Matthew 5:11-12
Jesus on His Followers Sufferings
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
1 Peter 4:12-19
Suffering for Being a Christian
12 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. 13 But rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And,
“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
Paul Boasts of His Sufferings
16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. 17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. 19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!
Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder,been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.
There are people who hate people because of their faith...Jesus saw this coming...And the persecution of Christians is still happening today, but not to the degree it happened right after Jesus' death and ascension...It is something we do not think much about in our daily lives, but the early Christians after Jesus' death were heavily persecuted...And they were not so much persecuted until after His death...Maybe the Jewish Leaders and Roman officials thought that Jesus who was tried and died as a Criminal on the cross, believed that His followers were following a Criminal...If you believed in Jesus and openly admitted it, you could be at much risk...This was something that Jesus said was going to happen when He was alive...He said, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me...Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."...
Peter wrote in his first epistle about the suffering it takes to believe in Jesus...Peter said that the time has come to test yourself, as though something strange were happening to you...But rejoice in as much 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...
One comment I think worth mentioning is that Jesus resurrected after His death, and was on earth for an additional forty days after His death...I might think that the fact of the resurrection would have stopped or greatly reduced the number of persecutions, being that He is Divine (and His resurrection shows us He is quite Divine) and thus would have slowed down these persecutions...I might also think that it was only after He ascended into heaven that the persecutions started picking up...He was gone now and His enemies paid less attention to Him and what He had taught...(And what had He taught that deserved persecutions)...
Paul writes to the Corinthians about how he suffered and was persecuted to spread the word of Jesus to the world...Five times he had received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one...Three times he was beaten with rods, once he was pelted with stones, three times he was shipwrecked, he spent a night and a day in the open sea...And he had been constantly on the move trying to avoid his Jewish adversaries in trying to spread the word about Jesus...Paul had been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers...He had labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; he had known hunger and thirst and had often gone without food; and had been cold and naked...Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches...But through all this Paul did not feel weak...In Jesus' weakness, Paul found strength...Paul had many trials and tribulations, and was often persecuted...There would be a pressure of persecution of the new churches he was opening, as the members would build a new church and there would be stress for the members of following Jesus and being a Christian of that new church...
The many deaths of the early Christians and still today the few that happen around the world, show us that the persecutions and the sufferings for Jesus continues...The daily trials of His followers who live courageously in dangerous places are stories that speak so much of Jesus...He is the very One who is sinless and selfless...The very one came and dwelt on this earth to join with us in all its human troubles and all its problems...Yes, the human troubles...The problems were not the earth or Him...The earth is not problematic...If mankind left earth, the earth could continue...If human violence and persecution all left, could we see the problem?...The problem dwells in us and in our hearts...His stories still resonant in our hearts with His followers, and still seem to burn in the hearts of those who cannot see the Truth...