And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees' party arose and protested, saying, "We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God." Acts 23:7-9
We have been considering how Paul, used the division between two Jewish parties (the Pharisees and Sadducees) to divert their attention away from him. We have been discussing the fact that Christians must not divide ourselves unnecessarily, diverting our attention from Christ and the gospel, and giving the upper hand to those who oppose Christianity. If you missed them, read the previous two posts.
One more thought on this topic. The enemies of Christ persecute His people, not because they hate us as much as they hate Him (1 Samuel 8:7, Acts 9:4). As we know, there are many who claim the name “Christian” who are not true believers in Christ. They are cultural or national Christians in name only. The enemies of Christ persecute them as well as true believers. We should be as concerned about persecution of these just as much as we are of the persecution of true believers. Why? Because the enemies of Christ do not know the difference between true Christians and those who are Christian in name only—their hatred of Christ is every bit the same.
So when we read of persecution of Christians (whether genuine or not), we are reading of hatred of Jesus (Acts 9:4). Here are two reasons we should pray for anyone who is being persecuted for being Christian, whether they are Christian or not:
First, they are people suffering persecution, which is never right!
Second, even when those who do not know the Lord are persecuted as though they do, the persecutors believe they are attacking Christ and His people. Though we may not identify with those—who are suffering at the hands of Christ haters—as brothers in Christ, pray for them and for their salvation.
And as hard as it is to do so, pray for the persecutors as well. May God save them!
Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly! (Revelation 22:20)