A friend of mine wrote this. I thought it was good and asked if I could post it to this blog. He did not desire attribution. I started a series on practical spiritual warfare tactics, and more posts will come. We need an understanding of mercy and forgiveness and I do not consider myself an authority on forgiveness, so I will let my friend discuss it.
I have had a thought in my mind lately about how, as Christians, how we die is a greater witness than how we live. I think my friend hits on that topic pretty well.
I have seen the movie my friend refers to, "Paul: Apostle of Christ" starring Jim Caviezel as Luke. It is very good. It's available on Pure Flix. I copied this from a pdf, so any formatting errors are mine from pasting into Blogger's editor and trying to fix the line breaks. The post begins below:
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One of my earliest memories of Sunday School was the story of Jesus’ arrest at Gethsemane. I remember feeling the frustration at the disciples as they could not stay awake while Jesus prayed but when Judas came to arrest Him, things got a bit more interesting:
John 18:10
“Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the High Priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear…”
I remember thinking to myself, “Yes! Fight for Jesus! Don’t let them arrest Him!”
Luke 22:51
‘But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And He touched the man’s ear and healed him.’
Really?!?! No fight to defend Jesus?
This attitude permeated much of my younger life. I wanted to be militant in my defense of Jesus and Christianity but couldn’t understand why even the Apostles didn’t defend themselves when arrested or the people didn’t stop them from being arrested.
Acts Chapter 4 - Peter and John before the Sanhedrin.
Acts 7:54-59 - The stoning of Stephen
Acts 8:1-3 - Persecution and scattering of the church
Acts 12 - King Herod persecuting the Christians and arresting them, James killed by the sword
Throughout the entire New Testament you read about the persecutions that had been levied against Christians but not a single uprising, no defense, not even a scuffle.
I couldn’t understand why, if they truly believed Jesus to be the Son of God, that He died for our sins, was resurrected and ascended into heaven, why weren’t they much more adamant about protecting themselves and ensuring they were able to worship without persecution? After all, Israel was charged by God to take back their homeland after leaving Egypt, were they not?
What changed with Jesus’ coming? Why does God allow Christians to continue to be persecuted to this day throughout the world?
In my youth, I had agreed with the original concept of the Crusades: to defend the faith. I wanted to be able to take a stand against those that were defiling churches, burning Bibles, desecrating and removing crosses and generally make sure the world knew not to mess with Christians. Whether it was from respect for our worship or fear of Christians pushing back, I wanted to make sure the persecutions of Christians came to an end.
I continually struggled with the reasons why. I tried to find any scrap of evidence in the Bible where God gave us a license to defend ourselves against the persecution.
I found not one verse.
I watched the movie Paul - Apostle of Christ with Jim Caviezel as Luke and James Faulkner as Paul. There was a scene where a boy who had been living in the Christian community in Rome had been brutalized and killed by Roman soldiers while he was returning from running a message. Several of the younger men in the community, angered by the senseless killing, decided to take up arms and fight back against the Romans; even going to the extent to try to free Paul from prison and ultimately to overthrow Nero.
While not supported in scripture, I can imagine there have been others who have had the same inclination; the same thought; the same desire to serve justice on those who seek to stamp out Christianity.
In the movie, when the armed resistance tries to convince Paul that he should leave with them. James Faulkner responds to their statements that he will die in prison with,
“You say you come in His name, but it is clear you do not know Him.”
What does it mean to “know Him”?
I started going back through the Gospels and reading what Jesus had to say when confronted by the Pharisees, Sadducees and Sanhedrin. Each time Jesus was challenged, He responded with the authority of God, yet in humility. He rebuked them, but the impact was not the force of His speaking but the truth of His words and the knowledge he possessed as the Son of God.
This was a man who, at the age of 12, was in the temple listening to the teachers and asking them questions:
Luke 2:47
“Everyone who heard Him was amazed at His understanding and His answers.”
2 Have you been in a situation where you knew, without a doubt, the correct answer to a question but waited patiently for your turn to answer? Calmly waiting to be called on. In no hurry whatsoever. Humbly waiting for your turn.
