“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you . . . You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.” (Matthew 10:16-20, 22,NASB)
More words from Jesus, from the Apostle Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus has called upon the twelve apostles, to send them on a mission. He wants them to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons from people. The Bible passage above is from among His instructions to them, and applies to us today. Actually, they are timeless!
Jesus wants to send them [us] “out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” Why the warning? Because men “will hand you [us] over to the courts and scourge you [us] in their synagogues; and you [we] will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.” Jesus further explains that they [we] shouldn’t worry about how to answer to the charges brought against them [us]. Why not? Because “it is not you [we] who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you [us].”
The last sentence is crucial if we were ever to find ourselves in the midst of persecution: “You [we] will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.” The overall message? If we follow Jesus, at some point we WILL undergo persecution. People will hate us because of Jesus’ name. When we face this hatred, we will not worry about what to say, or how to answer; we must rely on the Holy Spirit. We must not deny Jesus when people ask; we must persevere, to be proud of the name of Jesus. Jesus said that if we deny Him before men, then He would deny knowing us before the Father.
Jesus loves us so much that He took our place and died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins. We’re all sinners, and we deserve the punishment He took for us. Should we not love Him back? “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)