need to fear: their foes could not really harm them. At the worst
they could but send the disciples home to the Father’s house. Deathis not evil
for a child of God. They need not fear their adversaries. “Settle ittherefore in
your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:for I will give you a
mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shallnot be able to gainsaynor
resist.” Again we need but to turn to the Book ofActs and read how
marvelously Peter, Stephen, and Paul were enabled to make their defence. We
realize that the Lord Jesus did give them help by enabling them to speak just
the right words at the right time under all circumstances.“And ye shall be
betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, andfriends; and some
of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for
My name’s sake.” In those days people lookedwith more suspicionupon the
Christian Church and individual Christians than upon any other institution

107. or group of people in the world. Believers were thought of as the bitterest
enemies of mankind, and yet they were the representatives ofthe God who so
loved men that He gave His only Son to be their Saviour. “But there shall not
an hair of your head perish.” Did they not die? Yes. Did they not perish? No!
For the moment that death came they were absent from the body and present
with the Lord. So they lostnothing by being killed by their enemies;rather,
death ushered them into the joys for which they had waited in hope. “In your
patience possessye your souls.” Or it might be stated, “In patience win your
souls”:that is, in enduring persecution, in going through suffering for Christ’s
sake they would become strongerdisciples. Growth in grace comes in times of
persecutionand severe trial.
LOWELL JOHNSON
The Followers ofJesus were PersecutedLuke 21:12
Jesus warnedHis disciples the time would sooncome when they would
undergo terrible persecution. Judas committed suicide, but Church history
tells us of the elevenremaining disciples, ten died horrible deaths as martyrs
for Christ. Some were crucified. Peterbeggedto be crucified up-side-down
because he didn't feelworthy to be crucified in the same manner in which
Jesus was crucified. Others
had their heads removed from their shoulders. Even the Apostle John, who
was the only one of the twelve who died a natural death, was placedin boiling
oil. They meant to kill him but he survived so they exiled him on the island of
Patmos.

108. Among the first to die was Stephen, who was stoned to death because he
preachedthe resurrectionof Jesus. As they were killing him, he prayed,
“Lord, do not hold this sin againstthem.”
For the first 300 years of the Christian faith, thousands of believers were
massacredbecausethey refusedto say, “Caesaris Lord.”
Polycarp, the pastor at the Church at Smyrna, was arrestedand tried at the
age of 86. He was tied to the stake to be burned, when he was given one final
chance to curse and deny Christ. He replied, “Eighty-six years I have served
Him, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who
savedme?” And they lit the fire.
The Roman Emperor Nero hated Christians. He ordered thousands to be
thrown to the lions. He took Christians, dipped them in tar, tied them to trees
in his gardenand lit them on fire to illuminate his gardens as he rode his
horse at night.
B. (A.D. 70) The Temple was DestroyedLuke 21:6
The disciples admired the stones ofthe Temple overlaid with gold and silver.
Some of the stones were 45 feet long, 15 feet tall, and 22 feetwide. Just those
stones would costbillions and billions of dollars. Yet we are told that not one
stone was left upon another.
Josephus tells us that when Titus laid siege to the city there was widespread
starvation and death. Josephus estimatedover 100,000 people died in this

109. battle. In Luke 21:22, Jesus calledthis the “time of vengeance orpunishment”
for Jerusalem.
C. (A.D. 73 – 163)The Jews were ScatteredLuke 21:24a
Jesus predicted the Israelites would be taken prisoners to all the nations.
History calls this “the diaspora” which means “the dispersal” or “scattering.”
By A.D.163 almostall the Jews had been killed or deported to other nations.
Josephus claimed97,000 Jews were takencaptive and relocatedto other
countries. The important thing about this “scattering”is that God promised
He would bring His people back into the land of their forefathers.
D. (1967)The “Times of the Gentiles” wouldbe Completed Luke 21:24b
Let me give you a quick history lessonaboutthe Gentiles who controlled
Jerusalemfor almost 1,800 years.
From A.D.70 until about 637 the Romans controlledJerusalem. The last 300
years is called the Byzantine period because ofthe influence of the Greek
Orthodox faith basedin Constantinople, who were Gentiles.
In A.D.637, the Muslim Arab armies attackedJerusalemand took control.
Jerusalemwas under Muslim controluntil the crusaders from Europe came
to “liberate” the Holy sites.
Beginning in 1099 forabout 200 years, the Christian crusaders had a thin
control of Jerusalem– they were Gentiles.

110. In 1244, the Egyptian Muslims pushed the last of the Crusaders back toward
Europe. Then in 1517, the Ottoman Turks controlledthe city.
In 1917, nearthe end of World War I the Turks lost controlof Jerusalem. For
30 years the British controlledJerusalem.
During the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, thousands of
the Jews scatteredaround the globe started returning to the Holy Land.
The British left in 1948 when Israelbecame a nation, but none of the old city
was under Jewishoccupation. Jerusalemwas part of the WestBank under
Jordanian control(although the residents
of Jerusalemcalledthemselves Palestinians) – they were Gentiles.
But on June 7, 1967, during the 6-DayWar, Israelgained controlof
Jerusalemfor the first time in almost1,800 years!Do you know the first thing
the Jews did? The soldiers went immediately to the WesternWall of the
Temple, and began to weepand pray. That's why many people callit the
“Wailing Wall.” For those who were alive in 1967, prophecywas fulfilled in
our lifetime! The Jews returned to Jerusalem, and by the way, they ARE NOT
Gentiles.
Jesus leaves us with three attitudes:
1. Don't be afraid Luke 21:9

111. The prophetic passages ofthe Bible are not intended to frighten us – but to
encourage us.
2. Do not worry Luke 21:14
3. Stand firm in your faith Luke 21:18-19
By doing so, encourage others.
PETER PETT
Verse 12
“But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you, and will
persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues andprisons, bringing you
before kings and governors for my name’s sake.”
“But before all these things.” Mark omits this, probably because Peterdid not
include it in his summary of the speech, but Luke is concernedto ensure that
we recognise that this would happen from the very beginning, as he makes
clearin Acts 1-12, and having questioned his other witnessescarefully, feels
that he can introduce these words as genuine words of Jesus. Forthese things
will commence immediately after His resurrectionand enthronement.
Jesus here assumes their future ministry, and reveals that as a result of it they
will face persecution(Mark 13:10 makes their future ministry plain). He

112. declares that His followers must expectto takenhold of by men’s hands, to be
persecuted, to be delivered up to synagoguesand prisons, and to be brought
before kings and governors, for His name’s sake. Forif such people do it to
Him they can be sure that they will do it to them (John 15:18-21). The
fulfilment of all this Luke will depict clearly throughout Acts. And all this will
happen ‘for His name’s sake’, that is, because they are representing
themselves as His and are going out in His name. And it will go on happening.
Synagoguesare speciallymentioned because theyhad as part of their
responsibility the disciplining of heretical or openly sinful Jews, whichwould
be done by beatings (compare Mark 13:9). Many early Christian Jews were
no doubt subjectedto such beatings because of their open testimony for
Christ. The references to imprisonment, and being brought before kings and
governors was a declarationof the wider nature of the future ministry of the
Apostles. Forexamples of such beatings see Acts 22:19;see also Acts 5:40;Acts
16:22-23;for examples of imprisonment see Acts 4:3; Acts 5:18; Acts 8:3; Acts
9:2; Acts 16:23-24;etc. For being brought before kings and governors see
especiallyPaul’s experiences in the lastpart of Acts, following on Jesus’own
experiences ofboth in Acts 23:1-25.
Verses 12-19
The Coming Ministry of the Apostles And Its Consequences(21:12-19).
Meanwhile, while all these things are going on, the Apostles and those who
follow them must be involved in testimony to the world, and must recognise
that they will face hatred and persecutionbecause theyare His (see John
15:18-19;John 16:1-3; Acts 8:1; Acts 9:1 and regularly for Paul throughout
Acts).
Verse 13

113. “It will turn out to you for a testimony.”
But none of these things should disturb them, for it will result in their being
able to testify before men concerning Him. It will be a part of their overall
testimony. It will also result in the end in their being testified to by Him before
the Father(Luke 12:8). Note that Luke here omits Mark 13:10 (the Good
News will be preached to all nations, compare Romans 1:5) because he is
concernedto keepthe emphasis on their suffering for Christ’s sake, but the
idea behind the words is necessarilyassumedin order for the persecutions to
take place. ‘All nations’ in those early days would be seenas signifying all
known nations. And later Luke is at pains to point out that even at Pentecost
itself there were people from ‘every nation under heaven’ (Acts 2:5). We can
compare also Romans 1:8, where Paul is able to say‘your faith is proclaimed
in all the world’. Their ‘world’ was not as large as ours.
LANGE
Luke 21:12. But before all these.—The assertionof Meyer, ad loc., that this
statementof time Isaiah, perhaps, a later modification of the tradition, ex
eventu, rests upon the dogmatic preconceptionthat our Lord could not have
predicted to His disciples that their personalpersecutionshould precede these
last calamities. But the farther the last words of Luke 21:11 extend beyond the
greatcatastrophe ofJerusalem’s destruction, so much the more natural is it
also that our Lord points His disciples to that which awaits them even
before.—Shalllay their hands on you, ἐπιβάλλειν.—Of course, with a hostile
intent. A noticeable climax is found in the here-indicatedpersecutions. The
lightest form is in a certain sense the delivery over to the synagogues,namely,
in order to be there scourged, comp. Matthew 10:17. A severe conflict
impends over them when they are brought before kings and governors to give
a testimony to the faith, comp. Matthew 10:18. The worstawaits them when

