JESUS OF NAZARETH UNDER ATTACK

For more than twenty centuries, Jesus of Nazareth has been in a firestorm of controversy. He, Himself, was persecuted and killed.

Historically, multiplied thousands of Jesus’ followers have been mocked, ridiculed, robbed, beaten, and killed for their faith. Yet, persecution has not stopped them. The more they have been persecuted, the stronger their faith has become, and the more they have shared their faith with others.

What is the secret of such courage and conviction? Why have the enemies of Jesus not been able to stop people from following Him? In this series of articles, we will search for answers to these questions. During our search, we will discover that the predictions the Lord Jesus made about persecution have come true.

Jesus Predicts Persecution

Jesus warned His followers that they would be persecuted.  In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:11-12).

Jesus also said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Jesus knew that persecution was coming.

Jewish Leaders Persecute Jesus

On occasion, the Jewish leaders became so upset with Jesus that they wanted to kill Him (Luke 4:29; John 5:18, etc.). He healed people on the Sabbath and He socialized with outcasts. He turned over their money tables at the temple. He called them “hypocrites” (Matthew 23:15). Jesus fearlessly pointed out the Pharisees’ faults, and they hated Him for that.

Eventually, the Jewish leaders had Jesus crucified. He was stripped naked. Nails were driven through His hands and feet. He was mocked, ridiculed, and humiliated. Yet, He did not call for vengeance. Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

The Apostles Are Persecuted

When the Jewish high court told the apostles to stop talking about Jesus, Peter replied, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead–whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree” (Acts 5:29-30).

When the judges heard this, they were furious and wanted to kill the apostles. But, instead, the judges flogged them and let them go. The apostles “left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name [of Jesus]” (Acts 5:41). What was the secret of their courage?

Stephen Is Killed

A few months later, Stephen was put on trial before the same high court. Instead of defending himself, Stephen accused his accusers. This made the court officials so angry they dragged him out of the city and began throwing stones at him (Acts 7:5758).

As Stephen was dying, he prayed, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). What was the secret of Stephen’s strength and good will?

Believers Are Scattered by Persecution

The people who killed Stephen laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. On that day, “Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison” (Acts 8:3). The believers in Jerusalem, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the region. “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4). Why did these early Christians keep talking about Jesus even when they were mistreated?

Persecution Under the Romans

In AD 41, Rome appointed Herod Agrippa I as “King of the Jews”. Agrippa wanted to please his Jewish subjects, so he persecuted Christians. He “had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword” (Acts 12:2). Then, he imprisoned Peter intending to kill him too, but an angel of God delivered Peter from prison.

In AD 64, a great fire broke out in Rome and destroyed much of the city. It was rumored that Nero, the emperor, was responsible for the fire. In order to shift the guilt away from himself, Nero accused Christians of setting the fire and started a wave of persecutions against them. A multitude of Christians were arrested, convicted, and tortured. They were nailed to crosses, fed to lions, torn to pieces by dogs, wrapped in skins and set afire at night as human torches in Nero’s gardens.

The apostles Peter and Paul are said to have been martyred in Rome during Nero’s rule. According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside down at his own request.

Similar persecutions were instigated by other Roman emperors. Christians were accused of atheism for refusing to worship the emperor and other Roman gods. About AD 200, Clement of Alexandria wrote, “Many martyrs are daily burned, confined, or beheaded, before our eyes”. About AD 258, Dionysus said, “Men and women, young and old, maidens and matrons, soldiers and civilians, of every age and race, some by scourging and fire, others by sword, have conquered in the strife and won their crowns”.

Eleven of the twelve apostles died as martyrs. Only John, the brother of the apostle James, died a natural death.

Hinduism

There is evidence that the apostle Thomas preached in India. According to tradition, Thomas died on a hill in Chennai when a Hindu cleric thrust a spear through him as he was praying.

Most Hindus consider Jesus a supreme model of moral living. They accept Jesus’ message of love, and they even regard Him as a divine being.

