Are We Hated for His Name's Sake?

For the Christians

I was reading Matthew 21 in God’s Word this morning and I made a connection between the treatment of Jesus and the treatment of His saints today.  This chapter starts with Jesus’ triumphal entry. He and his disciples were approaching Jerusalem and had come to a town named Bethphage; while there Jesus sent for the donkey that He would ride into Jerusalem. This fulfilled the prophecy written 500 years earlier in Zechariah 9:9.

My thoughts lead me to Jesus entering the town and how the people were yelling and screaming “Hosanna!”  Palm leaves that were at least six feet long had been cut down and thrown onto the streets for Jesus to cross over. People were ripping off their garments and throwing them into the street.  I can picture them now smiling, laughing, crying, jumping up and down and being filled with hope and joy.

I remember going to a New Kids on the Block concert as a child and I remember that moment when they took the stage and I burst into tears. I was overwhelmed by just being in their presence. I was shaking and yelling and flailing my arms around like I had no control over my body. I was so excited I stood up the entire concert.  After the concert was over we went to the hotel where they were staying and as one of the NKOTB’s, Jon, got out of the limo I reached for his arm and I almost passed out at the thought of touching him. I can imagine that the people in Jesus’ presence felt a similar feeling to what I was experiencing magnified by like a million.

While Jesus rode the donkey down the street the people continued to yell “King…King…Save us…Hosanna…Hosanna!”  I am sure it was one of the biggest if not the biggest scene that the town had ever experienced. What happens a week later is astonishing. The same people calling Jesus king are now yelling “Crucify him!” The same man they called king is now the same man they want dead.

 This is where my thought train got a little derailed.  The bible tells us that there is nothing new under the sun and that we “Christians” would be hated for Christ’s name sake. But it still hurts. To be completely honest I am not sure what hurts worse, the fact that Christian haters and non-believers will one day find themselves face to face with the truth while suffering for an eternity in hell, or being on the other side of that hurt and feeling rejected and constantly put down for your beliefs; and if we are going to continue to be honest it isn’t always non-Christians that hurt us, a lot of times it is fellow Christians that hurt us. I have been left speechless by the jealousy, the condemning words, the backstabbing and the sabatoge of “fellow” Christians. We should not be surprised that the world hates us. When you look at what Jesus went through; he was being called king one day and then a week later he was dying on the cross; put there by the same people that had praised and exalted Him; we think to ourselves “are we really going to be treated any differently”.

My example to get past the hurt and rejection is found in Jesus and what He said and did. He is our redeemer, our example, and our Lord. I strive to be like Him, but daily I miss the mark. My hope though, comes from His example; if He could love those backstabbing people then I can too. One of my favorite lines from the bible is found in Luke 23:34 “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do…”.  It is so true that people really are clueless.

I know that every Christian is not on the same level. Some have been walking with the Lord for decades while others have just started their journey. But I do know that when you repent, truly repent and ask for forgiveness, then there is an immediate change. If you say you have repented but felt nothing, then I suggest you repent again and again and seek God with every minute of every day and every breath that you have until you feel something. I don’t mean those fickle feelings that will lead you astray, but that deep down in the marrow of your bone kind of feeling; because when you realize what you have been forgiven from and the hell that you have been saved from, you can’t continue to be who you were before that moment. Even though it takes the rest of your life to work out your salvation as you learn and grow you are now in the know that you have been changed forever.

I am so glad to know that I am not alone. The bible tells us in Hebrews 4:15 “ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

That immediate change we have should be accompanied with empathy for others who are where you used to be. We should pray for them and ask God to open their eyes to the truth just like He did for us. When they praise us one minute and curse us the next, we should be reminded that they did the same thing to Jesus, and then we should remember that Jesus got the victory and so shall we. It may not be today or even tomorrow, but it will come. When we are standing face to face with our Saviour and He says “well done my good and faithful servant…welcome home”, we will have our great reward.

Please be encouraged through Christ Jesus and do not let others bring you down. Anything worth having is worth fighting for and I choose to fight the good fight until the Lord calls me home. Listen before you speak and think before you act. It could be the difference in someone else’s eternity.