114. they ( Luke 21:16)shall be delivered up by their parents, relatives, and
friends. However, they have in the midst of this distress a threefold
consolation:1. All this is done for the sake of the Lord’s name (έ̓νεκα), comp.
Acts 5:41; Acts 2. it shall turn to them for a testimony; ἀποβήσεται, here, as in
Philippians 1:19, the intimation of a salutary result; the persecutions
mentioned shall serve as opportunity to the apostles to give a witness
concerning their Lord, which here, as in Acts 18:11, is representedas
something greatand glorious. Finally, they shall in such moments be least
wanting in the sense ofthe nearness oftheir Lord.
E H PLUMPTRE, D.D.
12-19. Calamities speciallyaffecting the Disciples;Persecutionand Treachery.
While Lk. and Mk. emphasize the persecutionthat will come from the Jews,
Mt. seems almostto confine it to the Gentiles (but see Matthew 10:17-19). Jn.
also records that Christ foretold persecution (15:18-21), and in particular
from the Jews (16:2, 3). The Acts may supply abundant illustrations. Note that
Lk. has nothing about “the Gospelbeing preachedto all, the nations” (Mark
13:10;Matthew 24:14). Would he have omitted this, if either of those
documents was before him ?
12. πρὸ δὲ τούτων. The prep. is certainly used of time, and of superiority in
magnitude. Persecutions are among the first things to be expected. The
tendency of Mt. to slur the misdeeds of the Jews is conspicuous here. While
Lk. mentions τὰς συναγωγάς and Mk. adds συνέδρια, Mt. has the vague term
θλίψιν.
13. ἀποβήσεται ὑμῖνεἰς μαρτύριον. “The result to you will be that your
sufferings will be for a testimony.” A testimony to what? Not to the innocence
of the persecuted, which is not the point: and they were commonly condemned

115. as guilty. Possiblyto their loyalty: comp. Php 1:19. More probably to the
truth of the Gospel. Forthe verb comp. Job 13:16; Job_2 Mac. 9:24.
A. T. ROBERTSON
Verse 12
But before all these things (προ δε τουτωνπαντων — pro de toutōn pantōn).
In Mark 13:8; Matthew 24:8 these things are termed “the beginning of
travail.” That may be the idea here. Plummer insists that priority of time is
the point, not magnitude.
Bringing you (απαγομενους — apagomenous). Presentpassive participle from
απαγω — apagō an old verb to lead off or away. But here the participle is in
the accusative plural, not the nominative like παραδιδοντες — paradidontes
(present active participle, delivering you up), agreeing with υμας — humas
not expressedthe objectof παραδιδοντες — paradidontes “you being brought
before or led off.” “A technicalterm in Athenian legallanguage” (Bruce).
Verse 13
It shall turn unto you (αποβησεται υμιν — apobēsetaihumin). Future middle
of αποβαινω — apobainō It will come off, turn out for you (dative of
advantage).
For a testimony (εις μαρτυριον — eis marturion). To their loyalty to Christ.
Besides, “the blood of the martyrs is the seedof the church.”

116. RON RITCHIE
The fourth warning is found in verses 12-19:
"But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will
persecute you,
delivering you to the synagoguesand prisons, bringing you before kings and
governors for
My name's sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up
your minds
not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;for I will give you utterance
and wisdom
which none of your opponents will be able to resistor refute. But 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. Yet not a hair of your
head will perish.
By your endurance you will gain your lives."
They were not to be terrified by religious persecutions. Luke makes an
interesting point here when he says that
even before these things, that is, the arrival of the religious, political, and
environmental upheaval, they were
encouragedto prepare their minds and hearts to face into religious
persecutionfor the name of their Messiah,
Jesus Christ. Only fifty-two days later at the feastof Pentecost, the Christian
community beganto experience this

117. reality. Stephen, for example, would lose his life on behalf of Christ (Acts 7).
And Luke tells us in Acts 9:1-2,
"Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder againstthe disciples of the
Lord, went to the high priest, and asked
for letters from him to the synagoguesatDamascus,so that if he found any
belonging to the Way, both men and
women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem." But then Saul himself met
the risen Lord Jesus onthe road to
Damascus andacceptedhim as his Lord and Savior. And the Lord appeared
in a vision to the disciple Ananias and
instructed him to go and meet Saul, "...forhe is a choseninstrument of Mine,
to bear My name before the Gentiles
and kings and the sons of Israel;for I will show him how much he must suffer
for My name's sake"(Acts
9:15-16). Saul, who became Paul, would have to stand as a criminal before
governors and kings (see Acts 24-26),
and he would eventually lose his life for the sake ofJesus, his Lord and Savior.
Luke 21:13-19 also gives us the purpose of this religious persecutionand some
promises concerning it. According
to the early chapters of Acts, thousands of Jewishbelievers were placedbefore
unbelieving Jews and Gentiles in
the most trying of circumstances becauseit led to an opportunity for their
testimony. Our risen Lord would tell the
apostles just before his Ascension, afterthey had askedwhetherit was at this
time that he was restoring the
kingdom to Israel, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father
has fixed by His own authority; but

118. you shall receive powerwhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you
shall be My witnesses [youshall
testify of Me]" (Acts 1:7-8).
In every generation, the persecutionof the followers of Christ has increasedin
intensity up to this day, and it will
continue until the Lord takes believers home by death or by the "rapture."
Then it will continue for all the new
believers in the greattribulation until our Lord's visible return as King. He
told us not to prepare any speechesto
defend ourselves becausehe would give us utterance and wisdom that our
accuserscouldnot refute. Within a day
and a half Jesus wouldcelebrate his Last Passover, and during that dinner he
would tell his disciples, "Theywill
make you outcasts from the synagogue;but an hour is coming for everyone
who kills you to think that he is
offering service to God" (John 16:2). But at the same time he promised all the
disciples that his Father would send
them the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, who would stand by them
in the days aheadand give them the
powerand wisdom to testify on behalf of Christ.
A beautiful example of this promise was fulfilled by our risen Lord in the lives
of Peterand John when they
healed a lame man in the temple, were arrested, and then had to stand before
the supreme court of Israeland
answerthe question, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?"
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,

119. said, "Bythe name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whomyou crucified, whom
God raisedfrom the dead...And
there is salvation in no one else;for there is no other name under heaventhat
has been given among men, by
which we must be saved" (Acts 4:5-12). This is what we mean when we say, as
we do so often in this church,
there is salvation in no one else;for there is no other name under heaventhat
has been given among men, by
which we must be saved" (Acts 4:5-12). This is what we mean when we say, as
we do so often in this church,
"Justshow up," and God will speak through you. (It is not that you don't
need to have the truth in your heart; Peter
and John certainly did, and they were able to use it.)
Jesus told them that their own family members would turn them in to the
religious authorities because oftheir
love for him. Some of them would lose their physical lives, and some of them
would be hated, but they would not
harmed, and they would know that they were truly his followers because they
would be able, by the power of the
Holy Spirit within them, to endure until he came again.
I read a recentarticle in the SanFrancisco Examinerthat told of an
experience the EastGermans have been
struggling with since the unification of their country. As you know, after forty
years behind the Iron Curtain, East
and WestGermany became one, and as a result of this freedom the East
German secretpolice openedtheir files

120. on the citizens they had already arrestedfor political crimes againstthe state
and citizens under investigation. (If
these files were lined up in a row they would covera bookshelfextending 125
miles.) When these files were
opened, many of the political, social, and religious victims were shockedto
learn that friends, neighbors, and even
family members had betrayed them. There is evidence that thousands of
clergymen and other religious workers,
including some of the country's most seniorreligious administrators, were
Stasiinformers. But if you have a
backgroundin church history you know that all of this religious persecution
of the Jews and the Christians has
been going on in every generationup till now, and it will continue until Jesus
returns as King.
In Matthew 24:14 we find this promise: "And this gospelof the kingdom shall
be preached in the whole world for
a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come." So behind all of
these "birth pangs" and religious
persecutionis a loving Godwho wishes for none to perish but that all would
come to repentance (see 2 Peter3:9).
The goodnews of the kingdom is that God wants eachof us to invite his Son
Jesus to set up his spiritual rule in
our hearts. And the way he will get this good news out to the whole world is by
our witnessing and preaching it.
That doesn't mean that everyone who hears the goodnews will acceptit, but it
does mean that all the nations will at
leasthave the witness through the preaching of the gospelof the kingdom and
the testimony of his people that

121. Jesus is the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Messiah, Lord, Savior, and
only hope of humanity.
The disciples asked, "Lord, what will be the sign of the end of the age?" His
reply was, "Don'tbe misled by false
messiahs;and don't be terrified by political upheavals betweennations,
environmental changes, greatdestruction
of the world's population, or religious persecutionin the age of the Spirit or in
the greattribulation. All of this is
necessarybecause men's hearts are evil and have been hardened with pride,
power, and position. They need to be
facedwith issues they cannot deal with, and they need to come to a place of
spiritual bankruptcy so that they can
hear your testimony of Me and the preaching of the gospelof the kingdom.
And then the end of this age will kick
in with the events listed in Daniel's seventiethweek." Whatwill be the sign of
the end of the age? According to
Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15, and Luke 21: 20 it will be "the abomination of
desolation," whichwe will look at in
our next message.
As I read and thought about these scriptures, I had to stop and considermy
own willingness to become a witness
for our Lord during this difficult generation. I had to question whether I was
being misled or terrified by all the
current religious, political, environmental, and cosmic events;or in fact I was
more focusedon participating in the
"preaching of the goodnews of the kingdom." This is the messageofhope for
all of humanity, a messageoffered

122. by God about how he sent his son Jesus with the powerto deliver all who are
willing to place their faith in him
from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of life and light. History is
God's story of redemption. The
question we need to ask ourselves is, how are we going to be involved in the
redemption story until the end of the
age? Our role is to preach and testify so men and womencan come into the
kingdom before Jesus comes again
visibly as Judge
J. C. RYLE
We should notice, for another thing, in this passage — Christ's prediction
concerning His owndisciples. He does not prophesy smooththings, and
promise them an uninterrupted course of temporal comfort. He says that they
shall be "persecuted," put in "prison," "brought before kings and rulers,"
"betrayed," "put to death," and "hated by all men — for His name's sake."
The words of this prophecy were doubtless intended to apply to every age of
the Church of Christ. They beganto be fulfilled in the days of the apostles.
The book of Acts supplies us with many instances oftheir fulfillment. They
have been repeatedly fulfilled during the last eighteenhundred years.
Wherever there have been disciples of Christ — there has always been
persecution, more or less. They will yet receive a more full accomplishment
before the end comes. The lasttribulation will probably be markedby special
violence and bitterness. It will be a "greattribulation." (Revelation7:14.)

