Mark 13:9-13, CEB - “Watch out for yourselves.
People will hand you over to the councils. You will be beaten in the
synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of me so that you
can testify before them. First, the good
news must be proclaimed to all the nations. When they haul you in and hand you over, don’t
worry ahead of time about what to answer or say. Instead, say whatever is given
to you at that moment, for you aren’t doing the speaking but the Holy Spirit
is. Brothers and sisters will hand each
other over to death. A father will turn in his children. Children will rise up
against their parents and have them executed. Everyone will hate you because of my name. But
whoever stands firm until the end will be saved.
Throughout the Old Testament of the Bible, people who live according to the way God leads consistently run into resistance and often open hostility from others, even others who claim to be people of faith as well. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. The people Moses led constantly grumbled against him. Saul tried to kill David multiple times. Job’s own wife told him to “curse God and die.” And the prophets . . . not a one of them escaped open resistance. Some have even tried to create an axiom that asserts that you’re not doing the right thing if you’re not encountering resistance. I’m not sure this statement holds true all the time, but I am quite convinced that if you consistent follow God’s leading, you WILL, at some point, encounter people who at least question your direction.
So
Jesus’s words above should not be surprising at all to people familiar with the
history from which Jesus springs. What
is surprising is that Jesus get specific.
Family members will turn on each other, even parents against their own
children. Believers will be brought
before councils and even rulers to give an account of themselves. What is even more surprising is that Jesus
instructs his followers to welcome such trials as an opportunity. When else, after all, would a normal citizen
get to witness to their faith before a king?
The resistance encountered presents previously forbidden chances to move
the mission forward. Mark does not
include Matthew’s great commission, but it is here in this passage; “First,
the good news must be proclaimed to all the nations.” Resistance and hostility actually serve that
mission.
Jesus
also includes two important encouragements in these instructions. First, when those unforeseen opportunities
present themselves to give an account of your faith, the Holy Spirit will give
you the words to say. So instead of
crumbling under pressure, we trust and expect that our words and actions in
such circumstances will come to us via God’s direct leadership. Second, Jesus assures us that no matter what
may happen to us as a result of living out our faith, we “will be saved.” We should note that almost all of Jesus’s 12
primary disciples who are hearing these instructions will martyred for their
faith. So Jesus’s promise of being saved
must mean a rescue from beyond death.
There is a vindication from God that transcends even those who die for
their faith. Mark’s first readers needed
to hear this because many were dying for their faith. There are still many hundreds of Christians martyred
each year in our own time who, along with their families, need Jesus’s
assurance offered here.
For
most of us who do not risk our lives expressing our faith, these words of Jesus
as till crucial for us to hear and digest.
We need to hear that doing the thing God wants us to do will often not
popular. Though we may not face violence,
we will most likely face ridicule and or sacrifice our popularity at some point. Many times, when we face such situations, our
tendency is to get quiet, perhaps even mute.
It’s not pleasant to know people in our faces are not with us, so we
feel pressure to simply go with the flow, or at least, not continue to move
against it. Jesus reminds us that these
situations can be an opportunity to allow out true faith to be seen and
possibly heard when it might not have been otherwise. If we will embrace those opportunities and
rely on the Spirit, we will be led in what to do and say. And regardless of what happens as a result,
final vindication will eventually be ours.
Questions: Can you
think of times when you felt pressure to hide or minimize your identity as a
follower of Jesus because you sensed resistance or hostility? What did you do? What will you do next time?
Prayer: Jesus, sometimes,
being a bearer of Your name seems to put us at odds with those around us. Help us navigate the balance between being at
odds with others and being at odds with You. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for those Christians around the world who face fierce persecution for their
faith in Christ.
I Am Not Ashamed – Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
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