Responding to Persecutors
When Christians react to hostility with hostility, whether from government, society, or individuals, Satan triumphs.
The
reality of persecution raises several questions. How should disciples react to any opposition,
especially when they are persecuted by governments? Should they respond with
indignation, civil disobedience, and public protests, or are followers of Jesus
called to emulate his example?
The human desire to live without conflict
is understandable. Nevertheless, Jesus warns that all men who elect to
follow him will have “tribulation.” And he summons his disciples to
follow the same path that he did. The “servant is not greater than his
master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you” - (John 15:20,
16:33).
Each man who decides to become his disciple
must conform his to Christ’s example by “taking up the cross.” And in his day,
crucifixion was a violent and shameful death. But the disciple who refuses to do
so is “not worthy of me” - (Matthew 16:24).
Moreover, it is a “blessing” and not
a curse to suffer for him, although this is certainly counterintuitive and
contrary to the “wisdom of this world.” Unlike the expectations of this
fallen age, a disciple is to “rejoice and be glad” when persecuted for
his sake since “great is his reward in heaven.”
To follow the slain Lamb often
produces opposition, and his followers should not be surprised when persecution
comes. But the mind that is dominated by sin and self sees suffering for him as
a curse. Only the eye of faith perceives that it produces everlasting
rewards in the “age to come” - (Matthew 5:12).
And the teachings of Jesus about suffering
and persecution are echoed in the writings of the Apostles.
IN THESSALONICA
In the city of Thessalonica, the church
received the gospel in “much tribulation,” yet its members welcomed
Paul’s message despite hostility. In this way, they became “imitators”
of him.
Instead of anger or dismay, they accepted
the way of discipleship characterized by suffering for the gospel. In this way,
they became “examples” for the other churches in the region - (1 Thessalonians
1:6-8).
By enduring persecution, the Thessalonians
became “imitators” of the earlier saints “in Judea…who suffered the same
things by their own fellow-countrymen” - (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16).
After being compelled to leave Thessalonica,
Paul sent Timothy to assess the situation. He wanted no one to “shrink back
in these tribulations. For you yourselves know that we are appointed for this… We are destined to suffer tribulation.”
Thus, according to the Apostle, persecution results from following Jesus.
Years later, Paul expressed similar
sentiments to Timothy, including “what manner of persecutions” he endured.
He pointed to his sufferings as a pattern for disciples to imitate - for “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ
Jesus will be persecuted” - (2 Timothy 3:10-12).
BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
THE BIBLICAL hope
is forward-looking. Final
rewards and everlasting life are received in the “age to come.”
Suffering in the present is not pleasant,
but it “is a slight momentary affliction preparing us for an everlasting
weight of glory beyond all comparison” - (2 Corinthians 4:17, Revelation 22:12).
If anything, to suffer “unjustly”
is a sign of divine approval,
evidence that one is a true follower of Jesus. “When you do right and suffer
for it patiently, you have God's approval.” To endure rejection is what
it means to follow the Lord who “also suffered for you, leaving you an example to follow” -
(1 Peter 2:19-20).
We are not to “be frightened in anything
by our opponents.” Hostility is “clear evidence” of their destruction
but also of “our salvation.” God has graced us to suffer for His kingdom - (Philippians
1:28-29).
THE DISCIPLE’S RESPONSE
But we also instinctively respond in kind
to personal and corporate attacks. Human society sees self-defense and
retaliation as necessary and even morally justified reactions to threats and
assaults.
But Jesus prohibits his disciples from
engaging in retaliation, and he provides no exceptions to the rule. Revenge may
be the “way the world works,” but disciples are called to something vastly different.
When we are persecuted, we are to “love our enemies and pray for those who
persecute us.” It is by showing mercy to our enemy that we emulate
God and become “perfect” like Him - (Matthew 5:44-48).
Likewise, in his letter to the Romans, Paul exhorts disciples to “bless them that persecute, bless and do not curse.” They are to “render no one evil for evil.”
God’s justice is not blind, but the
disciple must “not avenge” him or herself. Instead, his follower is
called to leave justice in the hands of the God who will “repay” if, how, and when He sees fit -
(Romans 12:14-21).
The Apostle Peter also teaches believers to
“endure patiently” unjust suffering. Doing so demonstrates our “approval
by God,” which, logically, means our unwillingness to endure persecution
and our determination to avenge ourselves shows His disapproval.
And Peter points to Jesus and his death as
the ultimate example of how we are to respond to hostility – for to “this
you have been called because Christ also suffered for you leaving you an
example” - (1 Peter 2:19-23).
Our desire to respond to evil with
evil stems from our tendency to view persecutors and accusers as “enemies”.
But we must recall what we once were.
No one is born a disciple of Jesus. Every believer
is a convert. Previously, we were “enemies” of God, and we were only
reconciled to Him “by the death of his Son” – He died for us “while we
were yet sinners” - (Romans 5:6-10).
The true “enemies” of Christ are not “blood and flesh, but the principalities, the authorities, the world-holders of this darkness.” Human agents unwittingly carry out acts of aggression on behalf of their demonic overlords.
But on the Cross, Jesus did not overthrow the
political enemies of Israel. Instead, he triumphed over “the principalities
and powers.”
And now, in him, God is reconciling fallen men
to Himself and has bequeathed the ministry of reconciliation to the disciples
of His Son. And since we have received
mercy, who better to show mercy to our persecutors?
We are called to emulate Jesus. When
unjustly condemned, he refused to respond with anger and threats, either to the
Jewish authorities that betrayed him or the representative of Rome that executed
him.
And when Jesus was dying, he prayed for His
Father to forgive the very men who condemned him to death and nailed him to the
Cross.
When persecution does inevitably occur, as HIS
disciples, we must not respond with belligerence, rage, civil disobedience, and
especially, not with violence. One
cannot “overcome evil with evil.” When we react to hostility with rage
and violence, Satan triumphs, and we demonstrate just whose disciple we truly are.
