My Rights or His Cross?

Following Jesus means a life of self-denial, service, and a willingness to suffer persecution and loss for his sake. Rage is not an appropriate reaction to hostility for anyone wishing to follow Jesus. His instructions regarding this may be contrary to the “wisdom of this age,” but they are what the Master requires of his disciples. Responding to violations of our political, civil, and individual “rights” with anger only demonstrates how far we have strayed from his teachings and example.

The issue is not whether we have rights and liberties under man’s laws. Nor is it a question whether democracy, autocracy, or monarchy is the best form of government. For those of us who would follow Jesus, we must ask ourselves, how should we live under the political and societal structures in which we find ourselves? How should we react to hostility from our fellow citizens and neighbors?

[Photo by Cdoncel on Unsplash]

Every disciple is summoned to a life of obedience and self-sacrifice, though that life orientation is incompatible with one centered on one’s own “rights” and desires.

Consider the issue of persecution. If we become angry over mere verbal insults to our faith or lifestyle, how will we respond to genuine and serious persecution when it comes? Would we take to the streets in protest or riot against our critics and oppressors?

Jesus instructed his disciples to “rejoice and leap for joy” whenever “men hate you and ostracize you, and profane you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man…for great is your reward in Heaven.” Reacting as instructed by Jesus is incompatible with our all-too-common habit of lashing out at every insult or perceived infringement of our “rights” - (Matthew 5:10-12).

Jesus gave us a real-world example of how to show mercy, especially to our enemies. In Gethsemane, an armed mob approached him, determined to arrest and haul him before the High Priest for questioning and prosecution. Peter reacted by cutting the ear off the servant of the High Priest. Does that sound vaguely familiar?

If ever there was a man innocent of all charges, it was Jesus. Was this not an incident where violence committed in self-defense was justified? Did not the mob come to arrest the royal Messiah of Israel on trumped-up charges?

Jesus did the unexpected. He healed the man’s ear even though he was under no illusions about what was coming Not many days before this incident, he warned his disciples that he would be “betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes. And they will condemn him to death… and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him.”

THE APOSTLES

The disciples took his teachings to heart after his resurrection. When Peter and the Apostles were hauled before the Sanhedrin, beaten, and ordered to cease preaching, they went their way “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.” Likewise, after being beaten and imprisoned for preaching the Gospel, Paul and Silas spent the night “praying and singing hymns to God” from their prison cell - (Acts 5:41, 16:23-25).

Jesus taught us to “love our enemies, to pray for them who persecute us,” and to extend mercy to every “enemy” who abused us. Mercy shown to enemies is how we emulate God and become “perfect” as He is. The popular notion that 'mercy is for the weak' is contrary to the Cross of Christ - (Matthew 5:38-48).

He was the only righteous man ever to live. If anyone deserved respect for his civil and political “rights,” Jesus did. Yet rather than be served, he came “to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.” This he did by enduring an unjust death for his friends and “enemies” alike. Conforming our lives to his example is how we become “great in the Kingdom of God” - (Matthew 20:28, Romans 5:10).

When beaten, and reviled before the High Priest, Jesus reviled not in return. While suffering on the Roman cross, he asked his Father to “forgive them, for they know not what they do” - (Matthew 27:39, Mark 15:32, Luke 23:34).

Scripture portrays persecution for his sake as something disciples should expect and endure. Not only so but suffering for Jesus is a great privilege and honor for any disciple. Therefore, it is a matter of great rejoicing as astonishing as that idea is to many if not most of us.

Through loud protests and legal machinations, we could avoid persecution. However, we may unwittingly rob ourselves of something of infinitely greater value than a comfortable or long life.

The notion of inviolate civil “rights” that must be defended at all costs is incompatible with New Testament teachings on discipleship, mercy, and suffering for the Gospel. Failure to faithfully endure persecution makes us unworthy of the Master who showed us the “perfect” way of his Father. To become the “greatest” in the Kingdom of God we must first become the “slave and servant of all.”

The Apostle Paul willingly surrendered his “right” to take a wife for the sake of the ministry. Likewise, he had the “right” to expect financial support from his churches, but he often abstained from doing so and instead supported himself through manual labor for the sake of the Gospel - (Acts 18:3, 1 Corinthians 4:11-12, 9:1-14).

In contrast to this world, its ideologies, and political systems, we are offered the privilege of serving God’s Kingdom, and the great honor of enduring insults, hatred, rejection, and persecution on behalf of its King, along with the everlasting rewards that will far outweigh any losses we may incur in this life.

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SEE ALSO:

• Christ Crucified - (The power of God is revealed in the proclamation of a Messiah who was crucified by the world on the Roman Cross)

• Mercy, Loopholes and Sand - (We deceive ourselves when we seek and even create loopholes in the harder sayings of Jesus)

• Kingdom Power - (True greatness and power in his Kingdom are found in self-sacrificial service for others, not in exercising political power over others)