Preparing for Persecution

Restored cathedral in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Scripture:

Luke 12:8   “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; ⁹ but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. ¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. ¹¹ When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; ¹² for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.”

Observation:

The preparation of the disciples continues with some hard conversations. Following Jesus was going to cost them everything. There would come a time when declaring the Lordship of Jesus Christ would be dangerous. The focus was not to be on the immediate life, but on the eternal. Within the throne room of God, the angels are continually active in worship. It is in this space where Jesus acknowledges his disciples. 

There is space for forgiveness. This would be important because there would be those within the inner circle who would have their struggles and doubts, all the way to Pentecost. Jesus was telling them in advance that they would be forgiven for denying him. This sets the stage for Peter would who be overcome with grief at his own denial. 

Luke would go on to write the Acts of the Apostles and would already know the stories of Ananias and Sapphira, who would blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. Those who would receive the Holy Spirit call themselves disciples, but then intentionally go against the community would stand in great danger. 

Again, Jesus was giving them a glimpse of the life that they will lead when they would be persecuted. Just like Jesus they would be tried in the courts of the religious leaders, and of the rulers and authorities of the world. For a group of followers who had not received the finest education, this was incredibly intimidating. Jesus was letting them know about the promise of the Spirit who would come upon them at Pentecost. It was the Spirit who would become their advocate and help them in their time of need. Interestingly, in Russian, the word “advocate” means lawyer. The presence of the Holy Spirit would give them all that they needed in the moments of persecution. 

Application:

When I think about the lives of those first century disciples, I’m really challenged. For most of my life, I’ve not really had to pay the price for my faith. Even the years living in Russia were not those of persecution. At that point, Russia was just allowing religious freedom and people were curious about this faith which had been suppressed. We met with, and heard the stories, of the martyrs who had suffered to keep the faith alive. That was humbling. For some, it had cost them everything. 

There are places in this world where people are having to put their lives on the line for the faith every single day. There are underground movements of the Holy Spirit where lives are being transformed in miraculous ways but it requires all-out submission to Jesus Christ. This passage begs the question as to whether we are prepared to face the consequences for standing firm in our faith! In some parts of the world, society is becoming much more hostile to followers of Christ. Following Jesus will not lead us closer to the values of this world, but to the kingdom of God. This is a radical life filled with love for God and love for others that will become increasingly counter-cultural, especially if the culture sees Christianity as a threat. 

As a disciple of Jesus Christ, we must listen carefully to Jesus’ words. We are to be prepared for what we will face in this world, as we follow him. We are to be prepared to acknowledge Jesus in all situations, even when that may mean that we are harmed. We are not to worry, for even if we are harmed now, Jesus will acknowledge us in the throne room of God. The promise of the Spirit was not just for the first-century church, but for all generations of disciples. We need fresh infillings of the Holy Spirit now more than ever. As we learn to live Spirit-filled lives, we become increasingly dependent upon the wisdom of God. The divide between ourselves and the ideologies of the world will increase in the same measure as our dependence upon God.  This is the purpose of preparation. 

Prayer:

Lord, I confess that I don’t feel prepared. There is so much more of you that I need to know. Help me, day in and day out to draw closer to you. Amen.