This verse really stood out to me this morning. I split it into two parts.
"But all these things they will do to you on account of my Name..." The hate and the persecution headed our way for believing and obeying Jesus are credited to Him. This is one of the keys to courage. If we truly believe that it is on His account, on His tab that we receive persecution well then this is very good news! Because when he was persecuted and hated to the point of death, He rose from the dead! Will He not resurrect any smaller deaths we may suffer till the physical one happens? I think one reason why today's Christian does not really want to live out our faith is because we try and pay our own tab when Jesus has already charged it on his own credit card... and paid the debt we owe on ours! If we saw with the eyes that see that nothing will really truly kill us (separation from God, see Romans 8) then i think and hope we would be much more bold. Bold enough to order filet mignon.
"because they do not know Him who sent Me." The scary part about this verse is that we really misapply it. We often point to the atheists, the left-wingers, the satanists, etc. when it comes to those who do not know God. Jesus, in this context, is talking about the religious leaders of the day! I personally believe we were all designed with some sort of leadership capability (a.k.a. influence). And it is not what we know, or how we do it that will matter for eternity but Whom we know. If i try to lead people towards anything that leads people away from knowing Him more, i mislead people. This is a high standard, but a good standard. For we don't want to be found to be the object of this predicate. The scariest words spoken throughout all eternity are/will be, "I never knew you." (Matthew 7:23)
Lastly, as an overall implication of this verse, to know suffering (for doing good in Jesus' manner) is to deeply know Jesus. (I Peter 2:20, 3:17, 4:19)
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