John 16:1-4 (NIV)
“All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.”
Jesus had not only told the disicples repeatedly over the last few months about His departure, which was now upon them, but had also just given them the encouraging news that He and the Father would send the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to be with them in His place. That was good news as far as it went.
But now the picture turned several shades darker. Not only was Jesus a target for His enemies, but after His departure, the disicples would be as well!
This upcoming persecution would often take milder forms, such as being put out of the synagogue, basically what we now think of as being excommunicated and kicked out of the community. This was a fearsome thing to anticipate: having to choose between Jesus on one side, and family and friends on the other.
But the persecution had potential to run much deeper than that. Jesus also saw a time went the disciples would even be killed for their faith in Jesus, while those who killed them felt no regret, even believing that they were acting on God’s behalf.
Jesus’ point in sharing this with the disicples was not to freak them out (although this news definitely did), but to tell them clearly what would happen to them in the future, so that when it did happen, they would remember His prophecy, see how clearly and precisely it was being fulfilled, and deepen their faith in Him.
Jesus didn’t give a precise timeline for the fulfillment of these prophecies, so after Jesus was arrested and executed, the disicples went into hiding (John 20:19), afraid that these things would come to pass immediately.
But the time was not yet. The persecution would begin shortly after Pentecost, still several weeks in the future. And the deaths of the disicples would not begin for a few years. James, the brother of John, would be the first of the inner circle to die for His faith (Acts 12:1-3). Eventually all but John would die at the hands of those who needed the gospel.
When the persecution began, the now Spirit-filled disciples did indeed remember Jesus’ words, and took comfort in the fact that this was all foreseen. And they also took comfort in the fact that they were at the same time experiencing the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to be with them every step of the way (Matthew 28:20).
Father, when we experience negative consequences of following You, it is easy for us to grow discouraged or fearful. But both promises, both about the presence of the Holy Spirit and about the fact that we will suffer at the hands of those who need the gospel, are true for us as well. Help us, Lord, when the tide turns against us, to remember not only the promise of persecution, but also the promise of Jesus’ ongoing presence with us, and to take comfort and stay strong. Amen.
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