Persecution is coming!-24

Since persecution is coming, just as Jesus told us it would. It raises some theological questions. When is it coming? What will it be like? What schemes of Satan should we be aware of in order to not be deceived? Not all can be answered in one passage, but in the book of John, all are made evident.

John 6:16  Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 6:17  and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 6:18  The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 

Interesting that the disciples left without Jesus! Did He tell them to go? Was He going to stay longer without them? We aren’t told, but His walking out to meet them was frightening.

6:19  Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. 6:20  But He *said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 

Imagine walking 3-4 miles on a stormy sea! Yet, the waves did not seem to slow Him or deter Him. He is in total control of His creation and all that is contained within it. But, still the disciples were not yet ready to fully understand who Jesus was truly in the flesh. So they were frightened to see Him on the waves in the night, as would we.

6:21  So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. 

They recognized Him and fought off their fears and let Him into the boat. After rowing against the wind and waves, once Jesus was in the boat it was immediately across the sea of Galilee! Which was the greater miracle? It is 7-8 miles wide and 13 miles long. They rowed to get halfway across and Jesus immediately brought them the rest of the way in an instant!

6:24  So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. 6:25  When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You get here?" 

6:26  Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 

Certainly the feeding of this large multitude was a miracle to all. In the morning they looked for Him! Why? Jesus tells us that they were interested in the physical more than the spiritual. Jesus taught at Capernaum, but His teaching about His body being the bread of life was too hard to understand.

John 6:52  Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" 6:53  So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 6:54  "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 6:55  "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 6:56  "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 

6:57  "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 6:58  "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever." 

6:59  These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 

These metaphors and symbols of His death and sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins was too hard to understand for many. So many left Him at this time. So what had He done? He taught the 5000 and fed them. He walked out to His disciples on the sea. He taught at the synagogue, but the ears of the people were closed to His truth. Nothing too dangerous or sinister over these two days, but already the Jews wanted to kill Him.

John 7:1  After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. 

This is very early in His ministry and already the Jews were seeking to kill Him. As their Father the Devil hates Jesus and hates the truth, so do his children. Satan failed in tempting Jesus, but he had not given up in destroying Him and His message. Satan hasn’t given up on stopping us from telling the truth either. If he can’t scare us into silence, he will try to ruin our testimony. If that doesn’t stop us, he will also seek to kill us.

More on Satan’s schemes and the coming persecution next Saturday.