And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name. Acts 5:41
Have you ever read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs? If not, then I urge you to do so as soon as possible. This great Christian classic is a collection of the accounts of how many of the more prominent martyrs of the faith gave their lives. While none of us are happy about facing death, many of those whose deaths are recorded in that book went to their execution with a song or a smile. It was not death they were appreciating, but the fact that their Lord counted them worthy to die for Him. They understood what a great honour it was to suffer for Him. Do we?
The apostles had just been beaten and threatened. To most of us, that would have been a frightening and intimidating experience. But not to those apostles! If we read the very next verse, we discover them right back at the same activities that had landed them in hot water before. Rather than stopping them, the persecution only made them the more bold. Yes, they would suffer again, but it would be an honour again. And they would appreciate their Lord’s high opinion of themselves. Why do Christians such as the apostles and the martyrs rejoice at persecution? It is not for personal glory, given the great shame associated with it. Nor is it to stir up controversy and antagonism, like the Russelites do. No, these Christians rejoice at persecution because the Lord Jesus said they would if they were faithful. The world hated the Master, and so it would hate His servants. Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 3:12 that all that will live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. That which was humiliating and shameful before men was a mark of honour before God. So it did not matter what people thought, these folks knew that they were following in their Lord’s footsteps. And that was more important to them than life.
I have never been beaten or even threatened for preaching the Gospel or giving out tracts and invitations to meetings. Nor have you. I have not experienced a life of animosity against me because of my faith in Christ. Nor have you. Does that mean we are not worthy? Not altogether; we live in a society where such persecution is actually against the law, so we are relatively safe from it. But there is still much in terms of rejection and scorn that active witnesses for Christ will encounter. While we should never seek rejection and scorn, we should never fear or flee them, nor allow them to interfere with our faithful witness for our Lord. If we never encounter opposition, rejection, or scorn, perhaps it is because we are not being faithful witnesses. That means we are not worthy to suffer shame for His Name.
If suffering shame for the name of the Lord Jesus caused the apostles to rejoice, what are we missing out on? -Jim MacIntosh