123. Let it be a settled principle in our minds, that the true Christian must always
enter the kingdom of God "through much tribulation." (Acts 14:22.)His best
things are yet to come!This present world is not our home. If we are faithful
and decided servants of Christ — then the world will certainly hate us, as it
hated our Master. In one way or another, true believers will always be
persecuted. No consistencyofconduct, howeverfaultless;no kindness and
amiability of character, howeverstriking — will exempt a believer from the
world's dislike, as long as he lives.
It is foolish to be surprised at this. It is mere waste oftime to murmur at it. It
is a part of the cross — and we must bear it patiently. The children of Cain
will hate the children of Abel — as long as the earth continues. "Marvelnot,
my brethren," says John, "if the world hates you." "If you were of the
world," says our Lord, "the world would love its own; but because you are
not of the world, but I have chosenyou out of the world — therefore the world
hates you." (1 John 3:13; John 15:18, 19.)
END OF PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
100 Bible Verses about
Persecution
2 Timothy 3:12 ESV / 2,094 helpful votes
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

124. John 15:18 ESV / 1,383 helpful votes
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
Matthew 5:10 ESV / 1,332 helpful votes
“Blessedare those who are persecutedfor righteousness'sake,for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
1 Peter4:12-14 ESV / 1,297 helpful votes
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test
you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar
as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when
his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are
blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
Matthew 5:44 ESV / 1,268 helpful votes
But I sayto you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV / 1,078 helpful votes
For the sake ofChrist, then, I am content with weaknesses,insults, hardships,
persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Luke 6:22 ESV / 908 helpful votes
“Blessedare you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile
you and spurn your name as evil, on accountof the Son of Man!

125. Matthew 5:10-12 ESV / 810 helpful votes
“Blessedare those who are persecutedfor righteousness'sake,for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. “Blessedare you when others revile you and persecute
you and utter all kinds of evil againstyou falselyon my account. Rejoice and
be glad, for your reward is greatin heaven, for so they persecutedthe
prophets who were before you.
1 Peter3:17 ESV / 757 helpful votes
For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for
doing evil.
1 Peter3:14 ESV / 733 helpful votes
But even if you should suffer for righteousness'sake, youwill be blessed. Have
no fear of them, nor be troubled,
1 John 3:13 ESV / 578 helpful votes
Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
Romans 8:35 ESV / 573 helpful votes
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, ordanger, or sword?
Romans 12:14 ESV / 563 helpful votes
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

126. John 15:20 ESV / 537 helpful votes
Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greaterthan his
master.’ If they persecutedme, they will also persecute you. If they kept my
word, they will also keepyours.
1 Peter3:16 ESV / 528 helpful votes
Having a goodconscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile
your goodbehavior in Christ may be put to shame.
John 16:33 ESV / 510 helpful votes
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world
you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
1 Peter4:16 ESV / 504 helpful votes
Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him
glorify Godin that name.
Acts 14:22 ESV / 495 helpful votes
Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the
faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom
of God.
John 15:19 ESV / 486 helpful votes
If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you
are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world
hates you.

127. 1 Peter4:19 ESV / 484 helpful votes
Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a
faithful Creatorwhile doing good.
Revelation6:9-11 ESV / 454 helpful votes
When he openedthe fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who
had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They
cried out with a loud voice, “O SovereignLord, holy and true, how long
before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Then they were eachgiven a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until
the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete,
who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
Psalm23:4 ESV / 452 helpful votes
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Galatians 5:11 ESV / 451 helpful votes
But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?
In that case the offense ofthe cross has been removed.
Romans 12:17-21 ESV/ 449 helpful votes
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the
sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceablywith all.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is
written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if

128. your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink;
for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome
by evil, but overcome evil with good.
1 Peter5:8 ESV / 425 helpful votes
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversarythe devil prowls around like a
roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
2 Corinthians 4:8-12 ESV / 418 helpful votes
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to
despair; persecuted, but not forsaken;struck down, but not destroyed; always
carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be
manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to
death for Jesus'sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifestedin our
mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Revelation2:10 ESV / 414 helpful votes
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw
some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have
tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Matthew 5:11 ESV / 409 helpful votes
“Blessedare you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds
of evil againstyou falsely on my account.
Revelation1:9 ESV / 402 helpful votes

129. I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the
patient endurance that are in Jesus, was onthe island calledPatmos on
accountof the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
Acts 8:1 ESV / 390 helpful votes
And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great
persecutionagainstthe church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, exceptthe apostles.
Mark 4:17 ESV / 381 helpful votes
And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when
tribulation or persecutionarises on accountof the word, immediately they fall
away.
John 16:2 ESV / 377 helpful votes
They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when
whoeverkills you will think he is offering service to God.
Matthew 10:22 ESV / 373 helpful votes
And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. Butthe one who endures to
the end will be saved.
1 Peter4:12-16 ESV / 367 helpful votes
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test
you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar
as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when
his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are

130. blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of
you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if
anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God
in that name.
Romans 8:35-39 ESV / 364 helpful votes
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, ordanger, or sword? As it is written,
“Foryour sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep
to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor
angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Mark 10:29-30 ESV/ 355 helpful votes
Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers
or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the
gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and
brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions,
and in the age to come eternallife.
Psalm31:15 ESV / 347 helpful votes
My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from
my persecutors!
Philippians 1:29 ESV / 341 helpful votes

131. For it has been granted to you that for the sake ofChrist you should not only
believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
John 15:18-20 ESV/ 335 helpful votes
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you
were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are
not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates
you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greaterthan his
master.’ If they persecutedme, they will also persecute you. If they kept my
word, they will also keepyours.
Mark 10:30 ESV / 320 helpful votes
Who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and
sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, andin the age
to come eternal life.
Matthew 13:21 ESV / 317 helpful votes
Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or
persecutionarises on accountof the word, immediately he falls away.
1 John 3:1 ESV / 316 helpful votes
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called
children of God; and so we are. The reasonwhy the world does not know us is
that it did not know him.
Jeremiah20:11 ESV / 312 helpful votes

132. But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will
stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will
not succeed. Theireternal dishonor will never be forgotten.
John 17:14 ESV / 303 helpful votes
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are
not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Romans 8:35-37 ESV / 296 helpful votes
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, ordanger, or sword? As it is written,
“Foryour sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep
to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us.
John 15:18-21 ESV/ 292 helpful votes
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you
were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are
not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates
you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greaterthan his
master.’ If they persecutedme, they will also persecute you. If they kept my
word, they will also keepyours. But all these things they will do to you on
accountof my name, because theydo not know him who sent me.
Romans 8:7 ESV / 291 helpful votes
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to
God's law; indeed, it cannot.

133. 1 Peter4:12 ESV / 287 helpful votes
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test
you, as though something strange were happening to you.
Revelation17:6 ESV / 283 helpful votes
And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the
martyrs of Jesus. WhenI saw her, I marveled greatly.
Hebrews 12:3 ESV / 280 helpful votes
Considerhim who endured from sinners such hostility againsthimself, so that
you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
2 Corinthians 4:8-11 ESV / 280 helpful votes
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to
despair; persecuted, but not forsaken;struck down, but not destroyed; always
carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be
manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to
death for Jesus'sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifestedin our
mortal flesh.
Matthew 13:20-21 ESV/ 277 helpful votes
As for what was sownon rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word
and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but
endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecutionarises on accountof
the word, immediately he falls away.
Philippians 1:12-14 ESV / 265 helpful votes

134. I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served
to advance the gospel, so that it has become knownthroughout the whole
imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And
most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my
imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Acts 11:19 ESV / 264 helpful votes
Now those who were scatteredbecause ofthe persecutionthat arose over
Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the
word to no one except Jews.
Revelation20:4 ESV / 259 helpful votes
Then I saw thrones, and seatedon them were those to whom the authority to
judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheadedfor
the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not
worshiped the beastor its image and had not receivedits mark on their
foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a
thousand years.
Psalm34:19 ESV / 256 helpful votes
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of
them all.
Acts 13:50 ESV / 251 helpful votes
But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men
of the city, stirred up persecutionagainstPaul and Barnabas, and drove them
out of their district.

