In giving instructions to his disciples as they set out on a limited mission to Israel (Matt 10:16), Christ tells them that he is sending them out as sheep among the wolves, so they needed to be shrewd and not be seen as a threat. They were to remain innocent but not be foolish. While the instructions were meant for this limited mission, it makes good sense in our approach to the world. There is no need to rush out, foolishly crashing headlong into the opposition. That would be reckless. Why purposefully provoke those who are hostile when the point of the mission is to win those who are hostile to Christ? The message may invite and incite hostility but our behavior should not provoke them.

People who thrive on competition enjoy opposition; it is what motivates and inspires them. Conventional wisdom says that competition brings out the best in us, and to a degree that is true. When opposition, however, is serious and life-threatening, most people shy away from it, usually because opposition implies something negative and difficult, if not personally devastating. Opposition can be devastating.

There are occasions when we must let go of our God-given personal rights and suffer for the sake of Christ, even though it is the result of injustice. God is a God of justice but may wish to use the occasion to reveal His character and will to a watching world. There are times when the world needs a lesson on sacrifice and selflessness, and we may be required to give up our rights to fulfill God’s will for that particular occasion.

If God is sovereign and we are doing his will, why should we worry about a defense? Doesn’t that appear to be focusing too much on the mundane, too much on our own needs? Does it show a lack of faith? The point is that while it is true that God is sovereign and we are committed to doing his will, we live in a world that makes demands on us, even unreasonable demands. Christians are called before authorities, judges, and courts sometimes for good reasons and sometimes for not-so-good reasons. These persons have the responsibility of keeping peace in society, for upholding society’s laws, and to resolve conflict. Sometimes they are just doing their job; but some use their position to harass and persecute Christians, and this of course is unjust.

Walter Brueggemann, Old Testament scholar, says that Israel’s experiences of pain as recorded in the Old Testament are answered by God’s actions. He hears their cries of pain and responds. Hope in ancient Israel was expressed by “the relentless insistence that social hurt is not permanent, that oppression is not for perpetuity” (Old Testament Theology: Essays on Structure, Theme, and Text, 7). Israel believed that God would change things abruptly (“an inversion of circumstances”). It is a radical idea—that the present is not permanent and that there is genuine hope for the future. Things will change because God will change them. It was an optimism based on the intervention of God into human history. His kingdom would come and it would last forever. The kingdom of God has come in Christ, and will be consummated when he comes again.

One writer has suggested that we use the buffeting and temptations we encounter in the world as a way for toning-up the muscles of our faith (see Andree Seu, “What is the Victory?” World, June 7, 2003, 43). Toning-up the muscles of our faith is the theme of Hebrews 12:1-12. The “struggle against sin” in verse 4 has been taken by many to mean a struggle against one’s personal sins; however, if you take verse 3 into account (the opposition from sinful men), then verse 4 points more toward the meaning of overcoming the sins of the world or the sinful actions of men that seek to harm us, which press upon us as heavy weights. We can allow these weights to cause us to “grow weary and lose heart” (v. 3); or, we can use them as a means to tone-up our faith.

“Preparation for underground work begins by studying sufferology, martyrology.”

“Wars and rumors of wars.” These words are a painful reality for many. Most of us not in hostile areas are so inundated with the devastation of war and terrorism on television that, after a while, we want to push it away, hoping that it will disappear. Unfortunately, it is our daily dose of reality, and it does not look like it is going to end. Because we care about people, we feel the pain of injured humanity as though we were experiencing it ourselves.

Throughout history, Christians have utilized persecution as an avenue for ministry. Persecution can place us in situations where we would not normally be or want to be. When we are put in prison or taken to court for our faith, we have a venue that is not normally ours to utilize. We are thrust behind enemy lines where we can minister. Erwin McManus writes in The Barbarian Way: If Christ has won our heart, he will lead us “to advance forward behind enemy lines to win the hearts of those who do not yet know Him or love Him” (Barbarian, 13-14).

John the Baptist announced publically that the Kingdom of God was near. He preached repentance and proclaimed the coming of the Kingdom. When John was imprisoned, Jesus, who also announced publically at his baptism that the Kingdom was near, began his public ministry by preaching repentance and the coming of the Kingdom (see Matt. 3:1–12, Mark 1:14, 4:11). Arthur Glasser explains that Jesus was saying that the Kingdom was now accessible to those who would submit to the rule of God. When Jesus began to call disciples, he clearly indicated that involvement in the Kingdom of God would include public proclamation and evangelism.