A Life of Persecution
Question 1:
When have you had to prepare for something you knew would be challenging?
THE POINT
Living like Jesus means being treated as He was.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Many questions related to the Christian life don’t fall into life and death categories:
What’s your favorite version of the Bible?
How can I be a better group member?
If a church has a meal at the end of a service, is that called a potluck or an afterglow?
Questions like these have lower stakes. However, other questions about our walk with Christ carry great weight:
Am I prepared to suffer well?
Am I ready to be hated for the sake of Jesus?
Suffering may not be a common topic of conversation in our lives, but suffering for the sake of Jesus—being persecuted because we follow Him—is something He told us to expect. In John 15 and 16, on the heels of Christ’s command for us to love one another, the Lord warned us to prepare to suffer along with other believers. Jesus wanted to help us understand that living connected to Him means we will be mistreated like He was mistreated. But we can endure the hard times because He is with us and He is worth it.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
John 15:18-21
18 “If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. 20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don’t know the one who sent me.”
This is a difficult passage to read. It’s difficult, but also beautiful and logical. It’s difficult, because reading that the world hates the followers of Jesus is jarring, even scary, for those of us who follow Jesus. And it’s beautiful, because it reminds us that we have been loved by our Savior and called by that Savior out of a world of death into a world of life. Jesus declared He has chosen us out of this sin-filled, hostile, fallen world.
Jesus’ words are also logical. People who have been brought into the kingdom of God still live in the earthly realm; therefore, they are going to seem weird, wrong, and out of place to the people of this world. Our hearts, minds, values, and priorities are foreign to those who are not followers of Jesus. But we are still here—“sticking out” and standing out because we choose not to live like the world.
Verse 20 says we are servants of our Master, Jesus. Throughout this study we’ve seen how our Master wants us to live, love, and obey as we live connected to Him, but His ways are not the ways of the unbelieving world. His ways appear strange to the rest of the world. Christianity is supposed to be strange to the world around us. Following Jesus is supposed to look different. And conflict—even hatred—is inevitable as a result.
Question 2:
When have you seen someone encounter opposition for following Jesus?
What we believe and what the world believes don’t always line up. Our belief and trust in the resurrected Jesus support everything in our lives. We live with a desperate longing for the return of Christ. At times, we live so moved by what He did to give us that hope that we fight against our sinful human nature in order to be like Him. And when we are like Him, we are not like so many others in the world. We are aliens. We are strangers. We are “not of the world.”
There comes a point when the culture around us says, “We won’t take this ‘Jesus stuff’ anymore.” The thinking of the kingdom of heaven is too foreign and offensive to the culture that the followers of Jesus are persecuted just as Jesus was persecuted. As Jesus said, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (v. 20). When we bear the name of Jesus and live like Jesus, persecution is sure to come.
John 15:22-25
22 “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled: They hated me for no reason.”
When Jesus said, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin,” He was not saying He brought sin upon those who heard Him. What He brought was a full picture and realization of the truth and an opportunity for people to accept Him.
No one is without excuse. Even those without a gospel witness have the general revelation of nature to point them to God (Rom. 1:18-20). Jesus is talking about those who clearly have no excuse, for they saw and heard Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Jewish people witnessed the best thing that could ever happen to them—Jesus Himself. Tragically, they rejected that which they needed most. Having witnessed what they needed most and rejecting it, they remained in their sin.
The people saw Jesus serve extravagantly. Jesus taught passionately. Jesus healed lovingly. He ushered in a new kingdom of repentance that leads to life, showing people that He was the answer to their deepest need. The people saw all this, and they violently opposed Him. For many, the truth was revealed, but hatefully rejected. This is still happening today.
We were at a restaurant with some friends from church, including a woman who was new to our church. During dinner, she shared how her eyes had been opened to who Jesus is. She was from a Muslim family, but by the Holy Spirit working through the gospel, she became so clearly convinced of her need for Christ that she was willing to make the huge break from her culture, accept Christ, and become a Christian. She said she had been so excited about what she was experiencing in Jesus that she thought her parents would be open to the gospel as well. But, when she shared with them what God had done in her heart, her father told her to leave the house; he never wanted to see her again. I asked her when she had last seen her family, and her answer was surreal. She said, “I haven’t seen them in a few years. I talk to my mom every once in a while, but she tells me to stay away because my dad wants me dead.”
The truth was there. She embraced the truth in Jesus. She shared that same truth with her family, but they so thoroughly rejected the truth that they kicked her out and even threatened to kill her. We hate to hear that, but it is the reality of two worlds—two kingdoms—coming into conflict. The world continues to reject Jesus despite the beautiful truth He has revealed.
Question 3:
What is it about Jesus that many people find objectionable?
John 16:1-4a
1 “I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. 2 They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or me. 4a But I have told you these things so that when their time comes you will remember I told them to you.”
Those who hate Jesus also hate His followers, and they don’t just express this hate in their emotions; they also display it in their actions. We shouldn’t be shocked; in fact, we should be prepared. Such persecution may be as “mild” as ostracism—“They will ban you from the synagogues”—or as extreme as killing—“A time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God.”
