8. Persecution!
"Remember what I told you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also" (John 15:20). Jesus plainly warned his disciples that they would be persecuted if they followed him, and the fourth chapter of Acts records exactly when and how the promised persecution began:
The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John … The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem … They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them (Acts 4:1-7). Notice that this was not a routine or impartial questioning. The NIV translation begins the passage by saying the religious authorities and temple guard "came up to" Peter and John, but the underlying Greek is much stronger, as we see in some other translations which have "seized" or "laid hands on them" – the promised persecution was already beginning.
But Peter and John stood their ground against the negative questioning and the threats that were leveled against them (Acts 4:8-13), and for the moment the religious authorities dared not do more against the disciples, so they let them go – with threats and direct orders not to continue their teaching (Acts 4:18-21).
What Luke tells us next is perhaps as encouraging as it is amazing. We might expect that the earliest Christians would then have gone into "defensive mode," that they would now have exercised caution regarding where they spoke – perhaps even beginning to plan more secretive methods of getting out the Gospel. At the very least, we would expect them to pray for protection from the very real threats they had received.
Luke does tell us that on hearing of Peter's and John's narrow escape, the Christians "raised their voices together in prayer to God" (Acts 4:24), but it was not for protection. Luke tells us rather that they prayed: "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness" (Acts 4:29). That prayer was certainly answered (Acts 4:31), and the results are seen throughout the Book of Acts.
The prayer and its results also doubtless carry an important lesson for God's Church in any age. Perhaps we, too, when conditions turn against our beliefs, should be praying not so much for protection as for boldness; and we should take encouragement in the fact that in promising persecution would come, Jesus did not stop there, but – as we read above – he continued: "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also" (John 15:20, emphasis added). The Son of God foretold that persecution would occur, but he also promised that there would be those who would hear and follow – whenever the response to persecution is boldness.