Promised Persecution

Scott Stewart

The Gospel of Matthew • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Matthew 10:16–25

Persecution

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Good Friday Service

6PM // Casual // Sing some hymns and read the account of Jesus’ crucifixion // Short devotional

Egg Hunt

An egg hunt for kids on Saturday April 3rd // Need help packing eggs // Egg Hunt will probably be at 1pm and we will have flyers to distribute starting this week

Potluck Postponed

Since Resurrection Sunday (Easter) is Sunday April 4th, we will have potluck the following Sunday April 11th

Communion

We will have Communion at the end of the service today, after the last song

Opening Revelation Psalm 66:8-12

English Standard Version Psalm 66

8 Bless our God, O peoples;

let the sound of his praise be heard,

9 who has kept our soul among the living

and has not let our feet slip.

10 For you, O God, have tested us;

you have tried us as silver is tried.

11 You brought us into the net;

you laid a crushing burden on our backs;

12 you let men ride over our heads;

we went through fire and through water;

yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

Sermon Summary: While promising real, deadly persecution to His Apostles, Jesus also provides some promises.

Introduction

Go ahead and open up your Bibles to Matthew 10, starting in verse 16.

While you’re doing that, let me tell you that Christians are one of the most hated people groups in the entire world.

You might be tempted to think that this is an inflammatory statement, but it’s true. Sometimes that hatred comes from within the ranks of so-called Christians, where one camp maligns another instead of treating the other like brothers and sisters. However, the most dire persecution of Christians has been from outside the walls of orthodoxy, and into the ranks of those who wish to silence and destroy those who worship Christ.

Two stories as we begin:

There is a young man who works with youth. He proclaims the gospel to youth, he spends time with youth, he prays with youth, but he has to do all this secretly because being a Christian is illegal in his country. Recently, he didn’t come home after trying to rescue his sister from a dangerous situation. His body was found in a ravine with a single bullet wound that went straight through his lung. He was shot and thrown into this ravine… His body would’ve been lost without the providence of God for someone noticing it the next day

A young couple runs a house for kids. They do this to rescue them off the street, where poverty and disease kill children. The orphans in this country are essentially dead already unless someone is willing to help them, which while most aren’t, this young couple is. They just had baby and the husband had to make a run for the store, but never returned. His body was discovered the next morning. He was gunned down for being a Christian.

Now, these are the things that Jesus promises His followers. This is the sort of inevitable suffering at the hands of wicked, God-hating people. We refer to these people as “Martyrs,” or “witnesses,” meaning that they died because of their witness of following Jesus.

The two events I mentioned are from March 17 and 19, 2021. That’s right, just a few days ago in a country just west of Thailand called Myanmar that has recently had a coup de tat. The coup is indiscriminate, killing police officers and protesters… But Christians are being targeted because of their minority faith. They are having to hide themselves from the militant Buddhist extremists.

Our passage today covers Jesus’ promise of such persecution. The things we will read were literal promises, fulfilled literally in the lives of the Apostles. They weren’t metaphorical or symbolic… They were real.

Read along with me, Matthew 10:16-25

Matthew 10:16–25 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.

Sheep in the midst of wolves (10:16-18)

Think of the image at the beginning of our text. Jesus is saying “I’m sending you to your death” in no uncertain terms. If there was ever a bad recruiter speech, or a bad pep talk, these statements are it.

Imagine with me, close your eyes if you have to, what it looks like for a couple sheep to walk through a pack of wolves. The sheep are terrified, yet moving forward. How long do you think they last? How long before one wolf turns and strikes them, before another, and another, and how long until they are no longer sheep, but carcasses being consumed by the wolves?

This is the image that Jesus is giving His Apostles in this conversation. “… be wise as serpents and innocent as doves,” He says. Be crafty, be shrewd, hide when you need to.... But keep your hands clean, Jesus is saying.

“Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake...”

Does this sound good to you? Do those situations sound pleasant? Do they sound like something a person would look forward to experiencing?

Of course not, but it’s what Jesus promised would happen to His disciples. Think about it! These were things they were actually going to experience, things they were really going to go through!

What if I were to tell you that going to this church meant you were probably going to die? What if I promised you essentially certain death if you were going to worship here? Would you stay? Would you get out? What would you do?

What will happen (10:21-23)

What if I told you these words: Matthew 10:21-23a

English Standard Version Chapter 10

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

What if I said this was your fate for worshipping here? Your own family will betray you, either killing you or calling the authorities on you? That you’ll be hated by all kinds of people, simply for loving Jesus and worshipping in this church? That you’ll spend the rest of your days, however short they may be… fleeing from one home to another… every second of your life thinking that you might be caught and killed?

This was the reality of the Apostles. This is the reality of many Christians across the world!

An American Delusion

We do not face that same threat in our context today.

Now, it may come to that someday… But we are NOT in that situation! We cannot and should not PRETEND to be in that situation! We should not live in fear to share the gospel, because our lives are not in danger for doing so!

