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June 15, 2008
A-Pent 5
Matthew 10:24-33
Pastor Robert Raasch

How Shall I Deal with Persecution?

1. Expect it
2. Don’t be Afraid of it

(Matthew 10:24-33)  "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. {25} It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household! {26} "So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. {27} What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. {28} Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. {29} Are not two sparrows sold for a penny ? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. {30} And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. {31} So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. {32} "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. {33} But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

His name was Ahmad El-Achwal.  He was a cook in a Jerusalem fast food stand, a father of 8 and a Muslim.  At least he was born a Muslim.  But while Ahmad serving time in a Palestinian prison, he came into contact with the gospel.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, this man came to trust in Jesus Christ as his Savior from sin.  And from that moment on, his life became very hard.  His Muslim countrymen saw to that.  They repeatedly ransacked his house, confiscating any Christian literature they could find.  They tortured him.  And of course, they promised that all the harassment would stop—if he would simply return to the Islamic faith.  He refused and instead continued to confess Christ to his countrymen.  In fact, he turned his house into a Christian information center, conducting Bible studies and sharing the good news about Jesus, the Savior of all.

On January 21, 2004, Ahmad heard a knock on his door.  He opened the door, expecting to greet his guest, and instead was met by a firestorm of bullets.  Ahmad El-Achwal died that day, the victim of religious persecution.  Unfortunately, Ahmad is not alone.  Each year, hundreds, if not thousands of people are harassed, tortured and yes even killed for what they believe.  In places like Afghanistan, North Korea, Egypt, Burma and the Sudan, Christians are openly being hunted down and killed, often at the hands of Islamic fundamentalists.

Here in the United States, Christians have been largely spared from such overt acts of religious violence.  Yet, that doesn’t mean we don’t face a certain amount of persecution.  For many in our fallen world, Christians still are, as Paul puts it, “the smell of death.”  Satan hates God’s people and does everything to make our lives miserable—often using attacks, both verbal and physical, to achieve his goals.  Often times we find ourselves feeling beaten down, outnumbered by those who are so opposed to Christ.  The question is, how are we to deal with such opposition?  How will we be able to continue to confess Christ, as Ahmad El Achwal did, no matter what the cost?  That’s the question that our Bible lesson for today takes up, namely,

How Shall I Deal with Persecution?
Jesus’ answer is twofold:
I. Expect it
II. Don’t be Afraid of it

First, expect it.  In the verses immediately preceding our text, Jesus said to his disciples, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16).  All men will hate you because of me.  When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.”(Mt. 10:22)  Notice two things about Jesus’ words there.  First, notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “If you are persecuted.”  He says, “When you are persecuted.”  In other words, “it’s going to happen—expect it!”  But notice, secondly, that Jesus says, “when it happens…flee from it.”  In other words, Jesus doesn’t say that we should go looking for persecution.  He doesn’t say that we should try to become a martyr.  Notice that’s a far cry from the mindset of Islamic fundamentalists who view martyrdom as a badge of honor they can achieve by voluntarily strapping on a bomb and blowing themselves up in the middle of a crowded street.

Jesus’ point to his disciples is, “You don’t need to go out and find persecution.  Instead, it will find you.  And why is that?  Why should we expect persecution?  Because that’s what happened to Jesus.  Jesus tells us here in our text.  “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.”  In other words, if Jesus, our leader, was forced to endure beatings, ridicule and ultimately death at the hands of his enemies, why should we expect anything less?  Do we think we’ll be somehow spared all that?  Do we think that we are above our teacher?

Jesus says, “No way.”  In fact, in his words, “If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household.”  In other words, if people said that Jesus was of the Devil—and they did, for that is what the name Beelzebub means.  They accused Jesus of being demon possessed or being the head of the demons—then how much more so would they say that of his followers?  If the world hated Jesus, then why wouldn’t they feel the same way about his followers?

Think about how that hatred, that animosity toward Christ and his people, shows itself.  Maybe it’s your college humanities professor who openly ridicules your belief in a six day creation.  He lampoons your faith by saying there is no better than his theory that the universe came into being at the hands of cosmic chipmunks.  Or, maybe what really gets people riled up is your claim that Jesus is the only path to heaven.  When you say that all those other religions out there are futile man-made attempts to earn God’s favor—and are therefore doomed to fail, they accuse you of being judgmental or intolerant of other people’s beliefs. 

And when you say that there is a divine Judge who holds people accountable for all of our thoughts, words and actions, according to the unchanging standards of God’s moral law, then you’re labeled as hopelessly naïve, or old-fashioned, or somehow limiting the human spirit.  In fact, sometimes just letting your light shine, that is, being a moral, honest person, with a good attitude, sometimes even that is enough to set people off.  “Who do you think you are?  You think you’re better than everyone else?” 

