Christian Persecution
Matthew 10:23 And when they should persecute you in this city, flee to another. For truly I say to you, by no means should you exhaust the cities of Israel until when the Son of Man should come!
Christians are still being persecuted by the children of Satan, merely for being Christians. The proofs of this lie in the 30 Years' War, the destruction of Christian Russia, the destruction of Christian Germany, and many other events in our history. While the tactics of the jew change with time, and while he often is forced to lie-in-wait even for centuries, his warfare against Christian society never ceases, and the evidence is all around us today: an endless trail of the cities of Israel lie in ruins. That we see this battle of the jew against Christianity at this very time, by itself is full proof that our Christianity is true, and everything else is a lie. Persecution should be expected by Christians and a lack thereof should make one question if they're actually following in the footsteps of Christ:
Matthew 10:24 There is not a student above the teacher nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for a student that he may be as his teacher and a servant as his master. If they have called the master of the house ‘Beelzeboul’, how much more those of his house!
Of course no Christian should seek to exalt himself above Christ, but we all should seek to be like Him. Yet if the enemies of God persecuted and murdered Him, and if they slandered and blasphemed Him, then we should expect nothing but the same from them. Therefore, there should never be any fellowship between Christians and jews! There should never be any outreach of Christians to jews! Why don't the so-called “judeo-Christians” understand the simple and plain meaning of these words? The very phrase “judeo-Christian” is an obvious oxymoron!
Matthew 10:26 Therefore you should not fear them. For nothing is hidden which shall not be revealed and secret which shall not be made known. 27 That which I say to you in the darkness you speak in the light, and that which you hear in the ear proclaim upon the houses!
How can a Christian ever be afraid to speak the truth? If you are persecuted for speaking the truth, then be proud of it – your reward is great in heaven!
Matthew 10:28 And do not fear from those killing the body, but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear He who is able also to slay soul and body in Gehenna!
Christians should have no fear of jew nor beast. We should only have fear of God. If we deny or conceal the truth before our fellows, what shall our God think of us when we stand before Him? From Brenton's Septuagint 4 Maccabees 13:12-17, which while we may or may not accept the book as canon, it nevertheless reflects the attitudes that Christ also professes here: “12 And another, Remember of what stock ye are; and by the hand of our father Isaac endured to be slain for the sake of piety. 13 And one and all, looking on each other serene and confident, said, Let us sacrifice with all our heart our souls to God who gave them, and employ our bodies for the keeping of the law. 14 Let us not fear him who thinketh he killeth; 15 for great is the trial of soul and danger of eternal torment laid up for those who transgress the commandment of God. 16 Let us arm ourselves, therefore, in the abnegation of the divine reasoning. 17 If we suffer thus, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob will receive us, and all the fathers will commend us.”
The book, 4 Maccabees, is a moral one, about the power of faith over fleshly desire, and the story here is about seven brethren and their father who chose death over violation of the law at the command of Antiochus, the Greek ruler of Syria.
Household Division
Matthew 10:21 For brother shall hand over brother unto death, and father child, and children shall rise up against parents and shall slay them. 22 And you shall be hated by all on account of My Name, but he abiding to the end shall be saved.
Do not expect to be loved if you are adhering to the truth of the gospel. The truth of the gospel divides even families against one another, and thus it was in the pagan Roman world when in many cases these things actually did happen. They serve as an example for us today.
Matthew 10:34 You should not suppose that I have come to put peace upon the earth. I have not come to put peace, but a sword! 35 For I have come to divide a man against his father and a daughter against her mother and a bride against her mother-in-law, 36 and a man’s enemies are those of his house!
And we in Christian Identity today can imagine just what it was like for Christians in ancient pagan Rome. We are often shunned and excoriated by our own families, because we refuse to accept the universal religion of the empire. Yes, there is little difference between modern ecumenism and the universal paganism of old Rome, where just about anything became acceptable so long as one worshipped Caesar. Today we are for the most part merely shunned, but in the first few centuries of the Christian era, our forebears were often reported, arrested, and martyred merely for professing Christ.
Christianity is not about our own sick ideas of “peace”, sick because they usually include placating aliens and sinners. As we have seen here while covering Matthew chapter 5, a true peace-maker is one who is willing to obey the laws of God, and reprove his fellows when they do not obey. Contrary to the profession of the phony “judeo-Christians”, Christ is not about peace, but rather about obedience to God, love for our own kind, and the consequences of violating those precepts.
Here Christ quotes Micah 7:6, which reads: “For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.”
Martyrdom
Matthew 10:17 But take heed on account of men, for they shall hand you over to councils and they shall whip you in their assembly halls 18 and you shall be brought before governors and even kings because of Me for a testimony to them and to the Nations.
This was fulfilled with the early Christian martyrs. For 300 years Christians were persecuted at the instigation of the jews. They were indeed dragged before kings, governors, and judges. Little things like this in the gospels, which are hardly noticed or which are taken for granted by nearly all Christians, indeed prove that Christianity is true – how could Christ make such a statement, and we see that it all came true, with such bold confidence? How was He so confident that thousands would follow Him to their death, for a mere profession of their faith? Only because He knew that it was true – and only God could know such things so far ahead of time.
Christian Dialogue
Matthew 10:19 And when they should hand you over, you should not have care for how or what you should speak. For it shall be given to you at that hour what you should speak. 20 For it is not you who are speaking but the Spirit of your Father which is speaking in you.
In your time of calamity, you will be empowered to say the things that God wants you to say. If you feel as though you have failed to say something, be not ashamed: for perhaps God did not want you to say it!
Misunderstandings
Early Mission of the Apostles
'Matthew 10:7 And going you proclaim, saying that ‘the kingdom of the heavens has neared!’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely you must give. 9 Do not procure gold nor silver nor copper for your belts, 10 nor a bag for the way, nor two cloaks nor sandals, nor a staff. For the workman is worthy of his provisions. 11 And into whatever city or town you should enter, scrutinize whether anyone in it is worthy, and there abide until when you would depart.
These instructions were for the apostles during the ministry of Christ. They did not apply afterwards, of their later missions, where at Luke 22:35-36 it is recorded that “35 He said to them: When I sent you without purse and wallet and sandals, did you have want of anything?' And they said 'Nothing.' 36 Then He said to them: 'But now he having a purse must take it, and likewise a wallet, and he not having a sword must sell his garment and buy one.” This goes hand-in-hand with the foreknowledge that Christians would be persecuted, and would most often have to fend for and defend themselves. So we see that common sense must prevail in our quest for the kingdom.