No one likes going to the dentist—at least, no one that I’ve met. However, there are those times when you must go. There’s a sharp pain when you chew; it’s the tell-tale sign of a cavity. So, you have to go have it filled. You make the appointment, and it just happens that they can get you in that afternoon. The sooner the better, right? Get it over with, right? Still, your anxiety goes through the roof as you arrive at the office, are ushered to the back, and wait in the chair for what feels like hours. Finally, the dentist comes in, and begins the procedure. First, a pinch as you receive an injection of Novocain. Then, your heart rate spikes, especially as you hear the whining of the drill.

But, the cavity is being filled and you know that whatever unpleasantness you’re experiencing now is only temporary. Once all is said and done, at least today, the pain will be gone, both from the procedure and, as is the point of having the cavity filled, when you eat.

Jesus said, “But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.” Obviously, He wasn’t talking about having a cavity filled. He was talking about the agonizing and unpleasant life that awaited His disciples. What Jesus said to them did happen, and it’s a warning you and the whole Church needs to heed carefully. “They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.”

On the surface, it sounds like Jesus is warning His disciples about persecution from unbelievers, and He certainly is. “[T]hese things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.” Those who do not know Jesus are, to put things simply, unbelievers. And there are many among the ranks of the unbelievers who are threatened by the only, true God and those who are His disciples. These will do anything to silence you, some by any means necessary—legislate against the practice of your religion in the public sphere, desecrating your worship space, burning your church building or homes, even cutting off your head. And in a twist of irony, when they do these things, they’ll think they’re offering service to God—whomever that god may be, for he is not the only, true God.

But that also brings up this point about Jesus’ warning: the persecution is not only going to come from unbelievers outside of the church, but also from unbelievers inside the church. We’re treading into the realms of visible and invisible church here, dear hearers. To put it concisely, the visible church is the assembly of people that you can see, believers and unbelievers mingled together. By looking at this gathering, you are unable to tell just who is who—all you can go by is what you see and hear, and as far as your senses are concerned, what you see and hear is the church. Therefore, the invisible church would be those among the gathering who are believers, who make no false pretenses about their being there.

In any event, there may come a time when the unbelievers in your midst will also persecute you. “They will put you out of the synagogues,” Jesus put it. How will this look? Well, It may begin merely by being shunned by another member. They may begin to gather a following who also conspire against you. Before long, the entire congregation, spurred on by accusations by the one member or their group, is against you and you are either unwelcome there or forcibly removed from the congregation. They will all think they are doing God a service in doing so, especially those who have been led astray, but for the unbeliever, the question remains, to what god?

And if you think this couldn’t happen to you or in these Lutheran congregations, the man standing in the pulpit is a witness to it having happened, for it happened to him. For proclaiming the truth and espousing sound doctrine and practice, your pastor was forcibly removed from his previous parish. And there were those there who openly said that they were doing it because God wanted it done, and the results of the vote to have him removed was proof of that. Never mind what the Scriptures said, but then, those few who earnestly desired his removed rarely minded the Scriptures anyway.

There are men who have gone through this for one reason or another. In the LCMS, over 200 of them are still languishing in candidate status, still suffering the pain—emotional, psychological, and even physical—of having been unscripturally removed—removed without cause—from their congregations. There are some who have left the roster for what they perceive as greener pastures elsewhere, and from where they were, those other pastures are certainly greener. There are some who have left the ministry altogether. There are even a few who have taken their own lives because they couldn’t bear the burden of what they deem as a failure. And this says nothing for the trauma that their families go through.

But, this is all exactly what Jesus said would happen. You know that the possibility of these things happening to you is real. You know that you may even face certain death for your confession of faith. You professed as much on the day that you confirmed your baptismal vows, stating that you would rather suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from this faith. Still, knowing does not lessen or deaden the anxiety, agony, or unpleasantness of both looking forward to it happening when you know persecution is on the horizon or as you are undergoing that persecution.

Life in a world that hates Jesus is going to be agonizing and unpleasant. That’s a fact of, well, life—this fallen life. Do not let anyone else tell you otherwise. Jesus didn’t come to earth so that you could live your best life now. Jesus did not come to earth so that by believing in Him you would be prosperous and successful. There are pits all along the road, and you will fall into them. You will fall into the hands of your enemies. You will be persecuted—hated, mocked, and perhaps even killed—because you are a disciple of Jesus.

