the reception to expect

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.

Matthew 24:9

Christians, when following Jesus sincerely, will inevitably be counter culture. The further a society explores its own self-driven compulsions in order to celebrate the triumph of the modern self, unrestrained by God’s Law and the Holy Spirit, the more counter-culture Christianity will appear. This is what Jesus warned His followers about when they pressed Him to teach them about “the end of the age”. Three words describe a world culture at war with Christian discipleship at the end of the age.

Tribulation. Literally the word means “pressure” or “oppression”. As the light of the gospel and the call to holy living shines in Christians who are serious about living like Jesus, the culture will push against the truth. Just like a sinful system worked to silence Jesus by confronting, beating, putting Him on trial, and crucifying Him, so an oppressive world will press in against His church when we truly follow Jesus. Christians should expect to get heckled, cancelled, maligned, ridiculed, “re-educated”, mocked, lied about, and pressured to relinquish their convictions and conform to the cultural “norms”. This pressure is promised by Jesus to be worldwide by the time of the end, with no safe haven from persecution.

Death. Martyrdom has existed from the beginning of the church. The blood of the martyrs has throughout history watered massive growth of the seeds of the gospel globally. In the past there have been pockets of safety from those who might kill Christians. This blood-oath against Christ however will be global in the time of the end. By Jesus’ own prophetic word, there will come a time that the killing of Christians will be the acceptable way to silence the gospel and will be seen as a benefit to society.

Hated. This is the root of the response against Jesus. It is as old as Cain’s hatred of his brother Abel for pleasing God. A sinful world running from accountability before a holy God will hate any who choose to live like Jesus, be changed by His work, be led by His Spirit, and who call others to such transformation by faith in the gospel. All Christians should realize that though we respond in love to ALL PEOPLE… no exceptions… we should expect hatred in return. We MUST love even if we are hated. We CANNOT hate back! Just as Jesus prayed “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”, so we must appeal to mercy and grace even if we are treated this way. It is what Jesus wants us to do.