135. Acts 14:21-22 ESV/ 246 helpful votes
When they had preachedthe gospelto that city and had made many disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the
souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying
that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
John 16:1-4 ESV / 246 helpful votes
“I have said all these things to you to keepyou from falling away. They will
put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoeverkills
you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things
because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things
to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to
you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with
you.
Psalm91:1-16 ESV / 245 helpful votes
He who dwells in the shelterof the MostHigh will abide in the shadow of the
Almighty. I will sayto the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in
whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from
the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings
you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear
the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, ...
2 Timothy 3:10-12 ESV / 242 helpful votes
You, however, have followedmy teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my
faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings
that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which
persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescuedme. Indeed, all
who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

136. Psalm23:1-6 ESV / 241 helpful votes
A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me
lie down in greenpastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my
soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness forhis name's sake. Eventhough I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fearno evil, for you are
with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table
before me in the presence ofmy enemies;you anoint my head with oil; my cup
overflows. ...
Revelation6:10 ESV / 235 helpful votes
They cried out with a loud voice, “O SovereignLord, holy and true, how long
before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
1 Peter4:12-13 ESV / 234 helpful votes
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test
you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar
as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when
his glory is revealed.
1 Peter4:1 ESV / 232 helpful votes
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way
of thinking, for whoeverhas suffered in the flesh has ceasedfrom sin,
Mark 13:13 ESV / 232 helpful votes
And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. Butthe one who endures to
the end will be saved.

137. Matthew 23:34 ESV / 228 helpful votes
Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some ofwhom you
will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagoguesand persecute
from town to town,
Amos 5:10 ESV / 227 helpful votes
They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the
truth.
Isaiah53:1-12 ESV / 227 helpful votes
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of
the Lord been revealed? Forhe grew up before him like a young plant, and
like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look
at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despisedand
rejectedby men; a man of sorrows, andacquainted with grief; and as one
from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemedhim not.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carriedour sorrows;yet we esteemedhim
stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our
transgressions;he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the
chastisementthat brought us peace, andwith his stripes we are healed. ...
Revelation1:1-20 ESV / 222 helpful votes
The revelationof Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants
the things that must soontake place. He made it known by sending his angel
to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony
of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessedis the one who reads aloud the
words of this prophecy, and blessedare those who hear, and who keepwhat is
written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

138. Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ
the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ...
Acts 7:59-60 ESV / 222 helpful votes
And as they were stoning Stephen, he calledout, “Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not
hold this sin againstthem.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Psalm10:2 ESV / 220 helpful votes
In arrogance the wickedhotly pursue the poor; let them be caughtin the
schemes that they have devised.
Mark 13:11-13 ESV/ 218 helpful votes
And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious
beforehand what you are to say, but saywhateveris given you in that hour,
for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. And brother will deliver
brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against
parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my
name's sake. Butthe one who endures to the end will be saved.
Luke 6:23 ESV / 217 helpful votes
Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in
heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
1 Peter2:1-25 ESV / 215 helpful votes

139. So put awayall malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.
Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may
grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tastedthat the Lord is good. As
you come to him, a living stone rejectedby men but in the sight of God chosen
and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual
house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ. ...
Revelation7:14 ESV / 213 helpful votes
I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming
out of the great tribulation. They have washedtheir robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb.
Matthew 4:17 ESV / 211 helpful votes
From that time Jesus beganto preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.”
Galatians 4:29 ESV / 209 helpful votes
But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecutedhim
who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.
Revelation2:8-10 ESV / 208 helpful votes
“And to the angelof the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and
the last, who died and came to life. “‘I know your tribulation and your
poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who saythat they are Jews
and are not, but are a synagogue ofSatan. Do not fear what you are about to
suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you

140. may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto
death, and I will give you the crownof life.
Acts 7:54-60 ESV / 207 helpful votes
Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their
teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazedinto heaven and saw the
glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said,
“Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right
hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and
rushed togetherat him. Then they casthim out of the city and stoned him.
And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named
Saul. ...
Luke 21:19 ESV / 206 helpful votes
By your endurance you will gain your lives.
Philippians 3:6 ESV / 204 helpful votes
As to zeal, a persecutorof the church; as to righteousness under the law,
blameless.
Luke 21:12-13 ESV/ 204 helpful votes
But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you,
delivering you up to the synagoguesandprisons, and you will be brought
before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity
to bear witness.
Romans 8:17 ESV / 203 helpful votes

141. And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Luke 21:13-15 ESV/ 201 helpful votes
This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds
not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and
wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or
contradict.
John 15:19-21 ESV/ 200 helpful votes
If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you
are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world
hates you. Rememberthe word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater
than his master.’If they persecutedme, they will also persecute you. If they
kept my word, they will also keepyours. But all these things they will do to
you on accountof my name, because they do not know him who sentme.
Romans 10:2 ESV / 188 helpful votes
For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to
knowledge.
2 Timothy 1:8 ESV / 181 helpful votes
Therefore do not be ashamedof the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his
prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospelby the powerof God,
Matthew 5:11-12 ESV / 178 helpful votes

142. “Blessedare you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds
of evil againstyou falsely on my account. Rejoice andbe glad, for your reward
is greatin heaven, for so they persecutedthe prophets who were before you.
Psalm3:1-8 ESV / 178 helpful votes
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. O Lord, how many are
my foes!Many are rising againstme; many are saying of my soul, there is no
salvationfor him in God. Selah But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my
glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered
me from his holy hill. Selah I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord
sustainedme. ...
Matthew 5:12 ESV / 176 helpful votes
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is greatin heaven, for so they persecuted
the prophets who were before you.
Revelation2:9 ESV / 175 helpful votes
“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander
of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue ofSatan.
Luke 21:12 ESV / 173 helpful votes
But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you,
delivering you up to the synagoguesandprisons, and you will be brought
before kings and governors for my name's sake.
Matthew 24:21 ESV / 172 helpful votes

143. For then there will be greattribulation, such as has not been from the
beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
Romans 5:3 ESV / 151 helpful votes
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces
endurance,
Acts 7:52 ESV / 145 helpful votes
Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those
who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have
now betrayed and murdered,
John 15:18-25 ESV/ 144 helpful votes
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you
were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are
not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates
you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greaterthan his
master.’ If they persecutedme, they will also persecute you. If they kept my
word, they will also keepyours. But all these things they will do to you on
accountof my name, because theydo not know him who sent me. If I had not
come and spokento them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now
they have no excuse for their sin. ...
1 Peter4:4 ESV / 143 helpful votes
With respectto this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same
flood of debauchery, and they malign you;

144. James 5:10 ESV / 143 helpful votes
As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who
spoke in the name of the Lord.
1 Peter4:14 ESV / 133 helpful votes
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit
of glory and of God rests upon you.
https://www.openbible.info/topics/persecution
The purpose of persecution, Acts 4: 13-37
APR
12
2015
thebeachfellowship
None of us would willingly invite persecution, would we? Our instinct towards
self preservationis so ingrained in us that our natural tendency is to avoid
anything that might cause us pain or discomfort. If you’re like me, you spend
a lot of time praying that God would deliver you from whatevertrial you
might be encountering. But the fact is that God often uses persecutionand

145. trials for His plan. What seems injurious to us, is often used by God to
conform us in the image of Jesus Christ.
That is why James says in chapter 1 vs. 2, “Considerit all joy, my brethren,
when you encountervarious trials knowing that the testing of your faith
produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect result so that you may
be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
It’s interesting to notice that at the very beginning of the church, when
unparalleled growth was occurring, 10,000to 20,000 people have possibly
been savedand brought into the church, it’s ironic that this is also the time
that God allowedpersecutionto come upon the church in order to complete
what had been begun at Pentecost. ThoughGod never tempts us with evil, He
allowedevil men to bring persecutionupon this fledgling body of believers
and used it to produce maturity and a greaterdegree of usefulness and
fruitfulness.
Peterin His address to the Sanhedrin makes it clearthat persecutionof Christ
was used by God to work out His plan. Vs. 27, “For truly in this city there
were gatheredtogetheragainstYour holy servant Jesus, whomYou anointed,
both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of
Israel, to do whateverYour hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.”
In the same way, according to the sovereignplan of God, He uses trials and
persecutions brought on by evil men to accomplishHis purpose; to produce
endurance, to prove our faith and to bring us to completeness in the image of
Christ. So in this passage todaywe are going to look at 9 ways that
persecutionbrings about God’s purposes. Nine ways that God uses
persecutionto perform His purposes. And as we look at these, it is my hope
that it would cause us to look at persecutionand trials differently, so that we

146. might fulfill James command to endure these trials and considerit all joy,
because we know that it will be used by God for His glory, and our good.
First, we should rejoice because persecutionproduces identification with
Christ. Vs.13, “Now as they observedthe confidence of Peterand John and
understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed,
and beganto recognize them as having been with Jesus.”One of the benefits
of persecutionis that it draws the line doesn’t it? When Christianity is on easy
streetand it’s consideredpopular to be a “Christian”, then many times the
lines get blurred betweentrue Christianity that is modeled after Christ’s
example and those who just give lip service. But when persecutioncomes, and
suddenly it’s not popular to be a Christian, when professing Christ can get
you fired from your job, or even fined or arrestedfor talking about Jesus,
then the fair weatherChristians fall away pretty quickly and those that are
truly His disciples become evident.
To the Sanhedrin who had arrestedPeter and John, it was apparent that these
men had been with Jesus. Theyspoke with the boldness that He spoke. They
actedin the powerof the Holy Spirit even as Christ had. They showed
discernment of the scriptures even as Christ had. And so it was apparent that
they had been with Jesus. Hey, is that something that might be said about you,
by people you are working with? Do your neighbors saythat it’s apparent
that you are someone who has Jesus? Thatshould be our goal, to live lives
that mirror the life of Jesus, so that people see the resemblance by the waywe
act, and the waywe talk. And persecutionhas a way of drawing that out, or
better yet, instilling Christ’s attributes in us. As Paul says in Phil. 3:10 “that I
may know Him and the power of His resurrectionand the fellowship of His
sufferings, being conformed to His death.” That means that as we submit to
suffering for the sake of Christ, and we die to ourselves, we come to know Him
more fully, and we receive the power to live as He lived.

