Christians Are Persecuted

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Studying God’s Word

Introduction

As we transitioned into the book of Acts last week, we saw how the promise of Jesus to send the Holy Spirit was fulfilled. The Spirit came with power and gave the miraculous sign of offering praises to God in the languages of the people gathered in Jerusalem. God’s power through these disciples was evident. As the gospel was proclaimed and the charge of the murder of Jesus was leveled against the Jews and others gathered, there was an amazing response as 3,000 were convicted by the Spirit and drawn to Christ. They repented of their sins, received baptism, and were added to the church where they began to learn all that Christ had taught as the apostles taught in the temple and from house to house.

We are moving along in the storyline of the book of Acts today and looking at some of the persecution that arose from the Jews in Jerusalem. Our goal is to understand what brought the persecution in the early church and how the believers responded to it. Then, we will apply that knowledge to our own situation as followers of Christ and members of the church in our culture and context.

Peter and John Face the Sanhedrin

To set up the text that we are going to study today, I need to fill in a little of the background. So open your Bibles to Acts 2. After Peter’s sermon, there was a massive influx of believers where the 120-member group swelled to over 3,000 in one day (2:41). Beyond that, more were being added to the church each day as the proclamation of the gospel and teaching of the apostles continued (2:47). In Acts 3, Peter and John were headed to the temple when they encountered a lame man. They healed the man who had been lame from birth. As the crowd in the temple marveled at the healing, Peter proclaimed the gospel to them and made it clear that it was in the name and power of Jesus Christ that they had healed the man. Again, he reminded them that they murdered the Messiah but that God raised him from the dead, pointing to the prophets to confirm his claims.

Now, let’s read Acts 4:1–31 to understand what happened next. Have someone read the passage aloud, possibly having a second reader take over at verse 23.

• Who approached Peter and John as they spoke to the people? The priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees.
• What was the cause of concern? They were concerned that Peter and John were teaching the people about the resurrection of Jesus.
• Why were the Sadducees concerned about this teaching? They did not believe in the resurrection of the dead (Mark 12:18).
• What did they do with Peter and John? They placed them in custody (prison) overnight.
• How much time had passed since Peter and John arrived at the temple? Since it was evening at the arrest, and Peter and John arrived around the ninth hour (3:1), which is three in the afternoon, it had been about three hours.
• How did the people listening respond (verse 4)? Many of them believed.
• How many believed? This passage says the number of men rose to 5,000. Acts 2:41 mentions 3,000 souls (men and women), so there were thousands added in this period. Based on this, we can’t know exactly how many.
• Who gathered to judge Peter and John? Many Jewish leaders and priests named in verses 5 and 6. Annas and Caiaphas were directly named in the trials of Jesus. In this case, they were joined by John, Alexander, the high-priestly family, and the elders and scribes.
• What name can we apply to this group? The Sanhedrin, the group of 70 ruling elders of the Jews.
• What question did the Sanhedrin ask the two men? Rather than asking about the preaching of the resurrection, they asked about the means of healing the man: “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
• Who responded to them? Peter.
• In what manner did he respond? He responded filled with the Holy Spirit.
• How did Peter answer their question? He told them plainly that it was in the name of Jesus Christ that he healed the man.
• Whom did Peter blame for Jesus’ crucifixion? He blamed the Jewish leaders. While it is true that the Romans had carried out the crucifixion, Peter clearly laid the responsibility of the act on the Jewish leaders, even using the phrase “whom you crucified.”
• What else did Peter proclaim about Jesus? That God raised him from the dead.
• In verse 11, how did Peter condemn the Jews? He used a quote from Psalm 118:22, as Jesus did in Matthew 21:42, to condemn the leaders for failing to acknowledge Jesus and rejecting him as the Messiah. Isaiah 28:16 contains the same idea.
• How did Peter relate Jesus to salvation? He went beyond the healing of the man in the name of Jesus to the fact that salvation is found only in the name of Jesus.
• How did the Jews respond to Peter’s answer to their question? They were surprised by his boldness and that he responded with such clear reasoning since the apostles were uneducated men. They realized the men had been with Jesus.
• Were there any grounds to deny Peter’s speech or the healing? The Sanhedrin saw the man who had been healed and acknowledged the healing was genuine. They also recognized the truth in what Peter said even though they did not believe it. There were no grounds to deny them.
• What did the Sanhedrin want to prevent? They wanted to prevent the spreading of the teaching of Jesus among the people.
• How did they plan to accomplish this? They would command the disciples not to teach in the name of Jesus so that people would not hear the message and respond to it.
• Did Peter and John agree to the demand? No!
• What reason did they give to reject the command of the Sanhedrin? They explained that it is better to obey the commands of God rather than the commands of men.
• How did they describe their commitment to preaching Jesus? They said they could not help but speak of what they had seen and heard.
• How had God commanded them to proclaim Jesus? Jesus had commanded them to be his witnesses and to make disciples of all nations, beginning in Jerusalem (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:18–20). Jesus is God and always does the will of the Father, so the command to preach of Jesus had come from God. Additionally, they were empowered by God the Holy Spirit to preach the truths about Jesus.
• How did the Sanhedrin react to this denial? They threatened them again and released them.
• What was the Sanhedrin afraid would happen if they punished Peter and John for what they did and said? They were afraid of the reaction of the people who had seen the miracle—likely the threat of them rebelling against the leaders. This is similar to the response of the Sanhedrin a short time earlier as Jesus walked among the people, defying the leaders with his teaching and acts.
• What was the reaction of the disciples as they reported what had happened? They rejoiced in the outcome and offered praise to God for all he had done—even acknowledging his hand in directing all of these events.
• What did they ask God for in verses 29 and 30? They asked for boldness to continue proclaiming the truth and for power to heal and to do signs and wonders.
• Why did they need boldness? They recognized their need for God to work in them to give them the courage to face the threats of the Sanhedrin.
• What was the purpose of these signs and wonders? These were used to authenticate that the message being preached was truly from God because only God could perform the miracles. These signs were done in the name of Jesus.
• How did God respond to their prayer? He granted their prayer for boldness, filling them with the Holy Spirit, and caused the place they were in to be shaken. This physical act demonstrated God’s approval of their prayer and his power to give them that boldness.

