Matthew 5:10-12
Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted in the Name of Jesus
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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.
In John's Gospel he writes that all things were made through Jesus...So without doubt, Jesus greatly influenced the world...When He came to earth and dwelt among us, He changed almost everything in the way we used to look at things, especially for those who believe in Him...His teachings strengthened the world in morality, the arts, how He relates science and the political ways and beliefs to His Ways and Beliefs...He would eventually create a New Religion...Author Thomas Huxley wrote: “The science, the art, the jurisprudence, the chief political and social theories, of the modern world have grown out of Greece and Rome—not by favour of, but in the teeth of, the fundamental teachings of early Christianity, to which science, art, and any serious occupation with the things of this world were alike despicable.”...
Jesus' Disciples and early followers saw this and felt His Presence through His Teachings and Deeds and Miracles...And even though for three centuries, Christianity would not become a formal religion...The early Christian knew that he had a high chance of being persecuted...After all Jesus has told them this...Jesus says "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."...He told them to remember what He told Them: "A servant is not greater than His Master...If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also...If they obeyed My teaching, they will obey yours also."...It would take time, and over a period of many years for this to happen...But Jesus' followers persevered...
Author and Ancient Professor of History, Kate Cooper wrote: “For the first three centuries, affiliation with the Christian movement had been against the law, even if the authorities were often prepared to turn a blind eye...Yet adversity can sometimes bring out the best in people...During this period, the Christian leaders had been comparatively humble individuals, who knew it was not in their interest to attract unnecessary attention, but who could be counted on to exhibit fortitude in the face of trials.”...“Even if three centuries of outsider status and intermittent persecution had tested the endurance of individuals and communities, coping with the patronage of a newly Christian emperor posed a challenge...The challenge was all the more threatening for its moral complexity...Was it right for the churches to accept the Emperor's favour, knowing full well that if they did so, they also tacitly accepted his right, so evident in all other aspects of life in the Roman Empire, to call the shots?”...
For three hundred years, Christians were persecuted by the Romans and by those not believing in Him...As time wore on there were less persecutions of Jesus followers...And finally in 313 AD, the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which accepted Christianity...Ten years later, Christianity had become the official religion of the Roman Empire...Constantine stood out because he became a Christian and unabashedly made Jesus the patron of his army...By 313, just two contenders remained, Constantine and Licinius...The two jointly issued the Edict of Milan, which made Christianity a legal religion and officially ended the persecution of Christians...Jesus had created a New Religion...Christianity was now an official religion...