Many Hindu intellectuals feel deep affection for the person and teachings of Jesus. To them, Jesus is an example of one whose soul was totally illuminated. Only Jesus absolutely identified himself with truth and with God. He, alone, could legitimately say, “I am the truth”, and “I and the Father are one”. Yet, Hindus reject the notion that Jesus was the only incarnation of deity, and they do not accept the claim that He is the only path to God. They revere Him and admire Him, but they regard Him as only one among many divine incarnations.

Today, India is the most populous democratic nation on earth, and its constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Yet, the rapid growth of Christianity in India in recent years has triggered a sharp rise of persecution by radical Hindu nationalists. Eight Indian states have passed anti-conversion laws designed to keep Hindus from converting to Christianity or Islam.

Incidents of violence against Christians have been reported in many parts of India. Church buildings and Bibles have been burned. Anti-Christian hate literature has been distributed. Christians have been forced to convert to Hinduism. Missionaries and national preachers have been falsely charged, imprisoned, and even killed. Christian schools and colleges have been destroyed, and Christian cemeteries have been desecrated. In 2011, a government official in Orissa estimated that more than 500 Christians had died in his state alone as a result of anti-Christian hostilities launched by fundamentalist Hindus.

Jesus is under attack in many parts of India. But to be fair, it must be said that certain arrogant missionaries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries coerced the Indian people to convert to Christianity. Even though these missionaries were not true representatives of Jesus, the stories of their abuses are still fresh in the minds of many Indian people today. 

Buddhism 

Buddhists generally have little to say about Jesus. They acknowledge him as a great man. They recognize him as a good, wise, and moral teacher, but they reject the Jesus of the Bible. To them, Jesus was not born of a virgin. He did not perform miracles. He is not the Savior of the world. He is not the Son of God. He is not the light of the world. He was not raised from death. He will not return to earth as a divine judge. And, to them, Jesus' teachings are not the standard of truth. 

According to Gautama Buddha, enlightenment comes from within. It is achieved through concentration and meditation. Gautama wrote, “Rely upon yourself; do not depend on anyone else”. He would say to us, “Do not depend on Jesus”. 

Buddhists do not persecute Christians, but they reject the Biblical view of Jesus and send out missionaries of their own. 

If you are a Buddhist, please take a look at Jesus in the following articles. 

Islam 

In the seventh century, Muslims in the Middle East taught that Jesus was born of a virgin, performed miracles even in childhood, and spoke with divine wisdom as a prophet of God. However, they denied that Jesus ever wanted to be worshiped as a divine being.

According to the Qur’an, Jesus did not die on the cross; He was not buried, and He did not rise from death. Instead, He was caught up into heaven, and someone who looked like Him (perhaps Judas) died on the cross. Most Muslims teach that Jesus will one day return to earth as a man, judge the world, get married, have children, and die a natural death.

Today, some Muslim clerics claim that the true teachings of Jesus were corrupted by the apostle Paul and the church. They believe that the New Testament account of Jesus is false. Even though Muslims have a high regard for Jesus and acknowledge Him as a prophet of God, they consider it blasphemous to call Him the Son of God or to worship Him as a divine being. Under sharia law, it is a capital offense to convert from Islam to Christianity.

In recent years, church buildings have been burned and Christians have been robbed, persecuted, and even killed by radical Muslims in Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nigeria, Northern Cyprus, Pakistan, The Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. If you are a Muslim, please give Jesus a chance to reveal Himself in the following articles.

Communism

Under Communist rule in China, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Vietnam, North Korea, and in other places, Christians have been arrested and imprisoned for owning or distributing Bibles, and for worshiping in their homes without approval by the government.

Lenin taught that religion is “the opiate of the people” and tried to stamp out all religions. Yet, Christianity has survived.

Summary

During the past 2,000 years, followers of Jesus have been persecuted in every generation. Yet, persecution has not stopped the spread of Christianity. Instead, it has spurred its growth.  What gives followers of Jesus the courage to face danger and death with confidence and serenity?

Who is this Jesus who has captured the hearts and changed the lives of so many people through the ages? Come along with us as we search for answers to these questions.