We Are Witnesses

Ezra 9-10; Psalms 131; Luke 21 

“’…they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.’”

Luke 21:12-15

Jesus promised his followers persecution. The absence of persecution in our lives should alarm us and provoke the simple question: ‘Am I still faithfully following Jesus in a life on mission?’

The purpose of the confrontation of the gospel with the principalities and powers is that a clear witness for Jesus would be given. These “witnessing” opportunities resulted in thousands of martyrs in the early church. Even in our Western context of religious freedom, those who live a clear gospel witness in the environment of religious pluralism face persecution. Jesus promised in that moment of testing to give us the words to say - in our university classroom, our lunchroom at work, or in the coffee shop.

Have we embraced the gospel and its cost?

“Lord Jesus, you are my readiness to live and share the gospel ‘wherever and whenever’, for your glory.”