Matthew 24:9-14 Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
In the above focus, Jesus reveals what will happen to the disciples after He is gone. Until his departure, Jesus takes care of his disciples; He loses none of them except Judas. Judas betrays Jesus to the Jewish leaders as was his mission. Jesus knew the disciples would be hated because they were his followers. To snuff out Jesus’ teaching and his claim as the Messiah, the elite knew the disciples had to be prohibited from teaching about Jesus, even if they had to kill them. When the mob arrested Jesus in the olive grove, Jesus commanded Peter to put away his sword, saving his disciple from being captured or killed. This command gave the disciples freedom to flee, which they did in fear. One disciple, some believe John, fled in nakedness. None of the disciples would be killed or harmed that night. Nonetheless, Jesus prophesied a different, harrowing future for them than the safety they experienced with him. They would no longer be admired for being close to the miracle worker; instead, they would be hated, considered enemies. If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. (John 15:18-19) As committed followers of Jesus, they will consider the world immaterial to their quest to introduce Christ. They will not love the world or anything in it. The carnal atmosphere they live in is not their home. They are just moving through, proclaiming the eternal salvation of the Lord. For the unsaved to eat, drink and be merry is the essence of life. But the disciples claimed that life held something more to it than enjoying the accouterments of the culture. To know Jesus as Lord and Savior is the heart of living, not partying, cavorting and indulging the self. This denial of the world’s lifestyle and of other religions brought great hatred against the disciples and other believers. But the Good News was not an exclusive teaching, for Christians were commanded to love everyone, even those who hated them. Jesus prepared these disciples to talk about God’s love to the people who would hate them. All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. (John 16:1-2) Jesus reveals to them that they are not going to win anything in this world by following him. In fact, even religious people will believe that they are doing God’s will by killing believers. The secular world will hate them for their belief in God. Today, we realize that hatred of Christians has been part of the Christian experience for millenniums. The Vatican News reported an average of 13 Christians are killed every day and nearly 400 Christians die every month. This is only because they name the name of Jesus as their Lord. In addition, 1 in 7 Christians in 2021 face persecution. Stories of struggling Christians have been highlighted in various media. Dr. Todd M. Johnson, professor at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, estimates that more than 70 million Christians have been martyred over the last two millennia, more than half of which died in the 20th century under fascist communist regimes. He also estimates that one million Christians were killed between 2001 and 2010 and about 900,000 were killed from 2011 to 2020. As Jesus prophesied, believers will be persecuted and killed in his time and in the future. His followers will be hated in all nations. His name would become a curse word by many, not a name to adore.
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the church immediately fell into great persecution. The apostles were arrested in the temple. The Jewish elite forbade the apostles to speak in the name of Jesus. They were flogged. After that we see the stoning of Stephen, the killing of James, and Peter put in jail. The persecution in Jerusalem scattered the Christians to safer lands. But even in other lands, people like Paul were chasing down Christians, bringing them back to Jerusalem to either recant their belief in Jesus or face execution. Identifying yourself as a Christian in any land could cause great personal danger. Paul encouraged his nascent churches to be firm in the face of persecution and harm. He congratulated the Thessalonians for standing strong under duress. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 1:6) Peter talks to the church at large and tells them that persecution is part of the Christian walk. Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. (1 Peter 4:12-16) Jesus knew what would happen to his followers after He left. He realized they would go under great stress for the world loves darkness rather than light. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20) As Jesus said, his followers are lights in the world just as He was the Light, but people love darkness and reject lights for their deeds are evil. They do not want lights in their world for lights reveal the world’s self-indulgence, lust, and lack of love. As we read in our focus, even in the church, the world’s darkness sometimes infiltrates the believers. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. We see at the very end of time, many turning to false doctrines within the church, deceiving people. False prophets will claim leadership of the flock, portraying themselves as having the real truth of the gospel. Some of them will even claim special insight into God that only they possess. Others will say they are Jesus Christ incarnated in their flesh. Many will be led away by such foolish claims. Paul warns the believers, I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. (Acts 20:29-31) These wolves are false teachers who care more about winning the world than feeding the sheep. Their primary purpose for their deception is to reap the world’s benefits, to eat, drink and be merry in this world. As with the false prophets of old, they use the flock for their own benefit. Convincing the sheep that they can have all that is in the world and Christ too.
In all ages, the church has been under the threat of persecution and murder. The church has also been exposed to false teachers in every age who exploit even the widows and poor for their own benefit. These errant teachers heap wealth upon themselves, in our day— fancy cars, elaborate houses, expensive jewels, and the like. They do not love the sheep; they love the world and everything in it. But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2: 1-3) Jesus turned the world upside down when He came. Those who want to be leaders are to be the servants of all. Those who want to shepherd the Lord’s flock are to be shepherds who consider the sheep’s needs as being more important than their own needs. By preferring others above their own lives, they will not run when the wolves come. The sheep’s lives are considered as important as their own lives. A true shepherd fulfills the second cardinal law: loving others as you love yourself. They will die for their sheep. A false prophet will consider himself or herself above others. They accumulate much wealth and status from their sheep, but will abandon the sheep under any threat to their own existence. They excommunicate others easily from their flock. They want complete slavish obedience from their sheep. Anyone who will not follow will be cut out from the flock. Such false, cultish behavior will affect the love of many. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Will faith be found in the last days? Will the mocking and jeering of the world intimidate some, keeping them from following Christ? Will the false prophets who tell their people you can have it all and Christ too, discourage some? Will faith be found in this age of computers when once again the world will have one language as in the days of Babel? If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. (Genesis 11:6-7) Will man elevate himself with God, even discovering how to make life? Who knows. But we do know that the gospel will be told until the end of time, to all nations, to all people everywhere. God will never give up on people. The Good News will be preached to all and then the end will come. Brothers and sisters, do not grow cold but stand firm to the end that you might be saved.
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