Afflicted Disciples
The godly disciple who faithfully bears witness to the gospel of Jesus will endure “tribulation” and persecution for his sake.
Jesus warned his disciples – In this world “you
have tribulation.” Nevertheless, his followers should be of good
cheer “for I have overcome the world.” Telling them about troubles in
this life was not new information. But exhorting them to remain at peace because
he had “overcome” the world was something radically new. Suffering
cheerfully is contrary to human “wisdom” and experience, even when we do
so for a noble cause - (John 16:33, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25).
TRIBULATIONS
Nevertheless, disciples are reassured of their own victory because Jesus
has “overcome” the world already. He is the pioneer who has blazed the
trail for us.
And the Risen Christ said something quite similar in the book of Revelation
when he exhorted the members of the “seven churches of Asia” to “overcame,
just as I overcame.” And it was by his perseverance through suffering and
death that he did “overcome” and thereby qualify to sit on the divine throne –
(Revelation 3:21).
And in the passage in the gospel of John, “tribulation”
translates the Greek noun thlipsis, the same term used elsewhere in the
New Testament for the “great tribulation.” Originally, it referred
to pressure, a “pressing together,” hence the sense
of “affliction” or “tribulation” - (Matthew 24:21, Revelation 1:8-9, 7:9-17).
On the Mount of Olives, Jesus told his disciples they
would see wars, earthquakes, and famines, but they must not be “troubled.”
Such things occur as a matter of course, but the “end is not yet.” At
most, they are “a beginning of sorrows,” harbingers of the inevitable
end of this age. And opponents of the faith, including from within the church, would
betray disciples “for tribulation… And they will be
hated by all the nations.”
His followers must not expect acceptance by everyone. Instead,
resistance to the gospel is the expected norm. “You
will be hated by all men for my name's sake: but he that endures to the end
will be saved.” Yet suffering for his sake is also a “blessing…
for great is your reward in heaven” - (Matthew 5:11-12, 10:22, 24:4-9).
In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul praises the young
congregation because its members “became imitators
of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction
[thlipsis], and with the joy of the Holy
Spirit,” so much so that they became “examples” to the churches in “Macedonia
and Achaia.”
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In his praise, the Apostle includes the same paradox found in the words of Jesus – joy in the midst of affliction. Likewise, in his second letter to this church, he boasts of its steadfastness since its members have endured faithfully through “all their persecutions and tribulations”- (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).
APPOINTED
Paul does not call for the escape of believers from their
trials, nor does he blame them for provoking their persecutors. Instead, he praises
them when they remain faithful in and through their afflictions. And he
expands on this idea in the first two chapters of his first letter to the
Thessalonians:
- “For this cause, we also thank God without ceasing, that when you received from us the word of the message, you accepted it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also is working in you that believe. For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judaea…for you also suffered the same things by your own countrymen, even as they did by the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove out us… Wherefore, no longer concealing our anxiety, we were well-pleased to be left in Athens alone; and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s minister in the gospel of the Christ, that he might confirm and console you over your faith, that no one might be shrinking back in these tribulations [thlipsis]. For you yourselves know that for this we are appointed. For even when we were with you, we told you beforehand, we are going to suffer tribulation [thlibô] - (1 Thessalonians 2:13-16, 3:1-3).
Paul’s words assume that suffering for the
gospel is an expected experience for disciples of Jesus. “We are going to suffer
tribulation” translates the Greek verb related to the noun thlipsis
or “tribulation,” thlibô. Christians have been appointed for this very thing. And Jesus
himself foretold this very thing -
rewards and compensation in this and the next life, but also persecution and
affliction - (Mark 10:29-30).
REJOICE
So,
how are disciples to react when afflictions do come? Well, just as Jesus taught
us. Likewise, Paul encouraged his congregations to rejoice
in suffering. We are to “exult in our tribulations because they
bring about endurance, and our endurance a testing, and our testing hope.”
In “tribulations,” we must “continue
steadfastly in prayer.” It is God who “comforts us in every
tribulation, so that we ourselves may be able to comfort those who are
in any tribulation.” Tribulations “prepare us for an everlasting
weight of glory beyond all comparison” - (Romans 8:35-39, 12:12, 2
Corinthians 1:4, 4:17).
Likewise, Peter declares it thankworthy to suffer for the sake of “conscience towards God.” There is no glory if one suffers for sin, but if a man suffers patiently for the gospel, it is praiseworthy.
Christians “have been called for this”
very thing. To suffer for the gospel is to “follow in the footsteps”
of Jesus who “left us an example” in his self-sacrificial sufferings and
death. Disciples found worthy to “suffer for righteousness” are blessed,
and this is in “accord with the will of God” - (1 Peter
2:19-23, 3:14-18, 4:15-19).
Moreover, Christians
are called to emulate Jesus in their conduct toward their persecutors, and in doing
so, they become “perfect” children of His Father - (Matthew 5:44-48).
“Tribulation” is part of what it means to
follow Jesus. Suffering for his sake is not punishment or aberration, but grounds
for rejoicing. Being found “worthy” to suffer
persecution is the greatest “blessing” that any disciple can receive in
this life.
Thus, Christians should not be surprised by the “fiery
trial” that comes upon them, especially when they suffer
for their testimony. Suffering for Jesus is part and parcel of what it means to
take up the Cross and follow him. After
all, as Paul declared, “All who desire to live a godly life in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
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