Discover the Truth

What an amazing account! This little gaggle of unlearned men stood before the highly trained leaders of Israel and demonstrated through their arguments and miracles that the power of God rested with them rather than the leaders. They were absolutely confident that God would vindicate them for preaching the truth about Jesus—the only name by which men must be saved. They were willing to face this persecution for the privilege of proclaiming God’s truth to all so that many would come to repent of their sins and trust in Christ. And this is exactly what they should have expected to happen.

• How is the instruction of Jesus in Luke 21:12–18 connected to this passage? Jesus had already warned the disciples of what would happen as a result of their obedience to his commands and adherence to his teachings. This reality was playing out as the Jewish leaders sought to silence the preaching of Jesus as the resurrected Savior. This is also echoed in John 16:1–4.
• What principle of obeying government authorities can we draw from Peter and John’s disobedience to the command to stop preaching? They acknowledged the command of God (Jesus) as superseding the commands of men. If a command of man contradicts a command of God, we must obey God.
• What attributes of God were the disciples trusting in as they prayed for boldness? Refer to the Attributes of God poster. God’s sovereignty was acknowledged in their prayer, as well as their trust that God, being omnipotent, could carry out those plans.

  “You killed Jesus, but God raised him from the dead!” That truth was proclaimed by Peter and John, and they were emboldened to preach that truth. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they performed miracles and proclaimed with boldness the salvation that is found in Jesus alone.

Facing Persecution Activity

In 2 Timothy 3:12, the Apostle Paul wrote, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Ask the following questions in a rhetorical manner to get the students thinking about persecution.

So what about you? Do you pray for boldness? Are you ready to face a judge for the charge of preaching in the name of Jesus? Would that ever happen to you? Could someone in our country ever be called before a judge for preaching the gospel in public?

Those are the questions I want you to consider in our activity today. You will find the Facing Persecution activity in your Student Guide. Take some time in small groups to read the passages and discuss the questions, then we will look at them as a group in a few minutes. Have students work in pairs or small groups to complete the activity.

Connect to the Truth

Students will read 1 Peter 3:14–17, 4:12–16, and John 15:18–25 and then answer the following questions. You may wish to read the passages together, if time allows. Use the suggested answers below to guide discussion.

Let’s talk about facing persecution based on what you found in those passages (1 Peter 3:14–17, 4:12–16; John 15:18–25).

It is important for us to remember that we are called to take up our crosses daily to follow Jesus. If the world hated Jesus, and we are to be walking through this life in a way that people would look at us and see him, then we should expect the world to hate us as well. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10).

