Our Fiery Ordeal – Pt. 3

goodbye to our dear friends last
Lord’s Day. We had them over last Sunday
evening and we just kind of summarized the day, summarized our day of
worship. Goodbye dear friends, the world
hates you. And so it was with great trepidation
that I prepared If I don’t get busy, the way
this is going to go next week is, Merry Christmas. The world hates you. The truth
is that the world does hate us. And Jesus wanted his apostles
to know this. He wanted them to know what was
coming. He didn’t want anything hidden.
But the message came very abruptly. We’ve seen this. the past several
weeks in John 15, he had just given them that encouraging and
beautiful scene of the vineyard and opened that up to them and
expressed and described to them the nature of that metaphor that
he used. But then suddenly, And at least
initially, inexplicably, Jesus tells them that the world hates
them. And it had to catch them off
guard. It had to surprise them. It had to even almost bewilder
them. He had just gotten them to the
point of encouragement. If you would, John 15, beginning in verse 18. If the
world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated
you. If you were of the world, the
world would love its own, but because you are not of the world,
but I chose you out of the world because of this, the world hates
you. Remember the word that I said
to you, a slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted
me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they
will keep yours also. But all these things they will
do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the
One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken
to them, they would not have sinned. But now they have no
excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father
also. If I had not done among them
the works which no one else did, they would not have sinned. But
now they have both seen and hated me and my father as well. But they have done this to fulfill
the word that is written in their law. They have hated me without
cause. When the Helper comes, whom I
will send to you from the Father, that is, the Spirit of truth
who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about me. And you will testify also because
you have been with me from the beginning. These things I have spoken to
you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you
outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone
who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These
things they will do because they have not known the Father or
me. But these things I have spoken
to you so that when their hour comes, you may remember that
I told you of them. These things I did not say to
you at the beginning because I was with you. Jesus wanted
them to know. And in this section that we’ve
entitled, Our Fiery Ordeal, he wanted his dearest friends to
know that things were not going to be easy. In fact, things were
going to get very difficult. The first disclosure that Jesus
made of the church’s expected persecution was this sobering
forecast, and it had to be sobering. Remember, the disciples were
already nervous. They were already apprehensive
about the departure of Judas and about the pending departure
of Christ himself. And just about the point that
Jesus had them comforted, he tells them of this sobering forecast
of persecution. Last Lord’s Day we began to look
at the expected cause of persecution. We saw that really there were
three and they were all, if you will, politically connected or
socially connected. First of all, it was our association
with the Savior. It was the disciples themselves,
the apostles, and it is our association with the Savior that is always
the cause of the world’s hatred. not only our association with
the Savior, but our subordination to Him, verses 20 and 21. Slave is not greater than his
master. And because we are submitted
to Christ, we will expect nothing less. We will deserve nothing
less than what our master received, not only our association with
the Savior and our subordination to the master, but our relationship
to our Father, our heavenly Father. verses 22 through 25. And so
perhaps we’re led to wonder, when? How soon? How soon would this fiery ordeal
break loose? Would it be the fires of the
Reformation? Would it be centuries down the
line? I would say that you could really
accurately forecast the outbreak of persecution on the church,
you could use days, not months. If you would, I wanna take you
on a very brief and rapid fire tour through the book of Acts.
Not the entirety of the book of Acts, but I wanna start in
chapter four. Chapter four in the book of Acts.
Mind you, this is now just over 30 days since these words were
communicated to the apostles. The apostles have seen Christ
arrested, tried, crucified. They have seen the risen Christ. And now, just over a month after
he uttered these words, he ascends into heaven. The Holy Spirit
comes. and the fires of persecution
already are stoked. Look at verse 1. As they were
speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple
guard and the satucees came up to them being greatly disturbed
because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus
the resurrection from the dead. That was their crime. That’s
what provoked the religious elite, was that they were telling people
about Jesus, which is exactly what Jesus said would happen.
Look at verse three. And they laid hands on them and
put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening.
But many of those who heard the message believed. There was fruit.
There would be fruit. For the sake of time, jumped
down to verse 7. When they had placed them in
the center, kind of a mock or a makeshift trial, they began
to inquire, by what power or in what name have you done this?