All the disciples who first heard Jesus speak these words were killed for following Jesus, except John, who wrote this Gospel. And they weren’t the only ones. The early church experienced periods of persecution and martyrdom. For 2,000 years men and women all over the world have suffered and died because they were following Jesus.
Question 4:
How have you seen the teachings of Jesus distorted in our culture?
Jesus wanted His followers to be well aware of what could happen. “I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling.” I hope you hear a ring of encouragement in that. Jesus knows; none of this will ever catch Him by surprise. He is still God, and God is still in control. In addition, He promised the presence of His Holy Spirit in the previous verses (John 15:26-27). Persecution may come, but we’re not alone—and persecution is not the last chapter.
Let your heart be comforted. Persecution is scary, but it can’t impact the outcome. With these words, Jesus was, in a sense, reporting the news as He won the war. Therefore, we don’t anticipate persecution with our fingers crossed hoping things will work out. We anticipate persecution with our hands folded, knowing the battle has already been won. Jesus spoke matter-of-factly about hatred that will certainly come to us, but we can rest confidently in Him because He has already won the battle.
Question 5:
How can Jesus’ warning keep us from stumbling?
Engage
STEADFAST IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING
It’s easy to follow Jesus when everything is going well. We find it more difficult to remain steadfast during opposition. List five ways Christians may experience persecution because of Christ, and then answer the question.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Choose one of the ways Christians experience persecution (perhaps one you have experienced). How can believers respond well to such adversity?
“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
JOHN 16:33
LIVE IT OUT
Living like Jesus means being treated like He was. Choose one of the following applications:
Make a list. Write down some verses that speak of our hope in Jesus and the hope of heaven. Use these verses to encourage and prepare your heart not to stumble when you face persecution.
Listen. Tune in to an episode of the Voice of the Martyrs podcast this week and pray for the Christians who are being persecuted around the world.
Partner. Join with your small group to identify a missionary serving in a place where Christians are persecuted and, as a group, support them prayerfully and perhaps financially. You can find help with this at imb.org.
Suffering may not be at the top of the list of things we want to talk about as Christians, but it’s a reality. We have fellow Christians around the world today, suffering without stumbling. As we consider persecution this week, let’s pray that God will help us remember His worthiness, rest in His love, and rejoice that He will help us overcome. [LifeWay Adults (2020). (p. 45). Bible Studies for Life: Adult Personal Study Guide - CSB - Spring 2022. LifeWay Press. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]
Question 1:
When have you had to prepare for something you knew would be challenging?
THE POINT
Living like Jesus means being treated as He was.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Many questions related to the Christian life don’t fall into life and death categories:
What’s your favorite version of the Bible?
How can I be a better group member?
If a church has a meal at the end of a service, is that called a potluck or an afterglow?
Questions like these have lower stakes. However, other questions about our walk with Christ carry great weight:
Am I prepared to suffer well?
Am I ready to be hated for the sake of Jesus?
Suffering may not be a common topic of conversation in our lives, but suffering for the sake of Jesus—being persecuted because we follow Him—is something He told us to expect. In John 15 and 16, on the heels of Christ’s command for us to love one another, the Lord warned us to prepare to suffer along with other believers. Jesus wanted to help us understand that living connected to Him means we will be mistreated like He was mistreated. But we can endure the hard times because He is with us and He is worth it.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
John 15:18-21
18 “If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. 20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don’t know the one who sent me.”
This is a difficult passage to read. It’s difficult, but also beautiful and logical. It’s difficult, because reading that the world hates the followers of Jesus is jarring, even scary, for those of us who follow Jesus. And it’s beautiful, because it reminds us that we have been loved by our Savior and called by that Savior out of a world of death into a world of life. Jesus declared He has chosen us out of this sin-filled, hostile, fallen world.
Jesus’ words are also logical. People who have been brought into the kingdom of God still live in the earthly realm; therefore, they are going to seem weird, wrong, and out of place to the people of this world. Our hearts, minds, values, and priorities are foreign to those who are not followers of Jesus. But we are still here—“sticking out” and standing out because we choose not to live like the world.
Verse 20 says we are servants of our Master, Jesus. Throughout this study we’ve seen how our Master wants us to live, love, and obey as we live connected to Him, but His ways are not the ways of the unbelieving world. His ways appear strange to the rest of the world. Christianity is supposed to be strange to the world around us. Following Jesus is supposed to look different. And conflict—even hatred—is inevitable as a result.
Question 2:
When have you seen someone encounter opposition for following Jesus?
What we believe and what the world believes don’t always line up. Our belief and trust in the resurrected Jesus support everything in our lives. We live with a desperate longing for the return of Christ. At times, we live so moved by what He did to give us that hope that we fight against our sinful human nature in order to be like Him. And when we are like Him, we are not like so many others in the world. We are aliens. We are strangers. We are “not of the world.”
