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Persecution is a gateway for the kingdom (Acts 14:22).
This is a major theme in Luke and Acts, and especially Acts 21 to 28. Paul’s arrest, trials and journey to Rome establish and illustrate the principle. Opposition is an opportunity to witness. As the saga begins, Paul bears witness before a bloodthirsty mob in Jerusalem, just as Stephen did some 20 years earlier. He speaks of his credentials as a faithful Jew (Acts 22:1-5), his encounter with Jesus at Damascus (Acts 22:6-16), and his commission to the Gentiles (Acts 22:17-21).
This last point adds new information to Paul’s testimony. When he returned to Jerusalem after his conversion, Jesus appeared to him in the temple and told him to get out of town fast, because they will not accept your testimony about Me (Acts 22:18). At that moment, Paul reminded Jesus about Stephen’s death: When the blood of Your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving (Acts 22:20). And then, Jesus commissioned him: Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21).
Persecution is part of the package for the disciple of Jesus.
Up to this point in Paul’s speech, the crowd had listened in silence. But as soon as he mentioned his commission to the Gentiles, they shouted for his death (Acts 22:22). Why this uproar? For the next six chapters of Acts, the Roman authorities keep trying to unearth the reason for the rage against Paul (Acts 22:24, 30). They never find it. But we know the reason. Paul had been Judaism’s Goliath against the Church. But he suddenly switched sides. And now, he is not only converting Jews, but Gentiles too and without circumcising them! Away with him!
So Paul picks up where Stephen left off. His phrase, the blood of Your witness in verse 20 marks the first time the word witness is linked to martyrdom. The English words martyr and witness are in fact one word in Greek. Before Stephen and Paul, it simply meant witness. But from Acts 22:20, it takes on the idea of witness unto death. By the time you reach Revelation 12:11, the link is fixed: They overcame [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their witness, and they loved not their lives unto death (CT).
Blood and witness flow together. Paul succeeds Stephen in both mission and in martyrdom. Faithful under fire. Faithful unto death. Witness is to die for. Not if. But when.
Fast and pray
Some years ago in Afghanistan, a missionary couple was murdered in their bed by enemies of the Gospel. While bleeding to death, the wife dipped her finger in her blood and wrote three words: We love Afghanistan. She loved not her life unto death.
- Persecution is part of the package for the disciple of Jesus. There’s nothing surprising or strange about it (1 Peter 4:12). Slander. Scorn. Social ostracism. Betrayal. Physical abuse. Torture. Martyrdom. Not if, but when. The difference is only in degree. We forget too easily, and as a result we fail to pray. We happily affirm our Millennials’ growing interest in Singapore’s role as Antioch of Asia. But are we preparing them well to suffer as witnesses for Jesus in a hostile environment? Return to the Gospel. Hear once again Jesus’ forewarnings and assurances. Pause. Ponder and pray Matthew 10:
16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17… they will deliver you over to courts and flog you…. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from Your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before My Father who is in heaven.
- Pray: Lord Jesus, smash our fantasies of what it means to be a Christian. Make it align with the testimony of Scriptures and the lives of the apostles. More often than not, it means to suffer shame for Your glorious name. It is to be cheerful in affliction. It means rejection of the world and by the world. By Your Spirit, empower me to walk in victory in all circumstances. I desire to identify with Your life fully, from Your birth in a filthy manger to Your painful death on the scandalous cross. I will not run from drinking the cup You give me. My life is not mine to control, it is Yours to use for Your glory. Remind me every day that I follow a crucified Lord. Help me to walk in a way that is worthy of Your name (Ting Siew Lee).
- Remember the Persecuted Church, faithful under fire, faithful unto death. Regular bombings in Syria have moved the Church beyond her walls. Christians are walking with people who are suffering, sharing the hope of Jesus… discovering there is joy and light in Jesus. We are not passing through anything our Lord did not pass through Himself and triumph over. Being persecuted is nothing. We have been persecuted for centuries, and it does not hurt the Church but serves it (Open doors). Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23:4).
Read the devotional from Day 30: Fake news here.
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