Where’s your seminary credential? Where do you get off not being
part of the religious mechanism of the day? Where do you come
from in having the audacity to go around telling people about
this one Christ? Peter filled with the Holy Spirit
said to them, verse 8, rulers and elders of the people, if
we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man as to how
this man was made well, let it be known to all to all of you
and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ
the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
by this name this man stands before you in good health. He
is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders which became
the chief cornerstone And there is salvation in no one else.
There is no other name under heaven that has been given among
men by which we must be saved. They took every opportunity to
proclaim Christ. Jump down to verse 18, if you
would. And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not
to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and
John answered and said to them, whether it is right in the sight
of God to heed, give heed to you rather than to God, you be
the judge. But we cannot stop speaking about
what we have seen and heard. They were witnesses. They were
eyewitnesses of what Christ had done and of who He was. And we
love the argument, don’t we? They put it in the hands of these
religious elite you be the judge, who would you listen to? If you
were in the same boat, if you were in the same predicament
as us, where God had told you to do one thing and now men are
telling you something quite different, what would you do? If you would
take your Bibles, turn actually, if you would, to chapter 5. There’s
another wave of persecution crashing upon the church. Jump down to
verse 17 of chapter five. The high priest rose up with
all his associates, the sect of the Sadducees. They were filled
with jealousy. They laid hands on the apostles
and put them in a public jail. But during the night, an angel
of the Lord opened the gates of the prison and taking them
out, he said, go and stand and speak to the people in the temple
this whole message of this life. In other words, the Holy Spirit
affirmed that they were witnesses of Christ and that they had a
duty to fulfill. Well, this secret release, and even the jailers don’t know
by what means the apostles were released, but this secret release
causes no little concern Jump down, if you would, to verse
27. They catch up with them and bring
them before the council. The high priest began to question
them, saying, we gave you strict orders not to continue teaching
in this name. And yet you have filled Jerusalem
with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon
us. But Peter and the apostles answered,
we must obey God rather than men. God of our fathers raised up
Jesus whom you put to death by hanging him on the cross. He
is the one whom God exalted to his right hand as prince and
savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
And we are witnesses of these things. So is the Holy Spirit whom God
has given to those who obey him. They couldn’t be silent. couldn’t
remain silent, they couldn’t obey God over men. A man named
Gamaliel intervenes, a priest, and tells them effectively to
stand down. Nevertheless, they flogged, beat
unmercilessly these men. Verse 40, they flogged them and
ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus. If you would,
turn to chapter 7. I told you it was going to be
rapid fire. We’re just kind of touching along the high points.
The persecution, the fires of persecution have already broken
out. But other than the arrest and
now this intensified mistreatment of flogging, a brutal beating
at the hands of these enemies, no one has paid the ultimate
price. No one has given their life to
the cause. as Christ did, and as Christ
told them, was a distinct possibility for them. But that is all about
to change with the church’s first martyr named Stephen. Look at verse 54, if you would,
of chapter 7. Stephen, I mean, this is kind
of every preacher’s dream, right? You preach one sermon, it’s so
great that the Lord takes you right to heaven. really great
stuff. Verse 54, when they heard this,
they were cut to the quick. They began gnashing their teeth
at him, being full of the Spirit he gazed intently into heaven
and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand
of God And he said behold the heavens opened and the son of
man standing at the right hand of God But they cried out with
a loud voice covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse
When they had driven him out of the city they began stoning
him and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a
young man Named Saul you know him We’ll come back to Saul in
a moment. They went on stoning Stephen
as he called on the Lord and said, Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit. And falling on his knees, he
cried with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against
them. Having said this, he fell asleep.
He died. And the church’s first martyr
is registered. And as I pointed out, This was done in the full agreement
of a man named Saul, a persecutor of the church. And in chapter
8, it opens immediately into the introduction to this Saul,
a more detailed presentation of him. Look at verse 1, Saul
was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. This man
was a murderer. And on that day, a great persecution
began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout
all the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles.
In other words, the Christians took off. They scattered throughout
the land, and with them they took the gospel. There was God’s
providence in them. Some of the devout men buried
Stephen, made loud lamentation over him, but Saul began ravaging
the church, entering house after house, dragging off men and women. He would put them in prison.
