The 
ight House
Sunday School (Warnings of Persecution)
Warnings of Persecution
(Matthew 10:16 - 23)
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 21And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 23But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Matthew 10:16-23“Sheep in the midst of wolves” is very descriptive of Christian’s in a world of sin loving people with no fear or reverence for God. Sheep have no defense of their own. They depend entirely upon their shepherd to protect them. The disciples had no army or any means of protection from the persecution of man at all, so they were truly like sheep among wolves. With no means of protection, they would surely need to be alert and shrewd (wise as serpents) to avoid b becoming the victims of hostile men.
Despite their vulnerable position, Jesus' followers are not to defend themselves with worldly forms of power; they are to remain harmless as doves, though wise as serpents. Christians are called to be a witness for Christ. We are a type of disciple and just as these disciples of Jesus in the above scripture, we too will face persecution. As time goes on, the persecution will become more severe. We too need to be shrewd to carry out the Lord’s work in this time that we are living. It is important that we prepare now for the rougher times ahead. We need to study God’s word and learn all that we can to prepare for a time when persecution will be even worse than it is now. The day may come when persecution will be so severe that we will not be allowed to gather in worship and fellowship as we now do. There may come a time when the bible will be an illegal book to possess. This may seem extreme, but this condition already exist in some parts of the world. We need to learn all that we can about God’s word now, before the time comes when it will not be so easy.
Jesus also warns them that men will persecute them out of both civic (councils) and religious (synagogues) motivation. We see these two sources of persecution even today. Governments persecute Christians by taking away rights and privileges. It may begin in ways such as removing prayer from public schools, and removing the Ten Commandments and bibles from courthouses. A next step could be the forbidding of preaching or teaching of certain bible passages. We see religious persecution in this day also. As other religions grow in popularity such as Scientology, Islam, and Buddhism, people become more and more prejudiced toward Christianity. Christianity is well on its way of becoming a minority religion.
In the following verses, we see that Jesus instructs his disciples not to give any concern about what they should say when they are arrested or brought before religious councils.
19But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
Matthew 10:19-20This instruction Jesus gave in essence is to simply trust God to take care of them when persecution comes. It is simple trust, yet it is total and unwavering trust. This trust for God to supply them with what they are to say is the same kind of trust that preachers and teachers are to have in order to bring a message. Some preachers print out their entire sermon and almost read it exactly as it is written. Preaching with the poower and demonstration of the Holy Ghost however, comes straight from God. Holy Ghost preachers may use notes to help them keep on track, and a preacher may study in preparation of delivering a message, but God will then take that knowledge obtain through the study of His word and speak His message through the preacher.
Even as a witness, we can rely on God to give us the words to speak. Take note that this does not mean that we do not have to study and pray about such things. If we will do our part however (study, pray, trust God) then God will do His part. He did it for the disciples and He will do it for us. After all, are we not a type of disciple with the same mission?
The final verses of this lesson tell us that the persecution will come even among families and from city to city.
. 21And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 23But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Matthew 10:21-23Jesus knew that in some cases, the gospel would divide family members, and that some of the most bitter persecution would take place among families.
Here also, Jesus plainly says that this persecution would sometimes result in death; though most Christians have endured persecution in economic or social arenas, though the centuries, literally millions have given their lives for Jesus.
A commitment to endure to the end is required for those who will weather the storms of persecution; we who have faced little real persecution have little understanding of just how difficult it is to endure under it.
The promise that those who endure to the end shall be saved is not an indication that we can loose our salvation, rather it is an indication that those who are saved surely WILL endure to the end.
God Bless you,
Carl
I may not look like much, but I cost a bunch!