147. Secondly, persecutionproduces proof. Vs.14-16 “And seeing the man who had
been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. But when
they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to conferwith one
another, saying, “Whatshall we do with these men? Forthe fact that a
noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live
in Jerusalem, and we cannotdeny it.” What kind of proof does persecution
produce? Persecutionproduces the proof of your faith.
Back in the reference we lookedat in James 1:3, the word translated testing is
from the Greek word“dokimion” which means proving. That is what testing
through trials is referring to. God uses testing to prove your faith, so that you
have a more sure faith that is able to endure even greaterconflicts, do even
greaterdeeds and win evengreaterbattles in this spiritual warfare. A good
illustration of that word is found in the story of David when he was about to
go to battle with Goliath, and King Saul wanted David to wearthe King’s
personalarmor. And remember, David tried it on and said, “I can’t wearthis
armor, for I haven’t proven it.” He meant that he had not testedit out in
battle. He couldn’t rely on it. But God uses persecutionto produce trials
which produce a proven faith. Persecutionprovides evidence of our faith to an
unbelieving world that is watching us and even more importantly, it produces
a proven faith in us that enables us to live a more victorious life.
Thirdly, persecutionproduces allegiance to God not men. Vs.18-20 “And
when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak orteach
at all in the name of Jesus. But Peterand John answeredand said to them,
“Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God,
you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking aboutwhat we have seenand
heard.”
There really is no such thing as popular Christianity. The gospelby it’s nature
offensive to man’s desire for selfdetermination. Peter, in 1 Peter2:8 says that

148. Jesus as the cornerstone is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. And
Jesus saidin Matt. 21:44 “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to
pieces;but on whomeverit falls, it will scatterhim like dust.” The gospelis
designedto divide the sheep from the goats, light from darkness, truth from
error. It is designedto separate righteousness fromsin. And God uses
persecutionto produce that separation.
Today in an age of seekerfriendly churches, preachers have tried to take out
anything from Christianity that might be offensive in their efforts to woo
people into church. But in so doing, the have prostituted the gospelfor the
sake ofgain. And the real danger is that hell is richer for it, as people are
lulled into a false security that they are in Christ, when all they have done is
align themselves with manmade religion.
But when persecutioncomes, it suddenly costs something to follow Christ.
And then we often find ourselves having to choose betweenpleasing men or
pleasing God. And there must be only one real choice forthe child of God. We
must give heed to God rather than men, no matter what it costus.
And that segues nicelyinto the next principle, persecutionproduces
preaching, not pandering. At the end of vs.20 we read that Petersays, “we
cannot stop speaking about what we have seenand heard.” John would say
later in his epistle, 1John1:1 “What was from the beginning, what we have
heard, what we have seenwith our eyes, what we have lookedat and touched
with our hands, concerning the Word of Life– and the life was manifested,
and we have seenand testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was
with the Fatherand was manifestedto us– what we have seenand heard we
proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed
our fellowshipis with the Father, and with His SonJesus Christ.”

149. Listen, there is no hope in preaching a half truth. There is no hope in
preaching a socialgospel. Jesus saidin John 8:31, ““If you continue in My
word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and
the truth will make you free.” The word of God is truth, and only in that truth
are we made free. When we waterit down, when we deduct things that are
onerous for fear of offending someone, then we risk leaving them still dead in
their sins. If they are to have true fellowship with the Father, then they must
acceptthe Word of Christ as faithfully delivered by the apostles. We dare not
offer a dying world a nice tasting placebo which has no power to save. They
need to know the truth of the gospelin order to deliver them from death.
Fifth, persecutionproduces praise. Vs.23-24 “Whenthey had been released,
they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and
the elders had said to them. And when they heard this, they lifted their voices
to God with one accordand said, “O Lord, it is You who MADE THE
HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN
THEM…” It seems like an oxymoron to say that persecutionproduces praise,
doesn’t it? How does persecutionproduce praise? Well, for one it reminds us
that God is sovereignoverall. He is the creator, and all things have their life
and being in Him. And so there is nothing that happens that is outside of His
provenance. God is sovereign. He is able to cause all things to work together
for goodto those that love God and are calledaccording to His purpose.
(Rom. 8:28)
A goodillustration of that was when Josephpraised God even when his
brothers meant him harm. He said, “You meant it for evil, but God usedit for
good.” We canpraise God that He counts us worthy to suffer for His name
sake. And in Act 16, after Paul and Silas were thrown in the stocks in jail they
beganto sing songs of praise and God causedan earthquake. When we suffer
for Christ, it produces praise to Christ that isn’t merely lip service. Praise in
the midst of suffering pleases the heart of God.

150. Sixthly, persecutionproduces prayer. Peter’s prayer is continued in vs. 29-31,
“And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-
servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your
hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your
holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place where they had
gatheredtogetherwas shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and beganto speak the word of God with boldness.”
In James 5:16, the KJV says, “Confessyour faults one to another, and pray
one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectualfervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much.” Persecutionproduces fervent prayer and
righteous men, which produces results. God hears and answers that kind of
prayer.
Augustine said, “Pray as if everything depends upon God, and work as though
everything depended on you.” Sometimes the work that is demanded is just
laboring in prayer. Sometimes it is laborious to pray. And yet perhaps that is
when it is most effective. R.A. Torrey said, “Pray for greatthings, expect
greatthings, work for greatthings, but above all, pray.” Nothing lies beyond
the reachof prayer exceptthat which lies outside the will of God. Pray when it
hurts, and pray until it hurts. Pray until you see results.
Number seven, persecutionproduces power from God. Vs. 31, “And when
they had prayed, the place where they had gatheredtogetherwas shaken, and
they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God
with boldness.” I can’t help but wonder why the place started shaking when
they prayed. But I have to imagine that it was shakenbecause the forces of
darkness were shaken. Eph. 6:12 says, “Forwe wrestle not againstfleshand
blood, but againstprincipalities, againstpowers, againstthe rulers of the
darkness of this world, againstspiritual wickednessin high places.” Godhas
given us two weapons to use againstthese spiritual strongholds; the Sword of

151. the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and prayer. When these righteous,
persecutedChristians fervently prayed, I believe that God causedthe walls of
those strongholds to fall down, just as the walls of Jericho fell down. And that
produced a shaking that they could actually feel.
Oh, Christians! How I want us to pray like that. I want to see us pray so that
God cracks the sky and rumbles forth in powerand might to put the enemies
of the church to flight, to deliver loved ones from sin, and to bring a spirit of
revival upon the church. Notice that when they prayed, Godansweredwith a
shaking, but also with power. That is what it means to be filled with the Holy
Spirit, is it not? It is the powerto be what God has calledus to be. The Holy
Spirit provides the power to do what God wants us to do. And what God
wanted them to do, and what He wants us to do, is to speak the Word of God
with boldness. Persecutionproduces power, the powerto boldly proclaim
Jesus Christ and His gospelin spite of opposition or what the culture
considers politically correct.
Eighth, persecutionproduces unity. It produces unity in the church. Vs. 32
“And the congregationofthose who believed were of one heart and soul; and
not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all
things were common property to them.” Unity is so important in the life of a
Christian. But please understand that unity doesn’t overrule truth of doctrine,
but it is the result of truth of doctrine. We never should sacrifice doctrinal
purity for the sake ofunity. But God often uses persecutionto bring differing
factions togetherin unity, because persecutionhas a wayof making the plain
things the main things. It has a way of making what is trivial, even more
apparently so, to the extent that we forsake the trivial. In other words, some
things are worth dying for, and some are not. Some things are worth dividing
over, and some are not.

