Worthy to Suffer for the Name!

We see again today that those who bring the Word of The Lord will not always be welcomed warmly We see the prophet Jeremiah lamenting the day he was born due to the persecution from his own people. He has reached the end of the rope. He is as we say, "done". Jeremiah is doing what true prophets do, he is speaking God's Word. In this case the false prophets are telling the kings what they want to hear. But Jeremiah has quite a different message. He is fearless in speaking what God has told him.

We see Jesus is a true prophet as well. He says, "Woe to you Choraxin and Bethsaida. If the miracles that were performed for you were for Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago." This is in the context of sending out the 72 disciples two by two ahead of him to the towns he had not gone too yet. And he tells them if they are not welcomed in any town, to dust their feet off as a warning of judgment to that town. Then he says whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.

I think one of the key principles here is that when someone rejects you for being a Christian, they are not so much rejecting you as the Christ in you. When the apostles are before the Sanhedrin for doing the same miracles as Jesus did, they were flogged and beaten but listen to their response. It says, "41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." What a great attitude that they turn suffering into being counted worthy to suffer for Jesus. When you suffer for your faith how do you respond? I know sometimes I say, "why me Lord?" But the disciples looked at it differently. They responded by saying, "Why not me!"

Psalm 62:5-12
5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
9 Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion
or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.
11 One thing God has spoken,
two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,
12 and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;
and, “You reward everyone
according to what they have done.”

Jeremiah 20:14-18
14 Cursed be the day I was born!
May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,
who made him very glad, saying,
“A child is born to you—a son!”
16 May that man be like the towns
the Lord overthrew without pity.
May he hear wailing in the morning,
a battle cry at noon.
17 For he did not kill me in the womb,
with my mother as my grave,
her womb enlarged forever.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb
to see trouble and sorrow
and to end my days in shame?

Luke 10:13-16
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. 16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”