St Polycarp's Church Malin Bridge

Suffering: Persecution – Growing through Pain

NT Reading: Acts 4:1-12

Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin

¹ The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ² They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. ³ They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. ⁴ But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

⁵ The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. ⁷ They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the cornerstone.’

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Gospel Reading Luke 21

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times

⁵ Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, ⁶ “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”

⁷ “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

⁸ He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. ⁹ When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

¹⁰ Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. ¹³ And so you will bear testimony to me. ¹⁴ But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. ¹⁵ For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ Everyone will hate you because of me. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ Stand firm, and you will win life.

Talk

persecution        L. sequi ‘to follow through’          to pursue or torment (through legal action)

prosecution                                                                        to bring to a court of law

execution                                                                            to carry into effect the requirements of the law

I suppose most of us feel we have been persecuted by someone at some time in our lives. It may be a bully at school who teases or thumps us because of the colour of our hair or the job our dad does. It could be someone at work who has just taken a dislike to us because of our views or our principles. Thinking more widely, across the historical record, it could be for being Jewish, black or homosexual in Europe during the Second World War. Or you could have been persecuted for being a Catholic during Henry VIII’s reign or for being a Protestant during James I’s reign. Today you could well be persecuted for being a Unitedite if you dared to go into the Blue Ball in Hillsborough on a Sheffield Derby match day!

The Saducees didn’t believe in the immortality of the soul and therefore didn’t believe in the ressurection of the dead. There was for them no reward or punishment after death. This was beliefe versus belief, a war that has been a part of human  Because the Jewish leaders were the ones with the power – or so they thought – they threw Peter and John into prison. They had to be silenced. This is how the world silences people who diagree with it; they resort to violence and killing and inprisonment. But this must never  ever be the way for the Christian. The Christian should live by the words of Jesus and he should love his enemies.

This is what John and Peter did that day. You know I used to read this passage and think that the apostles were simply locking antlers with these religious rulers so as to press their point home. I thought that they were saying, ‘You are guilty fools – you have seen the power of the name of Jesus and you are too stupid to see the truth! Salvation is found in Jesus alone, but you guys have blown it!’

Peter and John demonstrated God’s love for the Saducees by continuing to preach to them! They were exasperated, yes, but they were saying to them, ‘Look – the same message is for you – even though you are set to reject the truth in favour of your own belief – this truth is for you. There is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.’

Acts 4:21 says:

After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.

The truth of God always wins over the ideas and prejudices of men. The truth of the Gospel has the power to change the world. It does so by changing one heart at a time and that is why the Christian faith is only real faith when it changes the hearts of others. That means it has to be spoken out and has to be lived out.

The history of Christian martyrdom is illuminated by the willingness to forgive on the part of the persecuted, from Jesus himself, then Stephen the first martyr,  to Corrie Ten Boom, Richard Wurmbrand and others in our own time. Some are imprisoned for their faith, some are tortured and some are persecuted to their death.  And as we sit here in our relatively warm church this morning, maybe wondering how we are going to pay for the photocopier or whether we will have a second churchwarden by this afternoon, other Christians are in prison, being tortured or dying. Right this very minute.

Well let me tell you some of the countries where being a professing Christian right now – today – could cost you your freedom or even your life:

Afganistan

Cambodia

China

Egypt

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Laos

Malaysia

Pakistan

Saudi Arabia

Somalia

Sudan

Syria

Nigeria

The Maldives

Parts of India

North Korea

Uzbekistan

Vietnam

Yemen

There is an organization called The Voice of the Martyrs, which grew out of Richard Wurmbrand’s ministry after he was released from prison in the USSR – you can find them on-line. As a child I remember my mother getting reports from them. I signed up to be ‘a voice’. This means I can write letters to those imprisoned for their faith, appeal to governments and of course pray for those who are suffering for their faith. There are important do’s and don’t’s when writing letters – it’s very important for example not to say where you got the information from; if you do, then the person you are writing to may be accused of being in league with foreign anti governemt organizations. If this happens, then their sentence can be increased or their conditions could worsen. I have put the details of some useful websites on the Study Notes sheet. You might like to join me in being a voice. If you do though, please read the small print and do it right!