152. In Jesus’greatprayer in the upper room on the night He was betrayed, He
prayed for unity. And He prayed that that unity was founded in the truth.
Listen to part of that prayer from John 17:16-21. “Theyare not of the world,
even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their
sakes Isanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctifiedin truth. I
do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me
through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me
and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that
You sent Me.” Our unity is founded first and foremoston unity in the truth,
with the teaching of Christ. As we are united in that, then we will be united
togetherin the church.
That is the secretto unity in marriage as well. Marriage unity is not by
finding points of compatibility with one another. Marriage unity starts by
eachperson becoming reconciledto God first, and when that is accomplished,
then that will automaticallyresult in unity to one another.
Lastly, persecutionproduces charity. Vs.34 “Forthere was not a needy person
among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and
bring the proceeds ofthe sales and lay them at the apostles’feet, and they
would be distributed to eachas any had need.” I deliberately use the old
fashionedword King James word“charity” to describe Christian love.
Christian love is not just an emotional response. It’s not just a feeling. Those
things might or might not be present, depending on the circumstances.But
true Christian charity is the hallmark of the true church and it is illustrated in
sacrifice. Jesussaid, they will know you are my disciples because ofthe love
you have for one another.
And how did Jesus define that love? He saidwe are to love one another in the
same way that He loved us. And how did Jesus express His love for us? He

153. laid down His life for us. Christian love is sacrificiallove. That is what
Christian charity is; sacrificiallove for one another. And that is what this first
church exemplified. There was not a needy person among them. That is an
amazing statement. There were upwards of 20,000people in this church. And
yet there was not a needy person among them because ofthe selfless,
sacrificialgiving nature of this church.
Persecutionhad causedmany people to not have homes to go back to once
they were saved. Many people did not have jobs anymore once they were
saved. But what is amazing is that in this dynamic, Holy Spirit filled church,
there was such a sacrificialspirit among them that they were even selling off
their property, land and houses and bringing in the proceeds to the church.
This isn’t tithing folks. This is cheerful, willing hearts that want to abundantly
contribute to the kingdom of God and they understand that is to happen
through the church. They aren’t trying to see how little they can give, but they
are selling stuff to be able to give even beyond their means.
Listen, the Lord loves a cheerful giver. He doesn’t hold us under the Old
Testamentlaw of tithing in the New Covenant. But that doesn’tmean that we
don’t give because we are under grace. We should give more because we have
been given more. Your checkbookis a testament to your faith in Christ. Did
you know that? I don’t care to know what your checkbookreveals.But
believe me, God knows. Godsees the heart, and He sees the secretthings. And
one day, the God who sees the secrets ofmen’s hearts will reward the secrets
of men’s hearts.
Well, it’s amazing isn’t it, how God uses persecutionto bring about His
purposes in His people. I don’t know what kind of trials that you may be
going through. But I canassure you of this – if you are living godly, then there
will be some form of persecution, some form of trial in your life. Jesus said, In
this world you will have tribulation. But remember the words of Peter, who

154. was no strangerto persecution, and who would one day be martyred for his
faith. 1Peter4:12-19 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordealamong
you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing
were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of
Christ, keepon rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may
rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are
blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that
none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome
meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is
to glorify God in this name. Forit is time for judgment to begin with the
household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for
those who do not obey the gospelofGod? AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY
THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE
GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER? Therefore,those also who suffer
according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creatorin
doing what is right.”
I don’t know what kind of trials or persecutionyou may be going through, or
what the future holds. But let me close by reminding you of the words of the
ancient hymn, “How Firm a Foundation,” so when persecutions come, we may
know that it is all in the plan and purposes of God. And He says to us;
“Fearnot, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthenthee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

155. “When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless
And sanctify to thee thy deepestdistress.
“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shallbe thy supply.
The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

156. PERSECUTION AND THE PURPOSESOF GOD:AN EXEGETICAL
STUDY OF
ACTS 8:1B-8
INTRODUCTION
Basedon an exegesisofActs 8:1b-8, the thesis of the paper is that persecution
of the
church does not thwart the purposes of God; instead, it canserve in
establishing it
through the obedience and witness of the believing community. Accordingly,
this paper
aims to seek how the divine purposes play out in the community of believers
as seen
following the dispersion triggeredby the martyrdom of Stephen and the great
Jerusalem
persecution.
When carefully observed, there is a notable progressionofthought in the
narrative
concerning persecutionand the purposes of God. While the passagebegins
with the
destruction of the church in Jerusalem, it concludes with the extensionof the
community
of believers to Samaria. Similarly, there is also a notable progressionwith
regard to the
experiences ofbelievers through persecution. For instance, the narrative,
which begins
with the greatlamentation made over Stephen’s death, culminates with
reference to the

157. greatjoy experiencedby the believers in a city in Samaria.
What makes the difference? How does God use persecutionand pain of some
believers to
bring salvation and joy to others? What role does persecutionplay in the
mission of God?
How does persecutionimpact the purposes of God? These are some questions
that would
be explored in this paper.
OVERVIEW OF THE BACKGROUND AND STRUCTURE
The Acts narrative is consideredto be a missionarydocument through and
through.1
Concerning the purpose of Acts, according to Robert H. Stein, there are four
categories
concerning the Lukan purpose: (1) to assure his Christian audience of the
truthfulness of
what they had come to believe; (2) to clarify their understanding of their
relationship with
Israel; (3) to correctthe understanding of Christian concernabout the
parousia;and to (3)
provide an apologetic work for both Christians and non-Christians.
2
Moreover, there are some overarching themes of the Lukan discourse in Acts.
For
instance, the spread of the gospelacrossgeographicalboundaries and human
barriers3 is a
dominant idea running through the narrative. This is also vividly seenin the
passage

158. under discussion. Still more, the place of suffering on accountof opposition to
the gospel
in the life of the church and the sovereigntyof God in suffering are also some
notable
1 RobertL Gallagherand Paul Hertig, MissionIn Acts (Maryknoll, N.Y.:
Orbis Books, 2007),
Ch. 1, Ebook. See also I. Howard Marshall, Acts (Nottingham: InterVaristy
Press, 2008), ibook. 2 Gallagher, Acts, Ch. 1. 3 Ajith Fernando, The NIV
Application Commentary: ACTS (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1998), 264.
themes that run through the Acts narrative, which are of direct relevance to
Acts 8:1b-8.
Moreover, the portrayal of the triumphant course of the gospelfrom
Jerusalemto Rome
and beyond also appears to be a primary motive or purpose behind Luke’s
work in Acts.4
With regard to the historicalsetting of Acts and, particularly, Acts 8:1b-8, the
passage
begins with reference to the greatpersecutionthat broke out againstthe
Jerusalem
Church following the death of Stephen. Subsequently, Luke reveals the
mysterious
figure, Saul, as the chief proponent behind the persecution. Accordingly, the
tensions
betweenthe Church and the Jewishleadershipappear to be at the crux of the
passage.
However, the telling of the events by Luke also appears to be indicative of the
fact that

159. the Church is an oppressedminority in Jerusalem, lacking any form of
political backing
or power base and are victims of the violent dispositions of the largely hostile
Jewish
majority in the city.
It is not surprising, as such, that relations with Jews are a strong emphasis in
the Acts
discourse. Moreover, the passageis also locatedin the context of hostile
Jewish
sentiment regarding the Church, which manifests itself in the form of violent
opposition,
including the killing of believers, resulting in displacement and scattering of
the believing
community.
The reference to Samaria in the text is also a window into the Jew-Samaritan
relations,
which was mostly strained and mostly hostile especiallyconcerning their
respective holy
sites. It is interesting, therefore, to note that the hostilities of the Jews against
the church,
leads to believers, though mostly, perhaps, Hellenistic Jews but converts from
Judaism
itself, moving towards Samaria.
While the Acts narrative is intended for Theophilus, it is likely that through
the narrative
of Luke-Acts, the author is attempting to convince and influence literate
Gentile readers

160. and leaders of society, as part of Luke’s persuasive rhetoric to the early
Christian
movement in the first century or early secondcentury.5 Nevertheless,the
allusions of
Christianity’s unique relationship to Judaism, and in fact, the Jewishness of
the Messiah
in the largercorpus of work, appear to be indicative of the fact that Luke is
also
addressing the concerns, questions, and confusions of the Jews ofthe day,
regarding the
substance of their beliefs and nature of the Christian community.
Concerning the structure of Acts with reference to the passageunder
discussion, the
immediate contextof the persecutionof Acts 8:1b-8 is the stoning and death of
Stephen
in Jerusalemby the Sanhedrin. In the largercontext of the narrative, the
passagemay be
shown to be within the secondpart of the three-part structure of Acts, which
marks the
extensionof missions to Judea and Samaria. In fact, Acts 8:1b could be
identified as the
starting point of this mission.6
4 RonaldF Youngblood, F. F Bruce and R. K Harrison, Nelson's New
Illustrated Bible
Dictionary, 1st ed. (Nashville: T. Nelson, 1995), 18. 5 MikealCarlParsons,
Acts (Grand Rapids, Mich: BakerAcademic, 2008), 20.
6 Gallagher, Acts, Ch. 1.

161. With reference to the two-part structure of Acts, eventhough the passagefits
within the
first-part of the narrative dominated by Peter, Acts 8 appears to be a key
passage, which
marks the introduction of Saul, soonto be, Paul, the missionary to the
Gentiles and the
key figure of the secondpart of the Acts discourse. The Samaritan episode of
Acts 8
appears to also have greatsignificance to the Acts 1:8 programme. Acts 8,
accordingly,
serves as the link betweenmission in Jerusalemand missionto the world.
Somewhatof
an in-between or middle point of this journey, Acts 8, emerges as the halfway
stage of
this movement of the gospelto Rome and to the ends of the world.
COMMENTARY:ACTS 8:1B-8
Concerning Acts 8, most commentators propose a division of the literary unit
from Acts
8:1b-3 and vs. 4-25 or 40, surmising the persecutionof Saul in Jerusalemin
the first part
and Philip’s mission to the Samarians in the latter part. This division is
understandable
and, in fact, clearly visible in the text. However, a closerreading of the
narrative shows
as an interesting development. In Acts 8:1b-3 Luke details a greatpersecution
in

