So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.’ For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.”
Acts 4:24-28
When Peter and John were persecuted for the Lord’s sake, they reported what happened to the church. The church praised God for His sovereignty over the situation (v.24). They continued to pray, rehearsing from Psalm 2:1-2 that God had specifically ordained opposition to Jesus. In other words, they reminded themselves not to be shocked at the persecution they encountered. Why? Because the Father ordained and prophesied that Jesus would be persecuted. And because Jesus told the disciples that because the world hated Him, it would hate those who follow Him as well (John 15:18).
This does not make persecution any more pleasant. It does, however, prepare us not to be shocked by it.
It is interesting that believers in much of the world to this day live under persecution. They do not like it, but they are not shocked by it. Meanwhile, persecution is so foreign to American Christians that we are shocked by it! Are we shocked because our US Constitution promises freedom of religion—even though the Word of God says persecution is part and parcel of following Jesus? The Constitution is important, but it is not the Word of God. And the Word of God is—well, it is the Word of God!
Maybe we we need the following biblical reality check regarding persecution: (a) God’s Word says that the world hated and persecuted and even killed Jesus (humanly speaking). (b) God’s Word says disciples are not above their masters, so if the world hated and persecuted our Lord, we should not be surprised if the world persecutes us.
I do not want to be persecuted. But I pray that by God’s grace, especially since the mood of many Americans is increasingly less tolerant of Christianity, we might do well to not only not be shocked by persecution, but expect it.