And if you would, one last stop, chapter 12. Chapter 12, just touching upon
the highlights, there were other episodes of persecution, mistreatment,
We’re looking that now just months into the life of this fledgling
church, the fires of the persecution are fully engaged. Verse 1 of chapter 12, now about
that time, Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to
the church in order to mistreat them And he had James, the brother
of John, put to death with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the
Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This isn’t the first
time or the only time that Peter would feel the fires of persecution. And over and over again, Peter
would face those things, ultimately and likely his martyrdom, which
just isn’t recorded in the pages of scripture. Look at verse four,
when he had seized them, he put him in prison, delivering him
to four squads of soldiers to guard him. In other words, enough
is enough with these escapes from prison, intending after
the Passover to bring him before the people. But once again, by
God’s good providence, an angel springs him from prison. The ugly flames of persecution
had already burst forth, even here in the book of Acts. And
it pulls, or rather Peter’s writing of his first epistle, now the
fires of persecution were well known to the saints. When Peter
writes in his opening words of that epistle, he isn’t informing
the saints of some great possibility. He’s telling them what they already
know. Peter, an apostle of Christ to those who reside as aliens,
he tells them right off the bat, look, let’s acknowledge that
we don’t belong here. We’re living behind enemy lines. An apostle of Jesus Christ to
those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia,
Cappadocia, and Asia. What Peter is writing is the
context of the Neronian persecution, the first great persecution of
the church by now a foreign power, not the Jews any longer. Now it’s Nero that stokes the
fires of persecution. John Fox records of him. The
sixth emperor of Rome gave way to the greatest extravagance
of temper, to the most atrocious barbarities. It was this cruel
tyrant who put to death the apostles Peter and Paul. It was he who
began what is called the first general persecution of the Christians. Perhaps you’ve heard of some
of Nero’s dreadful means of persecution. treating Christians like they
were no more than dogs in his kingdom. Peter fully acknowledges
that these things were already taking place. In Peter’s epistle,
remember when he said that they were in the midst of manifold
trials, was this early church. Later on, in chapter 3, he says
that they might just have to suffer for the sake of righteousness. In chapter 3, verse 16, they
would be likely accused falsely as evildoers. In chapter 4, verse
12, from which we took this title, that a fiery trial was going
to break out among them. In verse 19, when they suffer,
they, by God’s grace, were to commit themselves to God. And
in chapter 5, verse 9, he tells them that they are literally
sharing the afflictions which the Christian brotherhood throughout
the world was called to endure. And perhaps even those early
Christians, reading Peter’s epistles, were just waiting for the fires
to die down. They were just waiting for this
persecution to calm itself and for maybe a changing of the guard. Maybe the next emperor wouldn’t
be so belligerent and harsh as this Nero. But remember Jesus
himself had forecasted. Jesus himself had told them of
these great episodes of persecution. Please turn to Mark chapter 13. Keeping a finger in John, I just
have one brief verse to reference. Mark chapter 13. This particular
reference occurs during what the synoptics agree is the Olivet
Discourse. This is where they place this
little verse. All three of them cite it. The
words of Christ. And this Olivet Discourse is
just prior to the Upper Room Discourse where we still find
ourselves in John 15. Here’s what Jesus warned his
apostles on that particular occasion. Look at verse 9. Be on your guard
for they will deliver you to the courts and you will be flogged
in the synagogues. And you will stand before governors
and kings for my sake.” It wasn’t just going to be a religious,
a Jewish persecution. He says that even the secular
government would persecute you. You will stand before governors
and kings for my sake as a testimony to them. The gospel must first
be preached to all the nations. When they arrest you and hand
you over, do not worry beforehand what you are to say, but say
whatever is given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak,
but it is the Holy Spirit.” We’ll come back to that point in John.
