“Blessed are you when others shall revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (Matthew 5:11)
“So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked Him, saying, ‘He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now, if He desires Him. For He said, I am the Son of God.'” (Matthew 27:41-44)
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)
We have seen that the persecution we experience as Christians can be harsh as we give up our self-centered lifestyle and swim against the current of the world around us. As we pursue the life God has created us for and calls us to, people will resist the light and ridicule us for being “holier than thou” etc. But there is another persecution that comes when we begin to share the reason for our life change…when we share that the reason for this change is our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Now the intensity of the persecution increases and the focus of the ridicule becomes the crucified Redeemer. “How can you believe in a god who was killed by his own followers?” Suddenly the shame that Jesus experienced on the cross 2000 years ago is as fresh as a conversation at work or school. “If he saved others why couldn’t he save himself?”, they ask us. “This is a sign of a weakness not strength.” “Why doesn’t he come down from the cross and then we will believe?” The mocking of the chief priests at the foot of the cross is still heard today. They are different words but the same refusal to believe…”If there is a god why doesn’t he reveal himself by ending world hunger?” “I will believe when He brings an end to the suffering in this world.” “If God exists let Him come down and show me now!”
The word of the cross is foolishness to the world. But, our God is not a tyrant ruler who desires a kingdom of slaves who will cower before Him. He is a compassionate God who is looking for a relationship with the creation He loves. This is not accomplished by some act of conquest but only by an act of selflessness. The cross was not a sign of weakness but the clearest expression of love ever given. We believe in the God who created us…loves us…and desires fellowship with us! Yes, we followers of Jesus run to the cross and gladly bear the shame with our Savior for it is in that act of self-sacrifice that we see who God is and find life and fulfillment.
Persecution will come as we live the life we are called to live in the beatitudes but it will also come when we identify ourselves with the cross of Jesus. The same Jesus who was crucified…buried…and now lives that we might experience the abundant life He came to give.
Today let us proclaim without shame the Gospel message…there is a God who loves you so much that He went to the cross for you! Now that is good news. That is the power of God!