John 16:1-4
Jesus Followers Will Be Persecuted
1"All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. 2They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.
Jesus tells His disciples in the future they will be persecuted...He tells them He did not tell them this at first, because He was with them...He needed to teach and help them learn about the gospel and the truth...
People who put down Jesus and His followers are still with us today...Sometimes it is a difficult and sensitive thing and issue to talk about Jesus...Some people do not want to hear about Him or talk about it...
Jesus is still controversial today...Many think Jesus was a great religious leader and a prophet...Maybe the difficultly lies in Jesus saying no one comes to the Father, except through me...Or maybe it was Him saying things, such as before Abraham was born, I AM...Jesus spoke of My Father, and He was of the essence and nature with God...This would eventually get Him in trouble for blasphemy with the Jewish religious officials...He often forgave people's sins and many thought only God could forgive one of their sinning...
What He said and did was different then and is still difficult and different today...When saying He was a great prophet only, leads us to C. S. Lewis comments in Mere Christianity...C. S. Lewis tells us we have three choices to decide about Jesus...Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or our LORD...Jesus either lied about who He was, or was oblivious to it, and therefore a lunatic...But, if you believe what He said and did you must believe He is our LORD...
Healing, walking on water, turning water into wine, and being resurrected by God makes Him more than a prophet...