When I consider the suffering of Jesus Christ, one of the verses that has always impacted me is Matthew 27:30 which says, "And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head."
The reason this verse has always bothered me is because it's so degrading. Everything Jesus went through, from being spit on to being hung publically for a crime He did not commit, is heartbreaking and humiliating, and yet, as followers of Christ, we're taught that Christians will suffer for following Him.
So when we see a story like this one today, where an Islamic mob actually threw urine on a church, this is degrading, but not surprising. What this reveals instead is how dark the human heart is without Christ and why we need to be fervent in our prayers for those who are lost.
Here's part of the Compass Direct news piece about this incident.
Pastor receives death threat; no arrests so far.NEW DELHI, May 23 (CDN) — No arrests have been made since 600 Islamists hurled bags filled with urine and ditchwater at about 100 members of a church last week and threatened to kill its pastor.
Police looked on as the mob attacked the Philadelphia Batak Christian Protestant Church worshipping on the street in Bekasi, near Jakarta in West Java Province, on Thursday (May 17), church attorney Saor Siagian told Compass by phone.
The mob, which included the chairman of the Bekasi chapter of the extremist Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), began to throw urine, ditchwater, rotten eggs, stones and dirt when Pastor Palti Panjaitan came to address the congregation. The church had to disperse, Siagian said.
Pastor Panjaitan told local media he received a death threat and has filed a police complaint. Full story here.
Please pray and fast for those ensnared in sin who do not yet know Christ. Pray for justice for this church and the pastor and pray for protection over these believers.