There comes a point when the culture around us says, “We won’t take this ‘Jesus stuff’ anymore.” The thinking of the kingdom of heaven is too foreign and offensive to the culture that the followers of Jesus are persecuted just as Jesus was persecuted. As Jesus said, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (v. 20). When we bear the name of Jesus and live like Jesus, persecution is sure to come.
John 15:22-25
22 “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled: They hated me for no reason.”
When Jesus said, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin,” He was not saying He brought sin upon those who heard Him. What He brought was a full picture and realization of the truth and an opportunity for people to accept Him.
No one is without excuse. Even those without a gospel witness have the general revelation of nature to point them to God (Rom. 1:18-20). Jesus is talking about those who clearly have no excuse, for they saw and heard Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Jewish people witnessed the best thing that could ever happen to them—Jesus Himself. Tragically, they rejected that which they needed most. Having witnessed what they needed most and rejecting it, they remained in their sin.
The people saw Jesus serve extravagantly. Jesus taught passionately. Jesus healed lovingly. He ushered in a new kingdom of repentance that leads to life, showing people that He was the answer to their deepest need. The people saw all this, and they violently opposed Him. For many, the truth was revealed, but hatefully rejected. This is still happening today.
We were at a restaurant with some friends from church, including a woman who was new to our church. During dinner, she shared how her eyes had been opened to who Jesus is. She was from a Muslim family, but by the Holy Spirit working through the gospel, she became so clearly convinced of her need for Christ that she was willing to make the huge break from her culture, accept Christ, and become a Christian. She said she had been so excited about what she was experiencing in Jesus that she thought her parents would be open to the gospel as well. But, when she shared with them what God had done in her heart, her father told her to leave the house; he never wanted to see her again. I asked her when she had last seen her family, and her answer was surreal. She said, “I haven’t seen them in a few years. I talk to my mom every once in a while, but she tells me to stay away because my dad wants me dead.”
The truth was there. She embraced the truth in Jesus. She shared that same truth with her family, but they so thoroughly rejected the truth that they kicked her out and even threatened to kill her. We hate to hear that, but it is the reality of two worlds—two kingdoms—coming into conflict. The world continues to reject Jesus despite the beautiful truth He has revealed.
Question 3:
What is it about Jesus that many people find objectionable?
John 16:1-4a
1 “I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. 2 They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or me. 4a But I have told you these things so that when their time comes you will remember I told them to you.”
Those who hate Jesus also hate His followers, and they don’t just express this hate in their emotions; they also display it in their actions. We shouldn’t be shocked; in fact, we should be prepared. Such persecution may be as “mild” as ostracism—“They will ban you from the synagogues”—or as extreme as killing—“A time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God.”
All the disciples who first heard Jesus speak these words were killed for following Jesus, except John, who wrote this Gospel. And they weren’t the only ones. The early church experienced periods of persecution and martyrdom. For 2,000 years men and women all over the world have suffered and died because they were following Jesus.
Question 4:
How have you seen the teachings of Jesus distorted in our culture?
Jesus wanted His followers to be well aware of what could happen. “I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling.” I hope you hear a ring of encouragement in that. Jesus knows; none of this will ever catch Him by surprise. He is still God, and God is still in control. In addition, He promised the presence of His Holy Spirit in the previous verses (John 15:26-27). Persecution may come, but we’re not alone—and persecution is not the last chapter.
Let your heart be comforted. Persecution is scary, but it can’t impact the outcome. With these words, Jesus was, in a sense, reporting the news as He won the war. Therefore, we don’t anticipate persecution with our fingers crossed hoping things will work out. We anticipate persecution with our hands folded, knowing the battle has already been won. Jesus spoke matter-of-factly about hatred that will certainly come to us, but we can rest confidently in Him because He has already won the battle.
Question 5:
How can Jesus’ warning keep us from stumbling?
Engage
STEADFAST IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING
It’s easy to follow Jesus when everything is going well. We find it more difficult to remain steadfast during opposition. List five ways Christians may experience persecution because of Christ, and then answer the question.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Choose one of the ways Christians experience persecution (perhaps one you have experienced). How can believers respond well to such adversity?
“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
JOHN 16:33
LIVE IT OUT
Living like Jesus means being treated like He was. Choose one of the following applications:
Make a list. Write down some verses that speak of our hope in Jesus and the hope of heaven. Use these verses to encourage and prepare your heart not to stumble when you face persecution.
Listen. Tune in to an episode of the Voice of the Martyrs podcast this week and pray for the Christians who are being persecuted around the world.
Partner. Join with your small group to identify a missionary serving in a place where Christians are persecuted and, as a group, support them prayerfully and perhaps financially. You can find help with this at imb.org.
Suffering may not be at the top of the list of things we want to talk about as Christians, but it’s a reality. We have fellow Christians around the world today, suffering without stumbling. As we consider persecution this week, let’s pray that God will help us remember His worthiness, rest in His love, and rejoice that He will help us overcome. [LifeWay Adults (2020). (p. 45). Bible Studies for Life: Adult Personal Study Guide - CSB - Spring 2022. LifeWay Press. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]