The Reason the Christian Church is Persecuted.
(Matthew 10: 19-23)
Recap and Introduction.
We saw last time in its treatment of slaves, the Christian Church seemed to the Roman authorities a force which was disrupting their civilization and threatening the very existence of the Roman Empire by giving slaves a position which they should never have had, as Roman law saw it. There is no doubt that Christianity seriously affected certain vested interests connected with the Roman religion. Christianity preaches a view of humanity in which no totalitarian state can survive long term. Either Christianity will spread, and the power of the oppressor will recede of the state will crush it by persecution. Christianity deliberately eliminates certain worldviews and even some trades and occupations as a way of making money through obvious things like prostitution and slavery. It still does that to this day which means that the Christian believer today is still predisposed to persecution for their faith. If we’re going to be committed to following Jesus Christ, then we’re going to meet opposition out there, so be prepared. So not only the church but individual may be persecuted because they challenge the established order of things.
This passage now, suggests another way in which the Christian believer might face opposition and it is unpacked for us, beginning at verse 19.
But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak (Matthew 10: 19)
He talks in verse 19 about being delivered up, but at the same time not worrying when that happened. This handing over to both civic and religious authorities sounds pretty scary to me, Even today, some people in some countries are still arrested and thrown in prison for just following Jesus. It even mentioned martyrdom which sadly even today is a possible repercussion of becoming a Christian in some countries today. This is heavy-duty stuff he is trying to prepare us for, but right the middle of this he says, oh, and by the way, don’t worry about it. Notice this, “don’t worry”, phrase is a bit of a repeating refrain in this chapter. In verse 9, he said, do not worry about how you speak or what you should say. So don’t worry about the content of what you’re going to say, and don’t worry about the form in which you’re going to say it. Let me be clear what he says here does not apply to Sunday morning sermons or Bible teaching. This is not intended to be the normal approach to preaching or teaching or even evangelism. It to do with how we respond to persecution. This is not intended to undermine the preparation for teaching from the scriptures, this is to be applied to emergency situations like when you have been arrested and you’re standing before a person of authority. This apples to those facing direct persecution for their Christian faith. We need time to pray and prepare our defense and Jesus said if you’re caught in that sort of situation don’t worry about it.
There’s a verse now the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit can teach you all things and bring to mind when you need them, but that for most of us will take place over a period of time and it will be a journey of Bible study and commitment to seeking answers. But in these extreme situation the Lord here says don’t worry about these situations and then he explains why in verse 20.
“For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you”. (Matthew 10: 20)
The Reason the Christian Church is Persecuted.
That’s why you do not need to worry. Let’s just pause here and turn for a moment to Exodus chapter 4 and let me introduce you to a man named Moses. God told Moses to go tell Pharaoh to, “let my people go”. Let’s look at the conversation between Moses and God
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”11 So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” (Exodus 4: 10-12)
Now we are talking about a scary situation here, we are talking about Moses potentially losing his head, and Moses says I’m not eloquent, and God say, just go and I will be in your mouth and teach you what you shall say. That enables us to then face our fears feeling accompanied and equipped. Back to the Matthew text, at this point he says something else.
21 “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. . 22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. (Matthew 10: 21-22)
Let me make just a couple of points here, because he’s still saying, “don’t worry”. However, you need to notice that earlier you were going to be set before the religious leaders but then it also mentioned that you might also be delivered up to civic leaders.
Now he adds you’ may even get get opposition from your family. I have seen all three of those in my life, but fortunately the family one has never applied to me in my life, but I have seen it happen to others. I was had the privilege of speaking to Pastors in Pakistan recently and the government in those countries can come down on a pastor or a congregation, pretty hard. I’ve seen people get saved and because they belong to another faith group, and they got all kinds of opposition from people who also follow that religious persuasion. I have seen and heard endless stories of people having opposition from their own family when they came to Christ. Once they started to witness for him, things really got bad for them. But right in the middle of all this, Jesus here tells his followers “Do not worry”. “He who endures till the end shall be safe”. This is not talking about being saved spiritually, that has already happened, and persecution cannot rob you of that. You don’t have to endure to make it to heaven. This verse is not talking about salvation, what Matthew is talking about here is the subject of persecution. The word saved used here means to be delivered from the physical situation you are facing. Matthew’s subject is not salvation from sin, that has already happened for the Christian believer. His subject is persevering in the face of persecution. So clearly, he’s not talking about salvation or your spiritual life, he's talking about the opposition you might face for being a Christian. So, if anybody uses this verse to teach you that you have got to endure till the end or you won’t get to heaven, they have taken the verse out of context, they have ripped it from its moorings, because that is not what this verse is about
The point of the passage is that you should endure persecution, and that opposition and persecution will come your way. The whole point of this little subsection is, don’t be afraid, do not worry. Do you remember Jesus told us that repeatedly through his Sermon on the Mount. So here in chapter 10 he is saying it again. I want you to be aware there’s trouble out there, wolves in those in those woods, there’s sharks in the waters, and there’s vultures in circling overhead, but don’t worry, trust me. Like a lamb trusts the shepherd. Jesus says one more thing and that’s in verse 23.