If you think about it, what are all these various verbal attacks designed to do?  What’s Satan’s ultimate goal by having our faith attacked by the people around us?  Isn’t it to get us to abandon our faith?  To turn our back on Jesus, to say, “I’d rather just blend in with the crowd.”  And so often, what is the driving force behind that decision?  Isn’t it fear?  “I’m afraid of what other people will think.  I’m afraid they won’t like me.  I’m afraid of being labeled a prude.  I’m afraid of being passed over for a promotion.  I’m afraid I might upset a member of my family.  Or maybe if I happen to live in a country where there are no religious freedoms, I’m afraid of being harassed, or tortured or even put to death for taking a stand for Christ.   In light of all those forces, striving to get us to hide our faith, go with the flow, and deny our Lord, what is Jesus’ advice?  When we are faced with persecution of any kind, Jesus says, expect it, but II. Don’t be afraid of it.  

Actually, here in our text Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid of them.”  In other words, don’t be afraid of the people who are initiation these various forms of persecution.  And why shouldn’t we be afraid of them—especially if they would like nothing more than to see us dead?  Why shouldn’t we be afraid of them?  Jesus says, “Because they can kill the body, but they can’t kill the soul.”  Listen to Jesus’ words, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” 

Now, what does Jesus mean by that?  Who is the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell?  No, he’s not talking about the Devil.  Rather, Jesus is referring to God.  God is the only one who can send a soul to hell forever.  So whom should you fear more?  God or man?  You should fear God more.  In other words, you should be more concerned about where you stand in the eyes of God than in the eyes of men.

So, where do you stand in the eyes of God?  Well, fortunately, the Bible says that on account of Jesus’ perfect life and innocent death, you stand forgiven.  Paul writes to the Romans, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).  That means that God sees you and me as perfectly holy, innocent in his eyes.  We stand acquitted in his court of law.  That’s what leads St. Paul to say in Romans 8, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  In other words, if God is on our side, what do we have to fear?  Do we need to be afraid of ridicule or persecution or death?  No way. 

When I used to train college students to do canvassing with me, and we’d go door to door asking people what they believed, sometimes the students would be a little nervous about what kind of reception they would receive.  They’d say, “What if people start yelling at us, or slam the door in our face?”  My response, although a bit facetious, was, “Wait a minute what’s the worse thing that could happen to you?  Someone could open the door and fill you full of lead.  So?  So, you go straight to heaven for trying to share the gospel.  Is that so bad?  Did they really hurt you?  Not really.  You really have nothing to be afraid of.”  It’s just like the Psalmist once said, “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?” (Ps. 118:6).

Well, if that’s true about something as serious as being shot for being a believer, isn’t it also true of all the other forms of abuse we may have to endure as a Christian?  Here in our text, Jesus says there are two reasons that we don’t need to be afraid.  First, because God knows what’s going on.  How does Jesus put it?  “There is nothing concealed that will not be declared, or hidden that will not be made known.”  In other words, God knows about those who are making your life hard.  He knows about those who speak against Christ, both publicly and privately.  In the end, it will all come out. 

Secondly, he not only knows, he cares.  He gives his personal attention to the very details of what’s going on in your life.  Jesus puts it this way, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth far more than many sparrows.”  I don’t know about you, but I find those words very comforting.  Sometimes when my faith is being challenged or when it becomes really hard to speak up for Christ, or when Satan is using all kinds of trials in my life to pull me away from God, it’s important to remember that: 1. God knows.  He knows what I’m going through.  2. God cares.  If he cares about the sparrows, he certainly cares about me.  Jesus didn’t die for sparrows.  He died for sinners.  And if two sparrows can be bought for a penny, how much more valuable am I, whom Jesus bought with his own blood?

Let’s face it, sometimes it’s hard to stand up, stand up for Jesus.  It’s hard to live for him and harder still to be willing to die for him.  There are times when we’ve failed miserably to clearly confess Christ with our words and actions.  And yet, it’s at times like these that God invites us to come back to the cross.  To find in Jesus’ blood and righteousness, full forgiveness for our sins, forgiveness for those times when we’ve failed to speak up.  And just as importantly, to find in Christ’s cross the strength to say, “I know what God has done for me, the mercy he has given me, the eternal life he has guaranteed me.  And therefore I will say with the psalmist of old, “In God I trust.  I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:11).  May God bless your clear confession of Christ n matter what persecution you may face, for Jesus’ sake.  Amen.