It’s always both. It’s always the Spirit bearing
witness when we open our mouth to proclaim Christ. 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 all because of my name, but the one who endures
to the end will be saved.” What a glorious promise Christ gives
them. And so those listening to Peter hoping that maybe Nero
would calm things down or the next emperor wouldn’t be so evil. They were empty hopes. Christians were called to be
in it for the long haul. Let me tell you what the next
200 years would be like. Nero, his reign began in AD 67. Domitian, his reign began in
AD 81, and if possible, he was almost worse than Nero. Fox records
that if famine, pestilence, or earthquakes afflicted any of
the Roman provinces, it was laid upon the Christians. In other
words, Christians were blamed if there was an earthquake, if
there was a famine, if there was some natural disaster, it
was blamed on the Christians. Domitian made a law that no Christian,
once he was brought before the tribunal, should be exempted
from punishment without renouncing his religion. Did you get that? If you happened to get arrested
and you got brought before the emperor for trial, you couldn’t
get out of there alive without denying your Christianity, without
denying Christ, without turning your back on your faith. Indeed,
the fires didn’t die down, not with Domitian in 81, not with
Trajan in 108, not with Antonius in 162. Under Antonius, Fox records a
particular event with a man named Polycarp, an aged saint, just
a choice and precious brother in Christ. He found himself arrested because
of his faith in Christ. And he was brought before the
authorities and he was told to reproach Christ, to turn his
back, to deny Christ, to recant of his testimony of the gospel. And that would have been so easy.
It would have been so easy for him to do that and to be released
from prison and to go on about his already waning life. And
Pauli Karp said this, Eighty and six years I have served him. And he never once wronged me.
How then can I blaspheme my king who has saved me? They took him out. They tied
him to a stake. Normally they nailed martyrs
to the stake, but they only had to tie Polycarp because of his
weakness. But he assured them, records
Fox, that he would stand immovable. The flames already encircling
his body seemed almost to avoid touching precious polycarp until
a soldier was dispatched to do what the flames had not. Things
did not improve. under Emperor Severus in 8192,
Emperor Maximus 8235, Decius 8249, hostilities, abounded, many martyrs. Valerian in 257, Fox records
of him, oh what tongue is able to express the fury and madness
of this tyrant’s heart. How he stamped and stared and
ramped and fared as one out of his wits, his eyes like fire
glowed, his mouth like a boar foamed, his teeth like a hellhound
grinned. Now not a reasonable man but
a roaring lion, he might be called. Do you understand this? We’re
not even to the Reformation yet. We’re in the early days of Christianity. And whereas these apostles might
have been listening to Christ and hearing of these things and
thinking of some distant date in the future, Or perhaps thinking that the
fires themselves would rise and fall and calm for a season. They never really did. And when
Christians are at their most faithful, that’s when the world
is at its most hateful. But these apostles, indeed the
church itself is not. is not hopeless. And Jesus, so
true to who He is as a loving, caring Savior, wants only to
undergird and uphold these men before they go and begin by their
testimony and their godly life to fan the flames. We come to the third point in
our outline, not only the sobering forecast of persecution and the
expected cause of persecution, it’s because of our relationship
with God, but thirdly, the glorious opportunity of persecution. And I know that sounds absurd.
It sounded absurd when I wrote it. You’re telling me that in
the midst of some of the things you described, the church has
a glorious opportunity? I absolutely do, because that’s
exactly what God’s Word says. Look at verse 26. When the Helper
comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is, the
Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify
about me. Jesus seemingly interrupts this
stunning revelation of persecution to calm and assure them that
the Holy Spirit will not only be with them, He will be sustaining
them, but He is going to precede them, He’s going to go before
them, and He is going to be uttering the same message of the same
Savior at the same time. It’s going to be a concert, as
it were, in the ears of those who hear the apostles. They will
know the truth. The work of the spirit is done,
as you might notice, in the midst of this conflagration of persecution
on the church. He calls him the spirit of truth.
And it is not only because the Holy Spirit is true in His nature. He is truth. But He also, when
He speaks, proclaims truth. And He proclaims the truth about
humanity. He proclaims the truth about
our sinfulness. He echoes in the ears of all
who come and proclaim a message of repentance from sin and faith
in Jesus Christ. It’s the Holy Spirit. We know from the testimony of
Scripture. Paul says it in Ephesians, you were dead in your trespasses
and sins. We know that that’s the truth.
