Why does God allow persecution of His people? How do we respond when our faith in Jesus is challenged, mocked, hated, misunderstood, or met with violence? Jesus addresses some of that in our next passage from the Gospel of Mark.
“But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to local courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them. And it is necessary that the gospel be preached to all nations. So when they arrest you and hand you over, don’t worry beforehand what you will say, but say whatever is given to you at that time, for it isn’t you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of my name, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Mark 13:9–13, CSB)
Persecution will happen. But there is purpose in it. Persecution is always unfair and unjust, with results including separation from friends and family, financial problems, societal rejection, imprisonment, violence, and death. But from it the message of Christ is proclaimed in high places and spread to unreached lands through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus isn’t sugar coating this. Persecution is painful and heart-wrenching. And yet there are opportunities that wouldn’t ordinarily exist to proclaim the good news. Some of the proclamation is spoken, much of it is also the observation of our responses. The world doesn’t understand; foundations are shaken when we return love for evil, forgiveness for injury, and mercy for injustice. To keep that witness requires endurance. One little break and the world goes “aha! You’re just a phony.”
The Apostle Paul is an excellent example for this. He went from being the persecutor to the persecuted. He endured beatings, stoning, arrests, court trials, and imprisonment. Persecution broke the ground for several of his church plants. He stood before kings and governors in chains proclaiming Christ. And ultimately, he stood before the ruler of the known world. There are many stories in church history of how God used persecuted ones to spread the Good News.
As I write this, however, I know that violent persecutions are happening. Some we hear about, such as the reports from Nigeria, and others are unseen. We pray that God would remove those troubles, but we also rely on God’s will. So we also pray that God’s Good News is proclaimed all the louder through those terrible experiences.
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