Even those closest to you will betray you!

Luke 21:12-19

Jesus continued to tell the people: “But before all this occurs, there will be a time of special persecution, and you will be dragged into synagogues and prisons and before kings and governors for my name’s sake. But as a result, the Messiah will be widely known and honored. Therefore, don’t be concerned about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such logic that none of your opponents will be able to reply! Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will betray you and have you arrested; and some of you will be killed. And everyone will hate you because you are mine and are called by my name. But not a hair of your head will perish! For if you stand firm, you will win your souls.”

Food for thought!

Since the beginning of the week Jesus is in the Temple of Jerusalem. In there, he has expelt the sellers who had turned the place into a market place. Then he watched the worshippers as they donated, and praised a poor widow that put in more than the rich. Then he cautioned those who were admiring the beauty of the temple and its ornaments. Today, Jesus continues from yesterday.

The disciples are warned that they will be delivered up to court and jail. This is a reference to the Jewish Sanhedrin, which was their version of the Supreme Court. They would also stand before “rulers and kings”, who would interrogate them concerning their preaching and doctrine. They would be hunted, hounded, beaten, and some would even die, for standing by Jesus.

This prophecy was literally fulfilled in theearly church.

• Acts 4 – Peter and John faced the Sanhedrin and gave an account of the healing of the lame man at the Temple.

• Acts 7 – Stephen is tried by the Sanhedrin and is condemned to die.

• Acts 9:22-25 – The Jews want to kill Paul for His preaching.

• Acts 12 – James and Peter are arrested by King Herod. They are imprisoned and scheduled to be executed. James is beheaded, but Peter is delivered by a divine miracle.

• Acts 14:19 – Paul is stoned and left for dead at Lystra.

• Acts 16:19-24 – Paul and Silas are imprisoned in Philippi.

• Acts 18:12-17 – Paul is persecuted in Macedonia.

• Acts 19 – Paul is arrested and tried in Ephesus.

• Acts 21 – Paul is arrested and held for trial in Jerusalem.

• Acts 24 – Paul is tried before Felix.

• Acts 26 – Paul is tried before Festus and King Agrippa.

• Acts 27-28 – Paul is kept under arrest and sent by ship to stand trial before Caesar. Paul remains a prisoner in Rome until he is executed by the Romans.

That is but a brief sampling of the kind of persecution that rocked the early church. Here is Paul’s own testimony concerning the things he suffered for Jesus, 2 Cor. 11:23-27.

I have worked harder, been put in jail more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again and again. Five different times the Jews gave me their terrible thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I was in the open sea all night and the whole next day. I have traveled many weary miles and have been often in great danger from flooded rivers and from robbers and from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the hands of the Gentiles. I have faced grave dangers from mobs in the cities and from death in the deserts and in the stormy seas and from men who claim to be brothers in Christ but are not. I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights. Often I have been hungry and thirsty and have gone without food; often I have shivered with cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.


Like the disciples of Jesus of yesterday, today's disciples, you and me, have our own suffering that we must undergo. As Helen Keller put it, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambitions inspired, and success achieved.”