Dive deep into the topic of Christian persecution from a biblical perspective. Using Luke 21:12-19 to shed light on the reality that every Christian will face persecution in the future when they stand firm in faith. Learn how persecution can serve as an opportunity for witnessing, the importance of remaining steadfast when facing opposition, and how God’s sovereignty covers us through trials.

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Dive deep into Christian persecution from a biblical perspective using Luke 21:12-19 to show every Christian will face persecution.

Table of contentsChristian Persecution Is an Opportunity to WitnessPeter and Stephen's ExamplesWilliam Tyndale and John Huss's ExamplesBlessings from Paul's ImprisonmentA Positive ConnotationWe Don’t Have to Worry About What to Say When PersecutedFear of Public SpeakingGod's Grace Will Be Sufficient for UsChristian Persecution Will Come from Family and FriendsSuffering Persecution for Christ Is a PrivilegeGod Is Sovereign Over Our Christian PersecutionEnduring Christian Persecution Is Evidence of SalvationPerseverance of the SaintsBlessings of Christian PersecutionFootnotes

Open Doors is a ministry serving persecuted Christians in over 70 countries. The World Watch List is their annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution. Here are some statistics from their 2024 report:

More than 365 million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith

4,998 Christians were killed for their faith, which is almost 14 per day. About every one and a half hours, a Christian is killed

One in seven Christians are persecuted worldwide

One in five Christians are persecuted in Africa

Two in five Christians are persecuted in Asia

14,766 churches and Christian properties were attacked

4,125 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced, or imprisoned 

3,906 Christians were abducted

More than 3,200 Christians were raped, sexually harassed, or forced to marry non-Christians

Almost 300,000 Christians were forced to leave their homes, go into hiding, or flee their country of origin. 

Preaching a sermon about Christian persecution wouldn’t be difficult in any countries Open Doors supports. They would be glad for the encouragement. But it’s a tough sermon to preach in the United States, where most of us have never been persecuted for our faith, and saying otherwise is insulting to Christians experiencing genuine persecution.

But based on Jesus’s prophesies in these verses, persecution is coming, perhaps in our lifetimes or the lifetimes of our children or their children. So, we need to be prepared to experience persecution ourselves or equip our children to do so. And we have reached one of the most instructive passages to do so.

We are at Luke 21:12, in the middle of the Olivet Discourse. Here's the context. In Luke 21:8-11, Jesus describes the judgments at the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week (the Tribulation), known as the birth pains that precede His Second Coming. We also looked at these birth pains in Revelation 6, where the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse picture them. The verse introducing Christian persecution:

Luke 21:12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.

The phrase “But before all this…” means Jesus is describing events before the birth pains, or before the Tribulation, in the previous verses What’s before the Tribulation? The church age. Jesus will be teaching us much about persecution during the church age.

Christian Persecution Is an Opportunity to Witness

Luke 21:13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 

What a refreshing way to view persecution! We should all desire opportunities to testify about Christ, and that’s exactly what persecution provides. The Greek word for “witness,” or in some translations “testimony,” is martyrion, a derivative of the Greek word martys, related to our word martyr. The word martyr means witness.

Peter and Stephen's Examples

In the Book of Acts, apostles become witnesses and give testimony of Christ when they were persecuted. Here are two examples. First, with Peter:

Acts 4:3 [The religious leaders] arrested [Peter and John] and put them in custody…7 When [the religious leaders brought them out and] set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders…10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead…11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Talk about an open door to preach Christ! Peter took advantage of this opportunity. This is a powerful witness. Peter preached the gospel to the religious leaders but wouldn’t have had this opportunity if not for the persecution he and John experienced.

Right before Stephen was stoned, he accused the religious leaders of crucifying Christ and then:

Acts 7:59 As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen used the persecution he experienced to pray for his persecutors and look like Christ doing the same when He was crucified.

William Tyndale and John Huss's Examples

William Tyndale, best known for his English translation of the Bible, was murdered by the Catholic Church. He was strangled to death while tied to a stake. Then, his dead body was burned. His final words were, “Lord! Open the King of England's eyes.”1

The Catholic Church also murdered John Huss. When he was going to be executed, he was undressed, and his hands were tied behind his back. His neck was bound with a chain to a stake around which wood and straw had been piled up to burn him alive. When he was asked to recant to save his own life. Huss declined, stating, “God is my witness that the things charged against me I never preached. In the same truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and preached, drawing upon the sayings and positions of the holy doctors, I am ready to die today.” When he was about to die, he cried out, "Christ, son of the Living God, have mercy on us!"2

Blessings from Paul's Imprisonment

Consider these three wonderful things that Paul said were accomplished by his imprisonment:

Philippians 1:12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,

First, he said his imprisonment advanced the gospel.

Philippians 1:13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.

Second, he said it was evident to everyone that he was imprisoned for Christ.

Philippians 1:14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Third, he said his imprisonment made other believers bolder for the faith.

A Positive Connotation

Words have positive and negative connotations. For example, the word bleak sounds negative because it suggests the absence of hope, and "evasive" sounds negative because it suggests avoiding the truth.

Other words have positive connotations. For example, the word motivated sounds positive because it makes us think of being driven to accomplish something. However, we can be motivated by bad things, so motivation is not always positive. Nurturing sounds positive because it makes us think of helping others. However, we can nurture weaknesses in ourselves and others, so being nurturing also is not always positive.

The word opportunity has a positive connotation. We talk about job opportunities or opportunities to try something new. In Luke 21:13, Jesus said, “This will be your opportunity.” The NKJV says an occasion, like a special occasion. When we experience persecution, we are given the opportunity to bear witness about Christ. It is a special occasion.

We Don’t Have to Worry About What to Say When Persecuted

When we think about giving testimony of Christ, most of us probably have the same fear: “What if I don’t know what to say? What if I say the wrong thing?” Jesus’s words should greatly encourage us:

Luke 21:14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

Let’s first deal with what Jesus is not doing in these verses. He’s not giving us an excuse to be lazy and avoid studying when we can preach or teach God’s word. Notice the word “meditate.” This is different than studying. Jesus did not tell us not to study beforehand. He said not to meditate or think about what to say beforehand.

Also, He said, “How to answer,” because He isn’t talking about preaching or teaching God’s word. He’s talking about responding when being interrogated. In those situations, we don’t know what we will be asked, and we don’t have time to prepare, but God will graciously help us.

Fear of Public Speaking

Glossophobia is fear of public speaking. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld said, “According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that seem right? That means to the average person, if you have to go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”