Big Idea - How are we to respond to the persecution that comes as a result of our witness to the Gospel? That we are witnesses is assumed as the main goal of being a disciple. The first disciples may have thought this was going to be easy and they would be welcomed and loved - after all Jesus was! But, we know better! Jesus warns them that this is not how it’s going to work. We will encounter resistance, persecution, and hatred as we bear witness to Christ, but we are to keep proclaiming Christ as sheep among wolves. This is a very strange and unheard of description, but it accurately depicts how we are to live as Christ’s ambassadors and witnesses in a hostile world. In this passage, Jesus warns His disciples of the dangers, not to discourage them, but to prepare them to be faithful witnesses in spite of opposition. He then charges them to not be afraid but be reassured by keeping an eternal perspective on the central purpose of their lives.
