Preparation for Persecution

Eliud Kipchoge is respected as one of the greatest marathon runners in the world. He has won back to back gold medals in the olympics for the marathon including setting the world record. He is also the first person in recorded history to run a marathon under 2 hours at the blistering time of 1 hr 59 min 40 seconds.

But this did not happen by accident. He is coached by Patrick Sang who was a 3 time olympic medalist who helped prepare him for these races.

When preparing for a marathon he runs twice a day six days a week living at a seperate training camp apart from his family. He keeps a meticulous log of all aspects of his training regimen. His success did not come by accident but as the result of careful and intentional preparation

Jesus gives us far greater truths that prepare of for far worse and far greater realities. Life is hard when we follow Jesus.

We live in a time and space that is risk averse. We want safety and happiness above most else. We may hope for a Gospel that calls us to safety and happiness but this is far from Jesus says in the Gospels. Instead he says things like…

John 16:33 “33 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.””

Transition: In light of this…

Primary Claim: Object / Complement (What and How)

Christians are to persevere to the end by being faithful witnesses in the face of persecution.

Organizational Sentence: How the primary claim will be achieved in the main points.

We will look at three truths in the face of hardship for following Jesus.

Passage

Matthew 10:16–39 ESV

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. 26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

The Context

Jesus is sending our the 12 disciples starting in 10:5 through 10:42

they have been given authority over spiritual forces and disease 10:2, 7

over unclean spirits, to cast them out

and to heal every disease

They are to proclaim the kingdom of God Matthew 10:7 “7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

they are given to instructions to not take any money for their work or stay where Jesus is rejected but to move on from that place

They are also instructed to only go among the house of Israel 10:6

Main Points:

Certainty of the presence of God in the midst of persecution vv. 16-25

16 we are vulnerable sent out into the presence of the powerful and viscious

Matthew 9:36 “36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

But even still they and we are not alone

following Jesus involves great risk and we must wisely count the cost of following him

17-20 When you are persecuted…

17-18 beware for they will deliver you over

17 to the jewish leaders

18 to the roman leaders

this is an opportunity to bear witness for Jesus

“When” it was expected that there would be real world consequences for following Jesus, this a far cry from a prosperity Gospel. Sometimes we do not spend enough time counting the cost of following Jesus

For my sake, this is when we are punished for following jesus

committing a crime like stealing and being thrown in prison is not persecution, it is a consequence of sin

persecution is when we are targeted for following Jesus

“Harassment and suffering which people and institutions inflict upon others for being different in their faith, world-view, culture, or race. Persecution seeks to intimidate, silence, punish, or even to kill people.” HIBD

19-20 when you are persecuted, do not be afraid, God will speak for us

this is not an encouragement not to prepare for witnessing to our faith in Christ

Rather it is a comfort that when we do not know the “perfect” thing to say we can trust that God is speaking for us through his spirit

We need to focus on being good “witnesses”. We must tell of the truth in God’s word and what he has done in our lives

“If walked out of this building today and someone approached you to ask what this Christian thing is all about, what would you say?” If you were in a situation described here that is severe bodily harm for following Jesus, what would you say? are you prepared?

We may never experience this kind of persecution but we are told to be witnesses of the work of God telling of his salvation to those who are dead in their sins

Jesus is not informing them because it is interesting, because he wants them to prepare themselves to rely on God in the midst of following him

The harder life gets, the more we lose control, and must trust Jesus with all that we are

Illustration: from the musical Annie in the song Tomorrow

The sun'll come out

Tomorrow

Bet your bottom dollar

That tomorrow

There'll be sun!

https://www.hmdt.org.uk/hmdtmusic/satprogonline/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2020/06/Tomorrow-Lyrics.pdf

Jesus is saying somewhat the opposite here, things are going to get very hard, but I will be with you

John 16:33 “33 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.””

Matthew 28:18–20 “18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Families will split over following Jesus 21-23

even to the point of death

hated for the sake of Jesus

can you imagine being disowned and rejected by your entire family for following Jesus?