It is that confidence in knowing you have the right answer. It is that very same confidence that we need to have in what we know about God’s Plan and His sacrifice for us that we need to cling to. But that confidence can only come when we put our trust in God.
That is simply a taste as to what it must have been like. Jesus knows the Law of God. He knows the scriptures. For the teachers and scholars to be attacking Him during his ministry and for Him to show such restraint and humility and to provide the answers to their questions and accusations.
He also knew the prophesy: that He would be hung on a cross, that His blood would be shed to cleanse our sins, and that He would die and in three days be resurrected.
Matthew 26:53
“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”
Again, in my youth, I always wanted Jesus to call upon God for those angels to protect Him and save Him.
But Matthew 26:54 tells us why Jesus did not call upon His Father:
“But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
Jesus knew why He wouldn’t call upon His Father. He knew exactly what was going to happen to Him in the coming hours: the torture, the humiliation, the pain and suffering. But He also knew why the prophesy had to be fulfilled. He had to fulfill the prophesy out of His love for us. For God’s love for us. For our salvation, the cleansing of our souls from the sin that taints us all by the shedding of his blood. To finally wash away that taint so we will be with Him in heaven for eternity.
John 14:2-3
“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
3 So we know why Jesus endured the suffering and anguish. But are we asked to suffer the persecution for the same reason?
Colossians 2:15 - Paul writes:
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
Jesus Christ has already triumphed over every enemy. God has already won! Christ’s death and resurrection was the final blow.
Philippians 1:21 - Paul says:
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
The last part of that verse I think we all have an idea of what that means.
“To die is gain”
That simply means we will be with Jesus for eternity when we leave this earth. How joyous is that? But what are we to do in the meantime while we are still here?
Philippians 1:23-24
“I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”
Paul is simply saying that while it would be easier to be with Christ in eternity, there is still much work to be done here on earth. As long as he remains here, it is better for other Christians for him to continue God’s work: spreading the Good News, letting the world know that Jesus Christ has conquered all, helping to bring His flock closer to Him.
But why must we endure the persecutions and endure them without without fighting back?
As James Faulkner says in Paul - Apostle of Christ, “Christ has already triumphed over every enemy by the cross.”
There is no need for us to fight back. This life is temporary and our trust in God, to truly believe that Jesus is God’s only son who had been sacrificed for us, that His blood was shed to cleanse us of our sins, and that He rose again and has ascended into heaven, is the key to having that confidence. and that confidence and trust in God is what enables us to endure the persecution.
4 2 Corinthians 4:18 - Paul states:
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Many have given their lives in service to Jesus Christ: Stephen, Paul, Peter, James, etc. The list goes on.
Perhaps the simplest way of putting it is simply that;
“It doesn’t matter.”
Mark 8:35
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their lifer me and for the gospel will save it.”
Perhaps the best direct lessons we can learn are from Jesus on the cross and Stephen:
Luke 23:34
“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’”
Acts 7:59-60
“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep.”
To truly love your fellow man enough to understand that those committing the persecution are as lost as any can be and they are the ones who really need to come to Christ is the real tragedy.
Luke 15:4
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?”
The pain God feels at losing any of His sheep is far greater than any pain we can endure here in this life. Those who are persecuting us are just as lost. To be blinded by such hatred is to be truly lost and they may never be found. Forgiveness for those who persecute us is probably the best show of mercy that we can provide them; even if it is the last act we are able to perform in this life.
5 James 2:12-13 - James writes:
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement.”
As God has shown us mercy, so should we all for others; especially those who perpetrate the worst against us. For us to show mercy, is for us to forgive others as God has forgiven us.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 - Paul writes:
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Our strength begins with our weaknesses. Our weaknesses make Christ’s power perfect. It is Christ’s power that gives us strength.
Let not your human pride control you. When they attack you, it is the human pride that is wounded and wants to fight back. Lay aside your human pride and let your Christian soul absorb the slings and arrows that cannot harm you. For it is Christ’s work that we are called to do, and it is Christ’s work which satan continually attempts to thwart.
Find that confidence that knowing the answer provides. That confidence will grant you the peace through Christ that you will require to endure to the end.