Now, by God’s grace, our eyes having been opened, Samuel Davies,
one of the godliest pastors that this church, this world, America
rather, ever produced. Samuel Davies said it this way,
men are estranged from God and engaged in rebellion against
Him, and they love to continue so. They will not submit nor
return to their duty and allegiance. Hence, there is a need for a
superior power to subdue their stubborn hearts. Did you hear
what he said? In and of ourselves, we can’t
budge. Even if we want to, we can’t
move. There is need of a superior power
to subdue their stubborn hearts and sweetly constrain them to
subjection, to inspire them with the love of God and an implacable
detestation of all sin that doesn’t come naturally. That isn’t who
we are. We don’t love God. We don’t hate
sin. And for this purpose, the Holy
Spirit of God is sent into the world. For this purpose, He is
at work from age to age upon the hearts of men. You recall,
you recall when a man named Nicodemus came skulking towards Christ
at night, cowardly, afraid of what others might think of him
if they saw him dare come and speak to Christ. Jesus knew the man’s heart because
He knows what’s in every man, and He says, Nicodemus, Nicodemus, you must be born again.
Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. The
wind blows where it wishes. And you hear the sound of it,
but do not know where it comes from. So is everyone who is born
of the Spirit.” The Spirit was going to have an amazing ministry.
The Holy Spirit’s ministry was breaking forth like never before. He would echo in the ears of
those who heard the Word of God, and He would awaken them out
of the sleep of death. He will testify about me. the helper, the paraclete as
we saw in weeks past. He is God’s advocate. He is the
one that goes and pleads and defends Christ and preaches Christ
and pleads Christ’s case with sinners. It is the work of regeneration
to which we are absolutely and completely indebted. Not one
of us would know Christ if it were not for the Spirit’s work
in our lives, bringing us to repentance, bringing us to regeneration. It is the work of the Spirit.
It is the powerful work of the Spirit testifying in us. But note this. Look at verse
26. When the helper comes, whom I
will send to you from the Father that is the Spirit of truth who
proceeds from the Father. He will testify about me and
you will testify also.” Now, I don’t know if you get the significance
of that. But he says that God in the form
of the Holy Spirit is going to align and for His own purposes
come alongside our work, our effort of giving a simple testimony
about what Christ has done. You will testify also because
you have been with me from the beginning. It’s the testimony of the disciples. They cannot not be witnesses. They saw what they saw. They
are who they are in Christ. They have been saved. Everywhere
they go, they will be witnesses. And likewise for us, everywhere
we go, we are witnesses of Christ. We are those who name the name
of Christ, and we are out there being watched by those that are
not only saved, But those who are contrary to Christ, those
who hate Christ, they watch us and they scrutinize and they
criticize. And so every part of our life becomes
an opportunity to witness to them, even in the way that we
receive their cruel treatment. This gives us such great hope,
doesn’t it? that even in the face of persecution, there’s
a purpose, there’s a blessing, there’s a usefulness, that God
has a use even for us. In fact, that’s the only reason
that he leaves us on this earth, is to be a witness, to be a light. Look back at verse 20, if you
would. We’ve covered the territory. I think we’ve spent good amount
of time in that section, but I want you to look again at verse
20. I told you when I combed through there the first time
that we’d come back. He gives two proofs, really,
here. That not only would they certainly
be persecuted as Jesus Christ was, if they persecuted me, they
will also persecute you. But not every individual is going
to reject Christ. Not everyone is going to be venomous
in their hatred towards Christ and his gospel and his followers. There would be those converts,
not only in Christ’s day, there would be converts in the apostles’
day, there will be converts in our day, yours and mine. That’s what he means when he
says, if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. They will
keep the apostle’s word, he says. They will receive and embrace
Christ. They will take on this hope of
redemption by faith in Christ. They will lay hold of Christ
by faith. What a thrill this was. for the apostles to hear that
not all was gloom and doom, that there would be a purpose to this
ministry of theirs. Not all would reject Christ even
though the majority honestly would turn aside from Him and
side with the devil. But there were those. There were
those that would hear of Christ and with not only the testimony
of men but the testimony of the Holy Spirit It would align and