This is what was at stake for many following Jesus. This is also what is at stake for many throughout the world today

23 when this happens you can flee, this is not an encouragement to sit an endure it in all circumstances, they were given permission to get out of there

Example: Mission organizations in dangerous parts of the world often have contingency plans prepared for missionaries who may need to escape where they are quickly. They are not seeking out persecution, but if it finds them to the point of death God will speak for us. If we can avoid it, we should.

What happened to Jesus, happens to his followers 24-25

A disciple of Jesus hitches their eternal destiny to the life of Jesus.

This includes how the world treated him. They called him Beezelbul

Beezelbul: “In the time of Christ this was the current name for the chief or prince of demons, and was identified with SATAN (q.v.) and the DEVIL (q.v.)” (ISBE)

this is also likely a reference to the gods of their enemies in ancient israel

This is the exact thing they call him in Matthew 12:24 “24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.””

If someone believes that Jesus is doing the work of the devil himself, how are they going to treat his followers? Not well.

Transition: What is our response to be in this climate?

Fear God with bold Gospel proclamation vv. 26-33

3 times we are told not to fear 26, 28a, 31

28b We are to fear God instead

sometimes we make God into a bite sized reality that has little effect on the world. And when we read in scripture sometimes we explain it away very quickly.

“Oh no, it doesn’t mean actual fear”, we insist. “It means to respect God.”

I think while there is truth here, we miss out on the holiness of God and the awe and holy terror this is meant to bring in his creation. God is holy and sin cannot enter his presence. We are sinful. This means being in the presence of God is a dangerous thing but by the blood of Christ.

In the Chronicles narnia Mr Beaver tells the Pevensie children that Aslan isn’t safe but he is good. The goodness of God leads us to take risks. Good risks like entering the presence of a holy God before whom we deserve eternal judgement. But by the blood of Jesus we find redemption and are called sons and daughters of God.

“We fear man so much because we fear God so little. One fear cures another…” William Gurnal

v. 27 proclaim the Gospel with boldness

repeats the same concern of v. 19

We must be faithful witnesses to Jesus and cannot live in fear of what others may do to us

What you have heard of Jesus from his word, in your church, here at school, from your parents, you are entrusted with and are intended to steward. It is your responsibility to share it.

Now for most of us it does not regularly threaten our lives. But maybe it might be awkward to speak of Jesus to your non christian friend or relative. When you are playing sports and having an opportunity to speak of Jesus do you take it?

We live in a world in which everyone is clamoring to say “this is me”. I would encourage you to be people who spend your time sharing who Jesus is. For when we know and trust Jesus then we can truly know who we are and don’t need recognition from others for Jesus is telling us who we are.

32-33 Our witness matters

This is a warning against denying our status as followers of Jesus in the face of persecution

But even if we do, we know that there is Grace as the apostle Peter denied Jesus 3 times as Jesus was undergoing the kind of persecution described above. But denying Jesus is not a thing to be taken lightly

Transition:

Give your life to Jesus, give up your life for Jesus vv. 34-39

Families divide over following Jesus 34-36

Example: my floormate in college Jeremy causing chaos in the midst of murder in the dark “how do we know it wasn’t you?!”

Jesus is not causing chaos for the fun of it, but saying that even families will be split when it comes to following Jesus

Whoever… it 37-39

37-38 Not Worthy of me

37 Jesus comes above parents or children.

This would have been a radical thing for Jesus to claim, even in Luke calling for his disciples to “hate” his family

38 We are called to follow the path of shame that Jesus was at this point anticipating and looking towards. We know the fulfillment of this path and it was abandonment by his closest friends he was then talking to, rejection by his own people, brutal torture, false accusations, gruesome death, and being forsaken by God the father.

this path is the one that Jesus calls to, one of open shame that causes the world to call it a path of foolishness. But the cross that this world calls foolishness is the wisdom of God. For our crucified and risen savior is the wisdom of God.

He was hated by the world and so will we.

