Matthew 10:16-23 Persecutions

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.  But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues;  and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.  But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.  For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.   "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.   "But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. [Matthew 10:16‭-‬23 NASB]

Although Jesus was only sending His disciples to the cities in the Galilee region, His instructions were much broader in scope, and prophetic in nature. He told them that they would stand before kings, and be a testimony to the Gentiles. They were instructed to not rehearse what they would say, but to trust the Holy Spirit to speak through them.

Jesus warned that persecutions would come, and that His disciples would be hated by the world. Satan hates the things of God, and will stir up his people to hate them as well. We see it in politics all the time when certain politicians propose laws that are in defiance of the Christian standards of decency. We see judges ordering Christians to violate their conscience to uphold these ungodly laws, or else lose their means of earning a living.

Jesus gives us an interesting response to these persecutions. Run away. He said, "But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next." Sometimes it's not possible to run away, in which case we have instructions throughout the New Testament to endure persecutions, and to persevere. Nowhere do I see instructions to take up arms against the persecutors, nor to battle them in court. Jesus said, "“Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison." [Matthew 5:25 NASB]

And He said, "You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" [Matthew 5:43-47 NASB]

Then Jesus said, "you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes." This has been the source of a lot of confusion and debate among Christians. Let's see if we can simplify it.

First, when Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man, He isn't just using a generic term to say "Look at me, I'm human." All of the Jews in Israel at the time would have understood the prophetic reference from the book of Daniel.

"I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him. “And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed." [Daniel 7:13-14 NASB]

By calling Himself the "Son of Man" Jesus is saying, "I am the King that was prophesied by Daniel." Please keep in mind that the Kingdom of God is not an earthly kingdom, but a spiritual one. The Kingdom of God is in our hearts. Through His miracles of healing and casting out demons, Jesus gave a taste of the kingdom. As He said, "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." [Matthew 12:28 NASB]

To the first century Jews, this was confusing, because they were expecting a king like David to raise an army, overthrow the Romans, and establish his kingdom in Jerusalem.

To many Christians today, it is confusing because we anticipate His second coming when He will establish His kingdom on earth.

But the kingdom of God was established when Jesus died on the cross. As of that moment, He established a New Covenant and fulfilled His own words that the Son of Man would come.

One day Jesus will return to reign on earth, but He is already a King, enthroned in Heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father. His kingdom, spiritual in nature, is real, and is in our midst even now.