21“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. (Matthew 10:21-23)
Thoughts: Jesus shifts gear from talking about sending and people welcoming them to talking about a dark picture of his followers being persecuted. He especially speaks of what it will be like right before He comes back to earth in power for the final act of salvation. Jesus was not naive nor was he trying to hide the small print side affects of sharing the faith and missionary work. Not everyone says "yes" to Christ. Some will betray Christians to death- even relatives. While ideally the family will follow Christ, not all will. We should not give up the faith if some of our loved ones give up on Christ.
The Bible does seem to indicate that toward the end of history there is a time of great tribulation when Christians are persecuted more than normal. In that time it seems like everyone hates those who believe- which in some ways makes no sense. Yet today ISIS, Al Qaeda, Boko Haraam and others are persecuting people just for being Christian. In 1992 the US went out of its way to ease starvation in Somalia yet within months the very people saved from starvation attacked the Americans who helped them. It is a rebellious thing. Jesus is saying that God will not allow every refuge point to be erased. He comes to help us when we are in the deepest need. In Christ there is always hope.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be strong when people oppose me because I follow you. Help me to always keep hope in you.
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