162. Jerusalem, which is perpetrated by the Sanhedrin and the Jewishpeople. In
verses 4-8,
Luke then details the consequencesofthis persecutionin Jerusalem, which
reverberates
across to Samaria by way of the journeying of the scatteredcommunity.
Accordingly, a
case couldbe made to view this portion as one literary unit.
Acts 8:1b-8, as such, in keeping with the thesis of this paper, could be outlined
as
follows:
• 8:1b-3: A greatpersecution, resulting in the destruction of the church in
Jerusalem
• 8:4-8: A greatjoy, resulting from an extensionof the church to Samaria
The passage, therefore, displays a contrastof experience in the lives of
believers, from
suffering in Jerusalemto joy in Samaria. At the same time, there also appears
to be a
contrastof experience in terms of the well being of the church. While
destruction is the
fate of the church in Jerusalem, a new experience in the gospel, befalls
Samaria.
8:1-3: A great persecution, resulting in the destruction of the church in
Jerusalem
In verse 1, Luke draws the attention of the readers’to the intensity of the
persecution, stating that a greatpersecutionbroke out in Jerusalemfollowing
the

163. martyrdom of Stephen. Luke then adds here that the apostles remain back in
Jerusalem,
while the rest disperse from the city. This is indicative of the fact that the
attacks and
violence, perhaps, was aimed at Hellenistic-Jewsthat were closelyidentified
with
Stephen7 and not the whole church per se.
8 However, at the same time, despite the
tensions in the city, it could also be statedthat the apostles chose to stay back
in order to
7 DonaldGuthrie et al., The New Bible Commentary Revised(London: The
Inter-varsity Press,
1970), 982. 8 Frank E Gaebelein, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume
9 (John-Acts) (Grand
Rapids, Mi.: RegencyReference Library, 1981), 353.
hold the church’s fort in Jerusalem.9 Therefore, Luke could also be making
an effort here
to highlight the virtues of the church leaders in terms of their courage and
perseverance.
Notably, the three-fold structure of the Acts narrative also emerges in this
single verse.
While the apostles tend to Jerusalem, the believing community, possibly,
mostly,
Hellenized Jews, disperse throughoutPalestine.10Persecutionin Jerusalem,
accordingly,
is shown to serve the extensionof the gospelto Judea and Samaria. However,
it should be

164. statedhere that the dispersionof the believers does not appear to be thought
through or
planned on the part of the church community. Instead, it appears to be a swift
reactionto
the escalationofhostilities in Jerusalem. Up unto this point, the church
Jerusalemhad
experience persecution, however, ata lesserintensity. In Acts 2, for instance,
it is Peter
and John who is at the receiving end of the hostilities of the Sadducees while
in Acts 5
the Sanhedrin targets the apostles.
Acts 8 accordinglymarks a progressionof hostilities from individual leaders
of the
church to the entire leadershipto, now, many of the believing community in
Jerusalem.
At the same, there also appears to be a progressionregarding the proponents
of hostility -
- from a single sectin chapter 2 to the Sanhedrin in chapter 5 to, now, the
Sanhedrin and
the people of Jerusalem.
In verse 2 Luke returns to the death of Stephen, portraying the respectand
the grief of
those burying him. Luke also here provides the readers insight into the
characteristicsof
those performing the burial of Stephen, adding that they were godly men.
Moreover,

165. Luke also, once again, highlights the intensity of the experience of the men,
stating that
they mourned deeply for him. While it was normal to bury executed
criminals, Jewish
law prohibited mourning publicly for a condemned criminal.11 However, the
actions of
the godly men, possibly friends of Stephen, disregarding the law to mourn for
him, is not
only a showcase ofdefiance and courage but also an insight into the character
of Stephen,
which warranted a show of such honour on the part of these men.12
In verse 3, the readers are introduced to Saul, who, according to Luke, is the
chief
proponent of the persecution. Luke’s reference here that women, as wellas
men, were put
in prison, portrays the intensity and ferocity of Saul’s action, which is likely to
have been
more zealous and vicious than most of his contemporaries.13Stillmore, the
reference
could also serve Luke’s concernfor women, highlighting through it the
courage and
faithfulness of the women disciples.14At the same time, Luke also appears to
be implying
9 Fernando, Acts, 262. Also, Acts 9:26-29 speaks ofthe of the apostles in
Jerusalemduring
this time 10 Craig S Keener, Acts Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker
Academic, 2013), 1467. 11 Craig S Keener, The IVP Bible Background
Commentary, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL:

166. InterVarsity Press, n.d.), 342. See also I. Howard Marshall, Acts (Nottingham:
InterVaristy Press, 2008),
ibook. 12 Darrell L Bock, Acts (Grand Rapids, Mich.: BakerAcademic, 2007),
Ebook, 728. 13 Keener, Background, 342. 14 Keener, Acts, 1483.
that women and men are equal members of the church and are equally
offensive to
persecutors.15
It is said here that Saul went from house to house, which is indicative of
targeted, massscale mobviolence againstthe Christian community in
Jerusalem. When viewedin light
of the dispersionof the believers subsequent to the persecution, it also seems
that the
hostilities could have resulted in severe economic consequences forthe
believing
community. Perhaps, some Judeans could have also lostproperty during the
persecution,
increasing the church’s poverty.
In extension, the abrupt mention and identification of Saul as the chief
instigatorof the
persecutionof the church appears to be an assurance givenby Luke to his
readers that the
very forces that undermine the church could turn champions of the cause.
Accordingly,
even though unmentioned and seeminglyabsent in the narrative, underneath
the storyline,
Luke appears to be bearing witness to the sovereigntyof God over the
Church, affirming

167. to his readers that the purposes of God could not be thwarted, despite the
intense
suffering and persecutionexperiencedby the people of God.
8:4-8: A great joy, resulting from an extensionof the church to Samaria
Verse 4 marks a geographicalshift awayfrom Jerusalemand a shift in focus
to the
believing community in the dispersion. While the persecutionforced the
believers to flee
their homes and hometown, Luke highlights the missionary-status of the
fleeing
community, adding that they preachedthe word whereverthey went.
Moreover, the
negative experience of believers in Jerusalemis seemingly redefined and
reimagined by
Luke, who attributes to the fleeing community a sense ofgreaterpurpose and
positivity
of experience, as bearers of the gospelin the dispersion. Still more, in a
narrative
dominated by individual figures who champion the gospel, Luke also, here,
masterfully
adds the community elementof the gospelwitness, reminding his readers that
the church
was a movement of believers, witnessing to Christ whereverthey were.
In verse 5, Luke then zooms out of the community of believers and zooms in
on Philip
and his mission in Samaria. While the region of Samaria, was not necessarily
perceived

168. as Gentile territory, owing to the Samaritans being viewed as those on the
margins of
Judaism, it nevertheless, markedthe movement of the gospelawayfrom
Jerusalemto its
rival town. However, at the same time, it also appears here that Luke narrates
the
Samarianmission as a bridge, which sets the stage forGentile outreach.16
Unlike the witness of the scatteredcommunity, the tone of Luke’s narration of
the event
is indicative of a sense ofdeliberateness onthe part of Philip in undertaking
the mission
15 Charles Kingsley Barrett, A Critical and ExegeticalCommentaryon the
Acts of the Apostles
(Edinburgh.: T & T Clark, 1994), 393 16 DarrellL Bock, Acts (Grand Rapids,
Mich.: BakerAcademic, 2007), Ebook, 728.
to Samaria. Luke, accordingly, states that Philip went down to an unnamed
city in
Samaria, and proclaimedthe Messiahthere.
In verse 6, Luke narrates the successofPhilip’s mission, stating that he
performed signs,
which attracted the attention of the Samarians. Signs and wonders, which
complemented
teaching and preaching in Luke-Acts is an upshot of the activity of the Holy
Spirit.
Accordingly, the presence of signs in Philip’s mission, which accompanies the
preaching

169. of the Messiah, is indicative of the approval of God for the ministry. Here, too,
once
again, the narrative bears testimony to the sovereigntyof Godin the larger
scheme of
affairs, directing and governing the life and destiny of the believing
community even
through the unconventional means of persecutionand violence and
subsequent
dispersions.
Verse 7, details some of the miracles and signs performed by Philip.
Interestingly, Luke
appears to be making an effort to highlight that many benefited as a result of
the miracles
and the ministry of Philip. Accordingly, verse 8 then serves as a summary
statementof
the whole episode, stating that there was greatjoy in that city. Joy is a notable
feature of
conversionin Luke-Acts.17 As such, it appears that Luke is clearly making
reference to
the factthat the persecutionin Jerusalemand dispersion across Palestine had
served in
the effective expansionof the gospelin the region. Moreover, the suffering in
Jerusalem
had workedits way to bring joy to the people of Samaria. Still more, death
and
destruction in one place had also transpired to bring life and growth in the
gospel

170. elsewhere.
Acts 8:1-8, therefore, bears testimony to the overarching truth that the
mission of God
cannot be thwarted. In fact, persecutionappears to only serve the divine
purposes, in
achieving the mission of God. In the narrative, Luke affirms this truth by
showcasing
progress in the experience of the church from one of greatpersecutionand
suffering in
Jerusalemto greatjoy and relief in a city of Samaria. Similarly, the
devastationof the
community of believers in Jerusalemhad been used as a means to create new
communities of believers elsewhere.
In the introduction of the paper, it was mentioned that the following questions
would be
answeredduring the course ofthis work. Accordingly, the question was
posed: How does
God use persecutionand pain of some believers to bring salvation and joy to
others? The
answerto this question, as evidencedin the passage, appears to be hidden in
the
sovereigntyof God that is able to make something beautiful out of the ashes of
trouble
and superimpose goodupon the evil plans of people.
With regard to the role that persecutionplays in the mission of God, it
appears that God