• How are you facing persecution for your faith in Jesus? Discuss various answers.
• If you are not currently facing persecution, does that necessarily mean that you are not living a life of godliness? Explain your thinking. Based on our particular cultural contexts, we may not face a lot of personal persecution. The amount of persecution we face will be shaped by many factors, only one of which is our faith in Christ and its expression. However, it is important to analyze our own hearts on this matter to be sure that we are not shrinking back from living out our faith and speaking of the hope of salvation found in Christ alone, asking God for boldness to speak in the name of Jesus. While the persecution that we face in our country may seem minor compared to what Christians in other times and places faced, God has placed us in this place at this time according to his good pleasure (Acts 17:26), and we should not feel like we are sub-par Christians because no one is shooting at us.
• What is the difference between being persecuted for our beliefs and expressions of our faith before others and being persecuted for our attitude before others? It is a blessing to be persecuted for the name of Christ and righteousness’ sake, not for being obnoxious. We should be speaking the truth in love and sharing the hope that we have in Christ with gentleness and respect, but doing so boldly, knowing that the gospel is the power of God to salvation.
• How do your own attitudes about persecution compare to what is expressed in these passages? Discuss various answers, offering encouragement to those who are fearful and caution to those who are too sure of themselves.
• If persecution comes, do you believe you will be prepared to respond to it in a way that honors Christ? As we read about terrible forms of persecution faced by Christians around the world, it should encourage us to be praying for them and remind us that God’s grace is available to us when we need it, not before we need it. We can be preparing our own hearts for persecution by praying for others and acknowledging that God may send those trials our way at any time.

Stephen Is Stoned to Death

Looking back to the book of Acts in chapter 5, the disciples did continue to preach Christ, and the apostles worked miracles as “multitudes of both men and women” became believers (5:12–14). This again led to the imprisonment of the apostles, but an angel freed them from prison. They appeared before the Sanhedrin again where Peter reminded them it is better to obey God and preach salvation in Christ than to remain silent. This time they beat the apostles and then freed them, commanding them to stop preaching Christ. The apostles rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus, and they continued to proclaim Jesus as the Christ. There were even a great many of the priests who came to faith in Christ (6:7). Encourage the students to read chapter 5 on their own.

We are going to look briefly at the account of Stephen, the disciple who has the distinction of being the first martyr in the church, facing death for his belief in Jesus as the Messiah. Let’s start by reading Acts 6:8–15. Have someone read the passage aloud.

• How is Stephen described? He was full of grace and power. In 6:5, he is also said to be full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.
• How did God display this power in Stephen? Stephen was able to do great wonders and signs among the people. He also had great wisdom as he disputed with the unbelieving Jews.
• Who were disputing with Stephen? Jewish men from various places in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
• Were these men able to refute Stephen’s arguments? No.
• Whom is this ability to argue attributed to? The work of the Holy Spirit in Stephen gave him this wisdom.
• What did these men do to Stephen? They trumped up false charges against him, bringing him before the Sanhedrin.
• What were the charges they created? They said Stephen had spoken blasphemous things against the law and that he said Jesus would change the customs of Moses and destroy the temple. All of these were false, but they provided witnesses who would lie before the council.
• How did the members of the Sanhedrin perceive Stephen? They saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
• What does this phrase tell us about Stephen’s demeanor? Stephen was calm and under control, surely through the work of the Spirit in him as he was brought to testify before these leaders.

  Stephen went on in 7:1–53 to deliver an eloquent speech, recounting God’s faithfulness to Israel. This speech is undoubtedly exactly the kind of thing Jesus was speaking of in Luke 21:10–19 where he told the disciples they would appear before synagogues and be given wisdom from Jesus (which we understand to be the work of the Spirit in us) regarding the words to speak. We are skipping over most of this section for the sake of time, but I encourage you to take time to read it this week.

Let’s examine the end of Stephen’s speech and its outcome before the council. Someone read Acts 7:51–60. Have someone read the verses aloud.

• What specific things did Stephen accuse the leaders of? He told them they were stiff-necked, uncircumcised in heart and ears, resisting the Holy Spirit, persecuting and killing the prophets just as their fathers did, betraying and murdering the Righteous One, and not keeping the law.
• Who is the Righteous One in verse 52? Jesus.
• Why would referring to them as “uncircumcised in heart and ears” have been so offensive to them? They would have thought of their physical circumcision (as males) as the mark of them belonging to God and as the keepers and protectors of his law. Calling them uncircumcised, in any form, would be calling them Gentiles, or pagans, and would have been highly offensive to them. Stephen was pointing out that their physical circumcision did not make them able to hear and love God, but that they actually refused to hear his truth spoken through Jesus and failed to honor Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah. In one sense, he was reversing the charges against him and placing those charges on the Sanhedrin.
• What did Stephen tell the Jewish leaders they did to Jesus? He told them they betrayed and murdered him.
• How did the group react to Stephen’s speech and accusations? They responded quickly and violently.
• What does the phrase “ground their teeth at him” mean? This is a phrase that denotes anger through gritted teeth as they yelled at Stephen.
• What did Stephen experience as the Sanhedrin jeered at him? He was filled with the Spirit and saw the glory of God in heaven, Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father.
• How does this verse support our understanding of the Trinity? Similar to the appearance of the Trinity at the baptism of Jesus, God the Holy Spirit was filling Stephen and God the Son was standing next to God the Father.
• How did the council respond when Stephen explained what he was seeing? They screamed and plugged their ears as they dragged him out of the city.
• Was there any dissent noted in the council? No, they “rushed together at him.”
• What did they do to Stephen outside of the city? They stoned him to death.
• What was Stephen doing as they were stoning him? He was calling on God, asking Jesus to receive his spirit and to not hold the sin against the crowd.
• What person are we introduced to for the first time in this passage? Saul who was also known as Paul.
• What was Saul doing during the stoning? He was watching the clothes of the witnesses and others who were stoning Stephen.
• What does Acts 8:1 tell us about Saul’s attitude? Saul approved of the stoning of Stephen.
• What does the phrase “he fell asleep” mean? This is a euphemism for death, especially used of believers throughout the New Testament.
• The term “martyr” is not mentioned in this passage, but what do we mean by the term? A martyr is someone who dies as a consequence of his faith. Christian martyrs are those who, for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ, face persecution unto death.