Commonly, the worst we might lose are friends… Maybe a job, for sharing our faith.

But friends, we are living in a delusion if we think we are “heavily persecuted” in American today. Being told to “shut up” is NOT heavy persecution! It would only be heavy persecution if someone had a gun in your face when they said that command...

Resist the delusion. There are some areas where our brothers and sisters are trembling in fear YET STILL PREACHING THE GOSPEL. It is foolish of us to elevate our struggles to the level of “heavy persecution.”

Three Promises (10:19-20, 23b, 24-25)

Now, I’ve covered all the realities of persecution in our text today, but I haven’t covered the three promises that Jesus has added for the benefit of His disciples. They are: (1) Words will be given, (2) They won’t go through all the towns), and (3) It is enough to be like Christ.

1. Words will be given (19-20)

Our first promise falls in verses 19-20:

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. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

It’s important to note about this statement that Jesus is not saying “Don’t worry, I’ll give you the words to smooth it over and avoid suffering...”

No. Actually the real promise is found in v. 18, where we read that the purpose of these words is to “bear witness.” To “bear witness” in a court of law means that you are giving testimony of the truth to either convict of acquit an individual of a particular crime.

That, however, is not what Jesus means when He says this. Actually, “bear witness” sounds like an action, or a verb, rather. But really, Jesus is saying this: “You’re going to be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to become a witness (or martyr).”

Christ is not implying that these disciples will simply “give testimony”.... He is actually saying that they are going to suffer and potentially die.

Therefore, we can glean the true meaning of this promise. It’s not a promise of safety and security, but a promise that they shouldn’t fret and try to create wonderful rhetoric… But should instead trust that what they are to say is given them of the Holy Spirit. Chances are they will be killed for what they say, but they will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to declare the truth of Jesua and His salvation.

Therefore, if you or I are ever in a situation where we have to give account of our faith, this promise rings true for us. Maybe it’s only for a friend whose making us choose between Jesus and them, or maybe it’s before a person holding a gun in our face saying, “Renounce your Christianity or I’ll blow your head off.” Or maybe we will get thrown in front of a dictator or military commander who asks: “Are you a Christian? If so, I’m going to kill you...”

In those moments, rely on the promise of Christ that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father is granting you words to be truthful… No matter how much you want to resist, He will give you the words.

2. They won’t go through all the towns (23b)

Now, the last portion of verse 23 is actually a difficult verse to interpret. To remind you of the context, this is what Jesus tells His Apostles:

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.

This is some very practical advice that Christ is giving His Apostles. “When you’re in one town and they begin trying to kill you, run to the next.” That simply makes logical sense, and it’s good advice. If you’re hated for your faith in Christ, move somewhere where you aren’t hated for your faith.

But that promise of Christ that “you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes” provides some issue as to what Jesus means.

Without providing you the three main arguments that biblical scholars debate on, the most common and probably most accurate one is this: There is an unending mission to Israeli people.

Before Christ returns, we are to evangelize the people of Israel… But the task is hard, because Jews hate Christ.

Israel has become a bit of a vacation spot for Christians today. I think a good application of this verse should be that we should not vacation in Israel, but witness in Israel. That should be our goal in going there.

A Scottish preacher named Robert Murray M’Cheyne once travelled to Israel in the 1800’s burdened by their need of the gospel. While preaching the gospel to Jews, he became very ill and returned to Scotland. That illness ended up taking his life. He was disheartened that he hadn’t made it through very much of the terrain, but he remembered this verse and felt a great sense of relief.

Neither he nor anyone will have gone through all those towns and all those people before Christ returns.

3. It is enough to be like Christ (24-25)

This last promise is found in v. 25 and it’s one that carries much hope for us in our context.

I have made clear that what we endure as Americans is pitiable in comparison to the sufferings that many Christians (especially the Apostles) have faced. So, does that invalidate our sufferings?

Look at verses 24-25:

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 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.

It is enough, friends, for a disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.

That word “like” is what’s known as a “weak adverbial comparative.” The key word there is weak.

You and I are weakly “like Christ.” As His disciples, we are only called to be weakly like Him. We do not have to endure great sufferings on a cross like He and many of His Apostles did in order to be like Him, but we also should not try and elevate our own sufferings to those from around the world who bear the name of Christ and are killed for it.

Our persecutions are not invalidated because of their weakness, many of us have suffered greatly for our faiths.

Conclusion

Listen, all Christians are promised persecution. We are called “blessed” for suffering on account of Christ (Matthew 5:10-11), and we are also mandated to bless those who persecute us (Romans 12:14).

Persecution will come, and for some that persecution is weaker than others. So let us not try to elevate our struggles over a brother or sister’s, giving in to the delusion that we are literally fulfilling what is promised in these verses when we aren’t.

So, let me close with the words of a man who suffered greatly on account of Christ. The Apostle Peter says this:

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. 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. (1 Peter 4:12-17)

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