When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He left the legacy of a rose bush. In time it becomes beautiful, but those thorns go deep and they hurt. In the verses leading up to this one, Jesus describes with painful clarity many of those thorns, saying, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves".
For context's sake, wolves eat sheep.
Jesus continues describing all of the terrible things that will happen to His people. And while we don't really see people getting flogged in local synagogues anymore. We hear about families destroying converts, and we feel the effect of everyone hating Christ. But despite that, Jesus left us hope.
Don't be afraid of them.
Jesus died for our sins, and He died for their sins too. Just because we've accepted it and they haven't, we are going to suffer. But we have hope in a life everlasting. All they have is the fiery lake.
Don't be afraid of them. If they kill you, so what? You get to be with Jesus. If they taunt you and flaunt at you, so what? For you, it's just an opportunity to show God's glory and share the good news. So don't be afraid. Choose the perspective that will best help you see things for what they are - spiritual battles.
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