And you will be tempted to deny your faith when it happens. Would you confess Christ while looking down the barrel of the gun of someone telling you to recant? Easier said than done, and I suppose now, without the gun present, you would say yes. This is but an extreme example, though; still, your life in this world will be hard because you are Christian, and you will be tempted to deny Jesus.

Those who tell you otherwise are liars, wolves in sheep’s clothing. These will only lead you astray and to your eternal destruction. The god they serve is not the only, true God, who serves you with all that you need for your eternal salvation. The only, true God will give you want you need for this life, but He will also withhold His hand and let you suffer for your own good, even if that suffering ends in your death. And most of the time, His reason and heavenly wisdom is beyond comprehension and explanation.

A look at the lives of the apostles and those in the early church serve as an example. Legends tell of the hard lives the apostles had; all of them but John were killed, and there were attempts at John’s life. Imprisoned, run through with spears, thrown from the Temple, poisoned, flayed alive—all for nothing more than believing and teaching Christ crucified—all of them prove that their best life was not in their “now,” but in the life to come. Nor were their lives entirely prosperous, as St. Paul told of knowing what it was like to be content in weal and woe. (cf. Philippians 4:11-12)

So, the trick, as it can be put, is to learn how to be content and joyful in the face of certain persecution. And that, dear hearers, comes only by way of the Helper. Thank God that Jesus has ascended and sent the Helper so that you can face what is to come in this life with sure and certain confidence in the goodness that awaits you in the life to come. “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) “Then, whensoe’er He pleases, I meet death willingly.” (TLH 597.1b) “Be Thou my Consolation, / My Shield when I must die; / Remind me of Thy Passion / When my last hour draws nigh. / Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, / Upon Thy cross shall dwell, / My heart by faith enfold Thee. / Who dieth thus dies well!” (TLH 172.10)

What does the Helper do? He takes from what is of Jesus and gives it to you. (cf. John 16:13-15) He gives you Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection on your behalf. And by this, you are given to stand up under this persecution and die well, knowing that by your own death, you have gained eternal life. So, it’s no trick, but entirely the work of the Holy Spirit to keep you with Jesus Christ in the one true faith, especially over and against the temptation to fall away at the threat of and under the threat of persecution. And what this should teach you is that in those moments of persecution, no matter how small or great, God is not abandoning you, as you may be tempted to think, but that He is with you always, even as He promised. (cf. Matthew 28:20)

Therefore, dear hearers, by aid of the Helper, you can take courage when persecution comes. Jesus promised it, and your fathers in the faith lived it before you. Take Martin Luther, for instance:

The Word they still shall let remain / Nor any thanks have for it; / [Christ’s] by our side upon the plain / With His good gifts and Spirit. / And take they our life / Goods, fame, child, and wife, / Let these all be gone, / They yet have nothing won; / The Kingdom ours remaineth. (TLH 262.4)

No, you can let persecution and the agony and unpleasantness of this life serve as a reminder that you are joined to Christ by Holy Baptism, who was in all ways tempted and persecuted as you are, and to the point of death. (cf. Hebrews 4:14) You can let it be a reminder of the promises that Jesus has made to you—“But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them”—and especially this promise:

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know....I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:1-4, 6)

Furthermore, the persecution, agony, and any unpleasantness of this life, the hatred of the world, is all temporary. Like the pain at the dentist, the pain and troubles of life will also pass. For most of humanity, there will come a time when you will take your last breath; then, you will be with Christ awaiting the resurrection. On that day, Jesus will return to judge the quick and the dead, and you who have been faithful until death, who have endured temptation, will receive the crown of life. (cf. James 1:12; Revelation 2:10) And the end of this life—the end of the pain, agony, unpleasantness, and trouble—is life everlasting, where all things are new. (cf. Revelation 21:5) “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4) The former things have passed away—they were only temporary.

Therefore, let the world’s hatred of Jesus and you, from unbelievers within and without the church, remind you of the salvation that is yours and coming by way of Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection for you.

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:51-57)

This promise is yours and for all who are of the Baptized and believe, far and near. For you are members of His Church, you are His, and He has forgiven you for all of your sins.