Stay the Course!

"They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said." - Matthew 27:28-29

Due to his preaching against the persecution of the Nazi Reich, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Gestapo and on July 23, 1943 was indicted on the charge of subversion. He spent 18 months in prison, till October 8, 1944. He was transferred to the Gestapo prisons at Berlin and Buchenwald, then taken to the concentration camp at Flossenburg, where he was hanged on the morning of April 9, 1945. The prison doctor wrote that after the sentence had been read out, Pastor Bonhoeffer knelt on the floor and prayed fervently to his God. "I was most deeply moved by the way this lovable man prayed. So devout and so certain that God heard his prayer". Why would the Lord allow the persecution and death of such a godly man?

In the midst of such opposition and rejection from unbelievers we might step back and consider the events recorded in today's reading. Our Lord was humiliated and mocked, even before he suffered the agony of scourging and crucifixion. Concerning this experience our Lord said in John 15:20, "Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." 

Never believe that God's children are meant to live a well received and respected life in this world my friend. No matter how much we try, at the end of the day those who follow Jesus will also be mocked and humiliated. While God allows such persecution, He also provides the strength and grace to say "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34) Be true to your Master my friend, and stay the course!