the Holy Spirit would use that to awaken sinners. One faithful pastor described
the process in just incredible terms. The Spirit does not teach
the facts of history. You see, this is where our role
comes in. We just lay out, and as we went
through our evangelism course a couple of years ago, I just
mentioned that your greatest weapon, your greatest training,
the greatest tool that you have when you go out, when you’re
in a conversation, your greatest tool is your own testimony. This is what Jesus Christ did
in my life. But the Holy Spirit doesn’t go
through and bear witness to the facts of history. He uncovers
them. He goes on to say, but this historical
testimony of the apostles would, without the Spirit, be only a
frigid narrative incapable of creating life. If the Holy Spirit
didn’t attend to the apostles’ teaching, to the apostles’ witness,
to our witness, if we just witnessed in and of ourselves the most
fantastic testimony in all the world, we’d fall on deaf ears. It’s the Spirit He says, that
brings the enlivening breath to the testimony. By making the
light of the divine thought fall upon the facts, he makes them
a power which lays hold of souls. It’s the testimony of men and
the testimony of the spirit united as one. And that makes each one
absolutely necessary. Each element is necessary, not
only the testimony of the Spirit bearing witness to our testimony,
but our testimony that just happens to coincide with the amazing
testimony of the Holy Spirit. It’s both. And this is precisely
what Paul, pardon me, rather what was recorded of the apostles
in the book of Acts. We are witnesses of these things
and so is the Holy Spirit, Acts 5.32. The apostles’ witness was linked
inextricably with the witness of the Holy Spirit and that’s
what gave it power and momentum and effectiveness. We come to the fourth. point
in this disclosure of the church’s expected persecution, not only
the sobering fact as we saw in verse 18, the expected cause
of persecution as we saw in verses 19 through 25, the glorious opportunity
in the midst of persecution that we see in verses 26 and 27, But we come into chapter 6 and
there is no hard break here. It’s a continuation of the subject
that is sustained all the way through 18 through 27 and continued
here. The subject is persecution. So we come to the fourth point,
the specific details of persecution. And Jesus concludes here with
a series of reminders of persecution. First of all, Jesus concludes
with a reminder that persecution has been forewarned in order
to prepare us. It’s outlined here throughout
this section. If you look, four times he says these things. These things,
pointing back in reference to verses 18 through 27 of chapter
15. that forecast of persecution,
these things. And he comes again here in verses
1 and 2 to a recap, if you will. And he says that these things,
these things that I’ve been telling you from chapter 15, verse 18
and following, these things I’ve told you so that you would be
prepared, so that you would be kept from stumbling, Everything
that I’ve told you was given for a set and specific purpose. Faith of the apostles, in a sense,
hung in the balance. We go through this from time
to time. Something happens in our life, some difficulty, some
challenge, some harsh treatment by an unbeliever or even a believer,
and our faith is shaken, isn’t it? It’s weakened. We wonder,
is God, you know, I hear that He’s sovereign all the time.
Is He still in control? And if so, why didn’t He prevent
this? Jesus sees His weak fledgling,
human in every sense of the word, disciples. And he knows that
they could be caught off guard and really not just rattled but
undone by the trials that were coming. And so he tells them
so that they would be kept from stumbling. The word is literally
scandalized. He didn’t want their failure
of faith to trip them up, to scandalize entire communities
of Christians. This is exactly what Paul is
speaking to in Romans 9. There was this imbalance that
Paul has to speak to in Romans 9. Why this dreadful response
from Israel to this glorious gospel that we’ve just heard?
Why this dreadful response? Paul says there, it’s not as
if the Word of God has failed. God is not off His throne. God
has The gospel is fully adequate to save people. There were those that were ready
to abandon the message of the cross. Paul said in 1 Corinthians
1.23, we preach Christ crucified. It doesn’t rattle us. It doesn’t
cause our faith to fail. To the Jews, it’s a stumbling
block. To Gentiles, it’s foolishness. But we preach Christ crucified. Jesus wanted these men prepared
so that as the difficulties came their way, as they saw them coming,
they would be ready. They would not falter in their
faith. And Jesus hides none of the details
from them. Look again at the verse. They
will make you outcast from the synagogue. Now for a Jew, this
was everything. Excommunication meant the loss
not only of fellowship, but it meant the loss of ability to
buy and sell. It was the loss of your business. It was the loss of your friends.
