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Once upon a time, a person, who we’ll call Bob, came to me and expressed his desire to have lived in Jesus’ time. There was a romantic sense in his wish to be at a time where people sat at Jesus’ feet, taking everything in, and marveling at His wisdom. Bob wanted to be part of this world where people were better at listening to Jesus, and thus better people than they are now.
The thing is, this view conflicts with what we witness in Scripture. Just last week, we spoke of how the people in Jesus’ own hometown tried to chase Him off a cliff. This doesn’t even cover how Jesus’ ministry came to an end.
Jesus speaks directly to this issue in John today. He speaks to the hatred He has faced. He warns the Disciples that they will face the same.
When you feel persecuted for proclaiming the Gospel of Christ Jesus, have no fear. You are facing no worse than what Jesus did Himself. At the same time, take care to listen to those who come from God. It may be easy to conjure up a romantic picture of Jesus’ time. It may be easy to think that all in Jesus’ day loved Him and waiting on every word He had to say. They did not. Our call is not to be like them. Our call is to actually love Jesus and to love those our Lord has sent.