THE REASON TO ENDURE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

2 Timothy 2:10 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Carrying out Jesus’ calling found in the Great Commission isn’t an easy task. This was true at the advent of Christianity and it remains true today.

Shortly after receiving the Holy Spirit in a Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-12), it didn’t take long for Jesus’ disciples to see that there were going to be challenges ahead, just as there was for their Master and Savior.

Immediately, after “tongues of fire” fell on each of them and caused people from other nations to declare the wonders of God through the language of other nationalities present, there were people trying to ridicule the miraculous, transforming work the Lord had done. The scriptures tell us that “some made fun of them” and attributed what they were hearing and witnessing as coming from people who had drunk “too much wine” (v.13).

This accusation led to Peter delivering his first sermon, the power of which led to 3,000 new believers in Christ. Peter endured persecution and persevered for the cause of the Gospel with blessed results.

In Acts 3, Peter and John were on their way “to the temple at the time of prayer” when they encountered a lame man at the “temple gate called Beautiful” The man had been at the gate day after day, begging for money to sustain himself and as Peter and John approached, this is what the lame man was expecting from them.

But as we know, the man received a blessing far more than valuable than money. For the scriptures tell us that Peter says to him:

“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

And with that, the man’s ankles grew strong before he “jumped to his feet and began to walk”. He then “went with” Peter and John “into the temple courts” all the while “walking and jumping, and praising God”. This was observed by many who knew the man as they too had passed by him begging every day and we learn that they were “filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him”. The performed miracle offered another opportunity for Peter to speak about Jesus, the Messiah, and the salvation found in Him. It also got Peter and John on the wrong side of the Sanhedrin, the same group of Jewish religious leaders who schemed to have Jesus crucified.

At the beginning of Acts 4, we find Peter and John being seized by the “priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees” and placed in jail but not before their Gospel work had grown the number of Christ believers to 5,000. The next day they were hauled before the Sanhedrin and after being interrogated and ordered to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, an order that both Peter and John rejected, they were released because the Jewish religious leaders couldn’t “decide how to punish them” due to “all the people...praising God” following the healing of the lame man.

This release led to a time of prayer after Peter and John went back to the other disciples and reported all that had happened. And by the time we reach the fifth chapter of Acts, the Holy Spirit-empowered apostles performing “many signs and wonders among the people” who were bringing “the sick into the streets” and laying then “on beds and mats” just so “Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by”. Such was the healing power now within him by way of the Holy Spirit. The apostles also were healing those who were “tormented by impure spirits”, driving them away and healing the afflicted.

Well, all this once again got the attention of “the high priest and all his associates” who comprised the “party of the Sadducees”. Out of jealousy for the popularity of the apostles’ work for the cause of Christ, they arrested them all and “put them in the public jail”. They thought they could control the work Jesus had called his followers to do but they soon discovered this was a futile effort.

For we read in the scriptures where an “angel of the Lord” freed the apostles from the prison cells and instructed them to go out and teach the Gospel “in the temple courts” which they did at daybreak. Meanwhile, the Sadducees had called together the Sanhedrin to admonish the apostles, only to discover they were no longer incarcerated but free and back to preaching and teaching others. Afraid they would be stoned by the people, the “captain went with his officers” didn’t use force in summoning the apostles to meet with the Sanhedrin.

Once again, the high priest rebuked the apostles for not complying with the original gag order imposed by the Sanhedrin, a disobedience that resulted in Jerusalem being filled with their teaching which included blaming the Sanhedrin for killing Jesus. Again, the apostles expressed their unwillingness to stop sharing the Gospel, telling the high priest and others that they obeyed God rather than human beings, a statement that got the attention of a Pharisee named Gamaliel. Here’s what he told his fellow members of the Sanhedrin:

“Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” Acts 5:35-39

The scriptures tell us that this persuaded the Sanhedrin and they called the apostles in and “ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus” before having “them flogged” and letting them go.

How did the apostles respond?

At the end of Acts 5, we read where they rejoiced “because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name”, the name of Jesus. This only emboldened the apostles more and “day after day”, “they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah” within “the temple courts and from house to house”.

What’s my point in going back and doing a recap of what happened to Jesus’ chosen twelve as they began their Gospel work in response to Jesus’ call to make disciples?

Because it underscores my opening point that carrying out the Great Commission isn’t easy. We see it in the life of the very first apostles and we definitely see it carry through to the work of the Apostle Paul. This is why we can vouch for his words as he writes to Timothy, his ministry counterpart and pastor of the Ephesian church. Look again at these words from the tenth verse of 2 Timothy 2:

So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

Here we find Paul emulating the attitude of the apostles who had preceded him. For he confesses a willingness “to endure anything” as long as it would “bring salvation and eternal glory” in and through “Christ Jesus” to everyone chosen by God.

Indeed, Paul did just that through his many missionary journeys, journeys that had culminated in his Roman incarceration where he wrote these words to Timothy. The Gospel was everything and so Paul was willing to endure everything, just as Jesus did...and we need to be ready to do the same today.

For Christians already have their futures secure through Jesus. Eternal life is guaranteed as they are a co-heir to the very Kingdom of God with their Savior. This gives us the liberty to live carefree in regard to any opposition we might encounter while advancing the Great Commission to others so that they might find their salvation and eternal glory through Christ.

In other words, helping others be saved is always the reason to endure whatever might come as a result of our efforts. So stay the course for the cause of Jesus just as the early apostles did and know that Jesus promised to be with you until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). We never walk alone when we travel this Christian walk for the sake of the Gospel.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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