Earlier Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was attacked by someone who appears to be an Islamic extremist. Luckily it seems that the attacker failed in his endeavor in stabbing the Bishop. That said this event has brought to light some of the Bishop’s teachings, and one of those teachings has caught my eye. The teaching at hand is his teaching on persecution.
This teaching resonated with me so much that I decided to write an article on persecution.
The World We Live In
Sadly we live in a world that calls evil good and good evil. Because of this we as Christians who represent good through our Lord Jesus Christ, often are at the forefront of persecution. The world hates it when we speak the truth. This is so clearly seen in the West today. Think of it, our society has reconstructed itself into a society built on lies. Everything from homosexuality, abortion, gender, education, and more has been flipped on its head. Today in the West you will see the new dominant religion telling us that abortion the murder of babies in the womb is a good thing, in fact, they will define it as a god given “right” that women have. In a world that is so diluted with this evil nonsense, it is no wonder that we face persecution.
That said this was to be expected. We shouldn’t be surprised. Jesus warned us of this. In the words of our Lord: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said 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. Remember the word that I said 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.” (John 15:18–20) These words spoken by Jesus carry rich meaning for all of us.
Firstly Jesus tells us “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” This is a reflection from other teachings seen in 1 John 3:13 and 1 John 4:5. During the time when Jesus was speaking here the Jewish leaders were already planning to arrest and kill Jesus as seen in John 11:47. For us this means that even though we live a world that often rejects and betrays those who follow Jesus, we are not alone in our struggles. Jesus Himself faced rejection and hostility from the very people he came to save, yet He remained faithful in His love and grace. As we face opposition and adversity, we can find strength in Jesus’ example and remember that our faith is not without challenge or danger. Yet amid these challenges, we can take comfort in knowing that we are not alone and that Jesus stands with us, even to the end of the age.
Secondly, Jesus tells us: “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” This is a clear reflection of what we read in 1 John 4:5 “They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.” Because we are not of the world the world hates us. We, chosen by Jesus may still live in the world but we are spiritually united with Jesus. Because of this, we are no longer part of the world but, in Christ Jesus.
Lastly, Jesus reminds us: “Remember the word that I said 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.” In this verse Jesus references an earlier statement found in John 13:16 (“Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.“) and in Matthew 10:24 (“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.“) Why would we expect anything less than persecution. Our Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty was persecuted, wasn’t He? Here in the West we often, overlook persecution, because of the blessings, comfort, and security we have. However, throughout the history of the Church, we have been persecuted. From the beginning even until now. Think of the persecution under Herod Agrippa back in 43 A.D. or how about Nero from 64-68 A.D. Even today across the globe Christians are being persecuted for what they believe in. Think of modern-day Turkey, India, and the entire Middle East except for maybe Israel. Here in the West, we are lavished with the gift of security.
Last Few Points
However, there are a few points to make. firstly that gift of security I mentioned, is and always has been under attack by the world. Secondly, if we take a close look at what Jesus said we see that He said “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own;” Maybe for many of us that previously mentioned security is nothing more than just a mask for the world. So I say to you, my Brothers and Sisters, don’t dread the persecution, instead be thankful for it. Because it shows you that the Lord is with you. Remember “For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.“