It was the loss of your religious worship. If you were excommunicated,
you were treated worse than pagans. Nothing could be worse than that,
right? Wrong. Because Jesus says, not only
will they make you outcasts from the synagogue, an hour is coming
for everyone who kills you to think that he’s offering a service
to God. I want you to grasp this. The
word there for service is a religious service. In other words, there
were those who would come along, like the Apostle Paul, in his
unsafe state, Saul, who would come along and think that in
persecuting and in killing Christians, he was performing a religious
rite, R-I-T-E, a sacred ritual. Paul’s persecution of the disciples
in the early church was not the only time that that would ever
happen. In fact, it would become commonplace for religious zealots
to break forth on the church. Paul, looking back on those days,
acknowledged it fully. He said in Acts 26.9, I thought
to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of
Jesus. In other words, he believed that
he was doing God’s will when he did them. Some of you are familiar with
church history and that of Thomas Cranmer. who was ultimately martyred
for the sake of the gospel because he had the audacity to hold to
justification by faith and the preaching of God’s word. Those religious authorities that
put him to death sat under a sermon that very day. Religious authorities
frequently will break forth upon the very church and will think
that what they’re doing is just and right and good. Jesus says,
don’t be surprised. Jesus concludes here with a reminder
that persecution not only has been forewarned to prepare us,
but it’s due again to our association with him. Look at verse 3. These
things, these acts of persecution, they will do because they have
not known the Father or me. Jesus is pointing once again
to their ignorance, their utter ignorance, their hatred of Christ,
which was actually a hatred of God, that if they had seen Christ
and received Christ, they would have received God the Father. But in their denial of Christ,
they were denying and hating also the Father. Jesus concludes
with a reminder that persecution has been forewarned to prepare
us. that it is due to our association with Him, that it is in order
that our faith would increase. You say, well, how does that
work? Look at verse 4. These things, these details of
persecution, I have spoken to you so that when their hour comes,
you may remember that I told you of them. And that recollection
would serve not only the apostles, but us to this day. When we face
ill treatment, when we sense the hatred of the world, it’s
the hatred of Christ. And we remember his words and
we are comforted by them. Not only comforted by the fact
that ultimately this hatred isn’t personal, it’s not against us,
but Jesus did tell us Jesus saw it. Jesus saw it coming and He
told us that our faith is increased. Finally, Jesus concludes here
with a reminder. A reminder that He has forewarned
us to prepare us. It’s because of our association
with Him. It’s in order that our faith
would increase and finally, He has reminded us that persecution
is focused upon us because the focus has shifted. Look at the
end of verse 4. These things, this persecution
that he’s been talking about since chapter 15, verse 18, these
things I did not say to you at the beginning because I was with
you. I didn’t tell you everything
that you needed to know because I was with you and because the
focus of the world’s hatred was on Christ. But now Christ is
departing. And Christ says, you must know,
you must know how great the world’s hatred is because now the world’s
hatred is focused upon you. One faithful brother put it this
way, the world is not our home. If we are faithful and decided
servants of Christ, the world will certainly hate us as it
hated our Master. In one way or another, grace
will always be persecuted. No consistency of conduct, however
faultless, no kindness and amiability of character, however striking,
will exempt a believer from the world’s dislike so long as he
lives It is foolish to be surprised at this. It is a mere waste of
time to murmur at it. It is a part of the cross and
we must bear it patiently. Would you go again before the
throne of grace? Our gracious God, we too like your beloved apostles
were caught off guard by this sudden turn, this sudden discovery
or reminder, really, that the world hates us. We’ve sensed
it. We’ve felt it in minor degrees. But Lord, now, having walked
through this incredibly detailed section, we sense your heart. We know
what you were trying to do there. You were trying to help your
own apostles and your beloved disciples, even us. You wanted
us to see, as you wanted them to see, that the world will not
love us, quite the contrary. The world will hate us. Lord,
we count it a privilege to walk with you, to stand with you,
to proclaim you, to trust you. Lord God, we pray, grant us your
grace. And if there are any who are
not with Christ, even as we speak, Lord God, we pray, do so great
a work in them, even which work we spoke about this very day.
the work of regeneration by Your Spirit, bearing witness with
the witness of Your Word. Father, move in their hearts.
Bring them to repentance for their sin. Bring them to faith
in Christ, the only one who can save. Lord God, for us who know
Christ and love Christ, grant us grace to stand firm in the
face of whatever the world dishes out. We pray for your grace. Find us faithful, we pray, in
Jesus’ name.