23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
(Matthew 10: 23)
OK, this is a tricky verse. He says the disciples you’re not going to get through all the cities of Israel before the son of man comes. Some commentators look at that and say, wow Jesus made a mistake because they made it through the cities of Israel. That’s only a problem if you don’t understand that he has projected this speech not to just his disciples on that day, but for all believers down through time. This verse covers the whole epoch of time right up to the second coming. There’s a practical point here as well of course. In that, if people don’t accept what they say, keep moving, go find somebody that will listen to you. Don’t let them defeat you, just keep moving. I think the point here is, don’t stop, just keep going, and going. For them it meant if they didn’t buy in from the people in one place they were to move on to the next city. Just keep going,
Summary
Now, I want to do is sum all this up and I want to make a couple of pertinent observations. I think this passage is clearly talking about persecution you would be blind to miss that. Jesus is clearly saying that opposition is a real possibility, it might come your way and people will intends to harm you. But even when facing that remember you must not respond by doing harm to others. You’re just need to keep on, keeping on. Keep on talking about the Lord. Or to say it another way, the way to handle opposition is to use it as an opportunity to be talking about the Lord. Opposition should not deter you or prevent you, it should just make you more resolved to keep going. I think some naïve Christians think I’m going to get saved then follow the Lord and things are gonna be like heaven. Well, if that is what you think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself. Not yet, there’s going to be joy, and heaven awaits but as long as we’re here in the flesh on this earth there is going to be trouble.
Those of us who preach and teach from the word are called to speak with the same frankness and honesty Lord Jesus spoke with. Jesus warns us that his people will face all manner of difficulty, but through it all we can count on the Holy Spirit to aid us in all of our defenses against both civic and religious authorities as well as even opposition from our families. He doesn’t offer us a life of comfort, he instead asks us to prepare for a life of hardship peril and maybe even death. This is hardly the way to win disciples, but it represents the truth.
Men and women who respond to the plain truth of the gospel in this way, by being prepared immediately avoid the risk of responding to a false gospel with appeals to promises of health wealth and ever-increasing prosperity. The danger facing the modern church is we can emasculate the message of the grace of God then we reduce the saving power of God to just some dodgy advice and a false promise. My point is simply this, Jesus doesn’t pull any punches, he tells us straight up up there’s trouble out there and if you follow me there’s going to be opposition.
Let me close with an illustration.
A friend of mine who I grew up with, I’ll name him, I’m sure he won’t’ mind. He was a member of a local diving club where I live in Ireland, a sub aqua club. He was and is called “Aiden Maclarnon, he told me what happened when he did one of his first shipwreck dives. He found his way to a room in a submerged ship but having entered the large room he lost his bearings and could find his way out. As he circled the four walls of the space looking for a way out, he kicked up more and more silt and his visibility kept reducing and he could not find the door. He began to panic more and more, which only made matters worse because as his breathing increased so rapidly, he realized his was using his oxygen even more quickly and he was running out of time, to allow him to exit the ship and get to the surface safely. When he realized he had only a minute or so of spare time left he said he almost had the urge to give up, so he tried to gather his emotions and paused for a moment and tried to count slowly up to 10 and back again and try and think clearly about his predicament. As the silt began to settle, he noticed the directions of the bubble rising to the surface and in an instant the position of where he was in the room suddenly came back to him. In the panic the mental map of the space he was in had been totally reconfigured in his mind and he realized he had in his panic been going round the four walls, floor wall, ceiling, wall and floor, over and over again. He then calmly exited the door and made his way back to the surface with less than a minute to spare.
I think that is a perfect picture of where we can get to in the midst of opposition, persecution, or even a panic attack. We get into the thick of the battle and it can be personal, and it can be emotional, and if it comes from your family and your friends and maybe your religious connections and the civil authorities, then we can get loss in the fog of war. But Jesus says, stop, pause, do not be afraid, I already told you this was dangerous, and trouble like this would come. Focus on me, trust on me, the dust will settle the path will become clear and you will find your way through. Do not be afraid, Jesus tells us, because I am with you, and by the way, this is a great opportunity to depend on me.
That’s the point of this whole passage. Don’t miss the main point. Opposition is an opportunity to witness for Christ and the power of God. We who have the help of the Holy Spirit can at the right moment say yes to the challenge. Christ draws a lone in the sand and says on one side of that line lies toil hard work, but also opposition, and maybe even discrimination and persecution. On this side lies the hollow pleasures of an ordinary life. Let each man and woman choose their path. For my part I step over and take the same journey as those first 12 disciples did 2000 years ago. There’s opposition out there, but here’s a line in the sand, on one side is the challenge of the life of a disciple facing opposition almost every step you take, but with the promised blessing of God and ultimately a place in heaven with a crown of life. I don’t know about you, but I choose to step across that line and follow him. I trust you do also.