Discover the Truth

Just as Jesus had promised, standing for the truth and proclaiming salvation in Jesus alone was met with sharp persecution. Stephen, a man filled with the Holy Spirit, who was doing miracles by God’s power and offering salvation to all in the name of Jesus, found out how much the world hates the things of God. Stephen paid the ultimate price for his boldness in Christ’s name but received the ultimate prize as a result. Stephen was not stoned because he was belligerent or obnoxious; he was stoned because he lived and spoke truth in the name of Jesus Christ.

• What attribute of God is displayed in Stephen’s speech before the Sanhedrin? Refer to the Attributes of God poster. God’s faithfulness was displayed as Stephen was given the words to speak before the council through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Application

While we don’t like to think about facing persecution, it is something that we cannot avoid by burying our heads in the sand. We should expect to receive some form of persecution for our faith in Jesus and for living in a way that is obedient to him. But that doesn’t mean we should invite persecution by begging people to say mean things about us or to threaten us so that we can be persecuted. As we walk in a manner that is worthy of the calling of Christ and proclaim that Jesus is the only way anyone will be saved from sin, we will be viewed as out of touch with reality. And that is not a special condition today—it was present from the first few days of the early church. We should not expect to be treated any differently than the people we have just read about.

And let us not forget that there are many other Christians in our world who ARE being harshly persecuted. In some cases, persecution means being ostracized; in some cases, Christians are losing their homes; in other cases, they are being murdered for their belief in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. We can share in their sufferings by praying for them. And we can support organizations who work to support members of the church who are facing sharp persecution as they boldly proclaim the name of Jesus and live lives of godliness in front of those who are of the world and its false systems. The darkness hates the light and will fight to extinguish it.

It would be helpful at this point to include some specific, current examples of Christian persecution. You can find these at websites like persecution.com.

Let me leave our teaching time with these words of Jesus: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11–12).

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  How has your understanding of persecution changed as a result of looking at these passages? Discuss various answers.
• Are there times in your life when you have hidden your faith or failed to speak up because you were afraid of what might happen as a result? How should you respond to such failures? Discuss various answers being sure to remind the students that when we sin, we have an advocate in Christ, who will forgive us because he has suffered for those sins in our place (1 John 1:7–2:2). We can ask forgiveness in light of the gospel and pray for boldness to act more faithfully in the future by the Spirit’s power.
• When we think about the Apostle Paul, we might think of him as a bold man who proclaimed and lived for Christ in the face of extreme threats. But, in his epistles, Paul asked the churches to pray for boldness for him as he proclaimed the gospel (Colossians 4:2–6; Ephesians 6:18–20; Philippians 1:12–26). How can we use this to encourage us to live godly lives and prepare for the persecution that may come as a result? We can look to Paul as an example of a man who recognized his need for God’s grace and empowerment in his life, remembering that he is no different from us.
• In what ways can we work together as a body to encourage one another as we face various persecutions? We can be praying for one another and sharing where we need prayers for boldness to stand firm for Christ despite the possible negative consequences. We can be coming alongside one another as we face these various trials and bear one another’s burdens.
• Should we be praying that persecution DOES NOT come to us or that we would have the grace of God we need WHEN it comes to us? Discuss this answer, keeping in mind that there are times when both may be appropriate. We should keep a balance in mind between asking God not to bring us trials—when we know that he has promised to bring trials to conform us into the image of Christ—and asking him to be able to bear the burdens by the Spirit through his grace in Christ.
• In what ways can we stay connected to the persecution of Christians that is happening around the world, seeking to support those who are facing immediate persecution? There are various magazines and websites from parachurch groups that support these brothers and sisters in their trials. We can support them financially, prayerfully, and in other ways.

Group Prayer

Be sure to pray with your class before you dismiss them.

• Praise God for his holiness that is evident to those in the darkness.
• Ask God for great boldness and wisdom in living a life of godliness and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Thank God for sending the Holy Spirit to give us boldness to face various persecutions.