171. uses persecutionas a means to fulfill his purposes and will. According to the
narrative,
Luke is unequivocally communicating the truth that God is sovereignover
persecution
and the church. As such, believers are not mere victims in the hands of
powerful
persecutors and opponents; but instead, envelopedin the safe and sovereign
hands of
God. This is evidencedby the missionary status granted by Luke to the
believing
17 Keener, Acts, 1499. See also:Luke 15:5–7, 9–10, 23–24, 32;Acts 11:23;
13:48;15:3
community in dispersion and the successcreditedto Philip’s pioneering
mission in
Samaria. Moreover, Luke’s identification of Saul as the chief persecutoralso
bears
undeniable testimony to this fact. Emphatically, therefore, it could be stated
that
persecutiondoes not thwart the purposes of God; rather it serves the divine
will–be it to
activate the community of believers for the mission of God or fulfill greater
purposes in
the kingdom of God.
APPLICATIONS
As a ministry workerinvolved in the life of the persecutedchurch in my
nation as well as

172. South Asia, Acts 8:1b-8 provides much-needed wisdom and guidance to
persecuted
believers’in our region. The greatpersecutionof Acts 8 is not a distant
experience to
believers in the 21stcentury. Today, according to statistics, atleast100 million
people
face persecutiondaily for their faith. From beatings to ridicule to restrictive
laws and
death – Christian persecutionis perhaps the greatestuntold story of today.
Often, believers hold on to the belief that persecutionbrings church growth. A
surface
reading of the Acts 8:1b-8 narrative could perhaps support this claim.
However, a closer
reading of the text reveals that persecutionis a double-edged sword. While on
one hand,
it could bring about an extension of the church, as evidenced in Samaria and
across Judea
as a result of the dispersion causedby the greaterJerusalempersecution, it
could also
bring the destruction of the church as evidencedin Jerusalemand, in
particular, the
demise of Stephen. Therefore, a pertinent application that could be drawn
from this
passageis the importance of communicating this biblical truth to the church.
Persecution
is dangerous and could spell disasterfor communities of believers.
Accordingly, it is

173. important to take all steps necessaryto pray for, teach, disciple, and
safeguardvulnerable
communities, serving on the frontlines of persecution.
At the same time, while persecutionbrings disaster, it is nevertheless a
phenomenon that
lies within the sovereigntyof God as seenin Acts 8:1b-8. Persecutiondoes not
define the
destiny of the church. God does. This, too, therefore, is a crucial exhortation
that needs to
be made to persecutedbelievers, urging Christians to bask in and embrace the
sovereigntyof God, especiallyin times of suffering and persecution,
remembering that
God determines their destiny and not their persecutors – whether the State,
an extremist
group, members of family, or even the wider community.
Moreover, often, persecutedChristians in rural villagers in South Asia, such
as in places
like Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, resolve to remain and serve in contexts
of
persecution, despite relentless attacks ontheir families and places ofworship.
While this
is commendable, and perhaps like in the case ofthe apostles, is a showcaseof
their
courage and perseverance. However, to such communities, it is also,
nevertheless
important to revealthe whole will of God in times of persecutionas seenin the
Scriptures. In certaincircumstance, because ofthe sovereigntyof God, fleeing

174. persecutionis an appropriate response in the sight of God. In fact, fleeing or
dispersing
could serve the broader purposes of God, as clearly evidencedin the Acts 8
narrative.
This, too, therefore, should be granted as an option to believers facing intense
persecution
in hostile localities.
Like in 1st century AD Palestine, often, even today, prominent figures direct
the
persecutionof Christians. However, with the intervention of God, such
characters too
could be transformed to become champions of the church. As such, a clear
application in
our contextis to unceasinglypray for these personalities, thatGod would meet
them and
transform them from Saul’s to Paul’s, who champion the cause ofGod in our
nations and
region.
According to Luke, the common conduct of the dispersing community was
that they
preachedthe word of God. Often persecutioncould serve in distracting
believers from
ministering the gospel. This should not happen. Preaching through
persecution, therefore,
is a key factorthat determines the effectiveness ofa community in times of
trials.

175. However, as mentioned above, the preaching need not be in the same locality
as before,
as fleeing, dispersion, or even relocationare not responses entirelyoutside the
will of
God.
As demonstrated in the life of Stephen, which was cut short violently and
abruptly,
persecutionis a difficult experience for believers. Today, persecuted
Christians often are
isolated, alone, and denied basic dignity in their communities. Basedon this
reading of
Acts 8 and particularly the responses ofthe men regarding Stephen’s burial,
the church
would do goodto showerpersecutedbelievers with honour, love, and
solidarity for their
witness and struggles in Christ. However, in light of the devastation and
danger that
persecutionbrings, careful effort should also be takento ensure that
persecutionis not
unhealthily glorified to the peril of believers.
Finally, the experiences ofthe believing community as seenin Acts 8 runs in
stark
contrastto the ProsperityGospel, which continues to enjoy greatpopularity
in our
contexts. The gospelof Jesus Christ invariably brings contention and
struggles in a

176. hostile world. Suffering, as such, is every Christian’s lot. Accordingly, there is
a pressing
need to today to equip our churches with regard to the theologyof suffering
and prepare
believers to face persecution.
CONCLUSION
The thesis of this paper was that persecutionserves the purposes of God. A
closerreading
of the narrative revealedthat the sovereigntyof God, although not visibly
present in the
text, is discreetlyand decisivelypresent, directing the affairs of the church
through
persecution.
The death of Stephen and the consequentpersecutionwere instrumental in
the movement
of the gospelbeyond the limits of Jerusalem, in fulfillment of the Acts 1:8
mandate.
Accordingly, Luke’s narrative in Acts 8:1b-8 testimony to the fact that
persecutiondoes
not thwart the purposes of God; instead it can serve in establishing it through
the
obedience and witness of the believing community.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gallagher, RobertL, and Paul Hertig. Missionin Acts. Maryknoll, N.Y.:
Orbis Books, 2007,Kindle version.

177. Fernando, Ajith. The NIV Application Commentary: Acts. Grand Rapids,
MI:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1998.
Parsons, MikealCarl. Acts. Grand Rapids, Mich: BakerAcademic, 2008.
Gaebelein, Frank E. The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 9
(JohnActs). Grand Rapids, Mi.: RegencyReference Library, 1981.
Guthrie, Donald, J. A Motyer, A. M Stibbs, and D. J Wiseman. The New
Bible Commentary Revised. London: The Inter-varsity Press, 1970.
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Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, n.d.
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Five Truths About Christian Suffering
Article by JosephScheumann
GuestContributor

178. All Christians suffer. Either you have, you are, or you will — “through many
tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).
This reality is a stark reminder that we have not reachedthe new heavens and
new earth. The New Jerusalemof no tears and no pain, of no mourning and
no death, hasn’t arrived yet (Revelation21:1, 4).
But just because we experience suffering as we awaitthe redemption of our
bodies, it doesn’t mean that our suffering is random or without purpose. And
neither does it mean that Scripture doesn’t tell us how to think about our
suffering now.
Here are five important biblical truths about suffering every Christian should
have ready:
1. Suffering is multifaceted.
Suffering has many faces. The Bible doesn’t whitewashour experience of
suffering by saying that it’s all of one stripe. Rather, it recognizes the
multifaceted ways that suffering can come upon us. The apostle Paul wrote,
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to
despair; persecuted, but not forsaken;struck down, but not destroyed” (2
Corinthians 4:8–9).
In these two verses, Paullists severaltypes of suffering — mental, physical,
emotional, and spiritual. Eachof these are different ways that we can suffer,
and when suffering comes, oftenseveralof these types of suffering are
involved.

179. 2. Suffering happens in community.
Christians still suffer as we wait for Jesus to return, but none of our suffering
is random or without purpose.TweetShare onFacebook
The church is not meant to be a looselybound associationoffunctional Lone
Rangers. Paulconfronts that type of thinking when he writes, “Bearone
another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
The church is meant to be a refuge for those suffering. When a member is
hurting, the church applies the bandages;when a member is down, the church
encourages;when a member is in need, the church comes alongside to help.
3. Suffering equips us for ministry.
Firsthand experience in suffering is essentialin equipping us for ministry.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:4 that God “comforts us in all our affliction, so
that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the
comfort with which we ourselves are comfortedby God.”
But how? And what is the link between experiencing suffering and equipping
for ministry? David Powlisonanswers this way:
When you’ve passedthrough your own fiery trials, and found God to be true
to what he says, you have real help to offer. You have firsthand experience of
both his sustaining grace and his purposeful design. He has kept you through
pain; he has reshapedyou more into his image. . . . What you are experiencing
from God, you can give awayin increasing measure to others. You are
learning both the tenderness and the clarity necessaryto help sanctify another
person’s deepestdistress. (Suffering and the Sovereigntyof God, 166)

180. 4. Suffering is a battleground.
Wherever there is suffering, there is a battle — a battle for your soul. The
book of Job shows us there can be two ways to respond to suffering: one that
curses Godbecause of suffering and one that praises God, even in the midst of
suffering (Job 2:9–10).
5. Suffering prepares us for more glory.
God says a lot about suffering in Scripture so that you know where to look
when the pain comes to you.TweetShare onFacebook
One of the counterintuitive truths about suffering is that it prepares
Christians for more glory. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17–18, “This light
momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weightof glory beyond all
comparison, as we look not to the things that are seenbut to the things that
are unseen. For the things that are seenare transient, but the things that are
unseen are eternal.”
These verses are like sandpaper on our modern sentiments about suffering.
We naturally try to avoid suffering at all costs. ButGod brings suffering in
our lives for the sake ofour eternaljoy — yes, even glory.
JosephScheumann (@JosephScheumann)is a graduate of Bethlehem College
& Seminary. He and his wife, Martha, live in Arkansas.