|
Luke 21:8, 12-19 – And He [Jesus] said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in My Name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.” … “But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for My Name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for My Name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.”
There’s something really weird in this passage that I’ve just read right over, for years and years, without ever really noticing it. Do you see it? Jesus plainly says that some of us who believe in Him will be put to death for His sake. Their own friends and family will betray them, and they will get shot or stoned or crucified for their faith. And yet, not a breath later, Jesus says, “Not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.”
What in the world does He mean? How can we die and live at the same time? And why is it that we Christians have read this passage in church for years and years, nodding our heads, and never noticed how weird it is?
I think it’s because we instinctively know that when Jesus says, “Not a hair of your head will perish,” He’s talking about our spiritual lives—the real, everlasting life that God Himself has already given us, because we trust in Jesus. As Christians we know that Jesus has laid down His own life to set us free from the power of sin, death, and the devil; and now that He has risen from the dead, He shares His own everlasting life with us His people. He will never die again.
And that means that, whatever happens to our physical bodies, we ourselves are safe forever. Because our enemies can imprison us and hurt us and even kill our bodies; but once they have done that, they are helpless to do any further harm to us. As soon as we die, we are with Christ; and whenever Jesus pleases, He can raise us from the dead. He has that power and authority, and on the Last Day He will use it. None of our bodies will remain in the grave.
This means that in Jesus, we are truly safe. Whatever our enemies may threaten, it is Jesus who holds the power of life and death in His nail-scarred hands; and we will never slip out of those hands. Our enemies cannot take us away from Him, or do us permanent harm. And so we are free. We know that death is not the ending, and we will see our Christian brothers and sisters again. And so we have both hope and joy.
WE PRAY: Lord, thank You that I am truly safe in You. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- Is death the worst thing that can happen to a person?
- Why or why not?
- Why can Christians sing in the face of persecution?
|