Those who would follow after Christ are lumped in with his lot. Our carts are tethered to his horse. We are bound up in the life, death, ressurection, and ascension of Jesus.

cruciformity, that is conformity to self denial and of all others, to follow Jesus in the face of perisistent persecution is mandatory for those who would call themselves christians

Matthew 16:24–27 “24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.”

39 Give up your life to follow jesus

We live in an age and context of wealth and abundance. We are more overfed and overindulged than others in history and in other parts of the world could imagine. But we can see with clear eyes that this wealth does not provide the true meaning that people are looking for nor is it the answer that they need to their sinful state and death in their sin. The things of this world do not satisfy, they just demand more.

Transition: Lastly, I have a few encouragements for you from this passage.

Application (give as specific examples as possible)

Be prepared for persecution

Maybe it will mean losing a friend because you don’t agree to participate in what they are doing because it does not honor God

Perhaps you will lose opportunities

But be aware that the world is intent on causing all who follow Christ to fall away and stop. The world is split between those who are children of God and those who are children of the devil. We should not be surprised when they act like it and make it harder to follow Jesus.

Maybe you will be interested in dating someone and find out they are not a Christian. How seriously will you take Paul’s teaching that Christians are not to marry non-Christians.

Praise God that we do not typically have this kind of persecution in America but that does not mean there won’t be costs

Gospel Boldness Mt 10:19, 27

This is not synonymous with a singular personality or technique. Rather, it is faithful bringing to mind who God is that the truth would shine as a light in the dark. We are not clever enough to convince people with our arguments. We need to be faithful and stalwart witnesses.

In your place of work, in your family, how are you witnessing to Jesus? Perhaps as a teacher, instructor, professor, manager, and so on you are not permitted to evangelize from your platform. does that mean that you are entirely and utterly restricted from witnessing to your savior? What creative opportunities do you have to be a faithful witness?

Do you have permission to answer questions about yourself when others ask? Speak of Jesus in you and the hope of glory.

Do you have choices in life? Use it to point to Jesus.

Can you pray? Pray for those whom you teach or spend your time with. Do not underestimate the work God does when we commit ourselves to faithful and persistent prayer for the non-believer.

Let go of control in your life

live a cruciform life

lose your life for the sake of Christ

This means putting God first above all other things

This means putting the needs of others before ourselves

This means making sacrificing to spend with God in his word and prayer

this means serving others for the sake of pleasing God and out of our love of him

This means turning away from sin like stealing, lying, gossip, cheating, and giving it up to have Jesus cleanse us of it.

Conclusion:

Illustration / example: Bonnie Witherall

Bonnie grew up in Vancouver Washington and for college went off to college at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago where she met her husband Gary. They believed God was calling them to missions but they didn’t have the opportunity. They were for a few years and finally God opened the door for them to serve in Sidon, Lebanon. There Bonnie worked as a nurse at a prenatal clinic serving pregnant women. This was especially hard for Bonnie because they wanted to have children but could not. Reflecting on her sadness, Bonnie wrote,

God, You are the Lord of our circumstances. We did not come to Lebanon by accident—we are exactly where You meant for us to be. Lord, I want to worship You in the place where You’ve put me today. Help me to remember these four words: “This is My doing.”7

Newell, Marvin J (2016). A Martyr's Grace (Function). Kindle Edition.

On a rainy day in Nov. 2002 as she walked into the clinic and was shot and killed for being a follower of Jesus.

While God will not call all Christians to this, he call all of us to die to ourselves day by day and moment by moment to follow him. How can you lay down your life to follow Jesus today?

Closing Prayer

Small Group Questions

Have you ever been persecuted for your faith? What happened?

How would you evaluate your preparation for persecution?

What does it mean to fear God? How does this contrast fearing people?

What does it look like to be bold for the gospel?

Why does Jesus call us to cruciformity? i.e. Why does he tell us we need to die to ourselves?

Where do you need the Holy Spirit to give you the ability to be a faithful witness of Jesus?

Related Media

Related Sermons

Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.