If the idea of persecution against Christians conjures up images of togas and coliseums, it may be time to take a look around. Hostility against the followers of Christ is current and visible. The “Open Doors World Watch” reports that in 2024, there were 365 million Christians facing high levels of persecution. It ranged from the loss of employment or governmental restriction to physical violence and the loss of life. Persecution is happening today.

Many believers in North America have escaped the extremity of hostility, but we are not immune. You may have faced giggles behind your back, been passed over for promotions or been confronted in anger. Increasingly, those who put their faith in Jesus are out of step with the culture around them. There is tension and expressions of isolation. Jesus knows that. In fact, He predicted it. Read through the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:1-12. Focus on the last one, the longest one (vv. 11-12) and consider the following.

• Jesus cautioned that believers would face persecution

Read Matthew 10:16. How did Jesus describe His followers compared to those around us? Give thought to the emotions and actions of sheep living among wolves. How might sheep respond?

Read John 15:18. What is the root reason for people’s hostility against believers? If the world hates Christians because they hated Jesus, will compromise or adjustment to culture improve the world’s reaction towards believers?

Read 2 Timothy 3:12. What is the price of living a godly life? Notice that Paul doesn’t say that those with perfect lives will find trouble; but those who would seek godly living. So, who is immune to the persecution of this world?

• Troubles are rooted in our living for Jesus

Why do you think that Jesus placed the blessedness of persecution as the last beatitude? Why did He expound on it more than the others?

Peter who heard this teaching of Jesus also speaks of blessedness. Read 1 Peter 4:14-16. What caution does Peter offer believers when it comes to suffering persecution?

• Jesus invites us to rejoice in the midst

Read Matthew 5:11-12 several times. How are Christians to respond to suffering for the Name of Jesus? Since smiles are not the natural response in painful situations, where does this joy come from?

Read Hebrews 11:26. As Jesus said, persecution happened to the prophets as well. What made it possible for Moses to endure reproach? What did Moses look to through the painful events and hostility of his life? What is the reward of God for those who suffer for His Name?

• Consider a time when you faced hostility for the sake of Jesus. Why did it happen? How did you feel? What happened as a result of it? What reason for rejoicing was found in that situation?
• Are you surprised when hostility is directed your way because of Jesus? Why or why not? While you may be the recipient of persecution, who is the real target? (Rev.12.) How does this fact impact your experience of hostility?
• What has sustained you in situations where people direct their anger at God toward you