13:11
The prospect of being hauled before councils and others is not in itself a very enticing one. But there are two things they needed to bear in mind, as do we if we ever find ourselves in a similar position. One is the purpose, and it is God’s purpose. It is not us doing something and hoping God shows up. Rather it is God involving us in what He is doing. The second is that the Holy Spirit will help us. On our own merits and abilities we are not up to the task, but it is not about us doing things in our own strength. And note that God involves men and women in all that He does.
13:12,13
However, Jesus makes no attempt to sugar-coat the issue. Jesus is utterly realistic, both about the cost, and about the purpose. We need to have both in view, to focus on just one or the other is a half-truth. So Jesus warns that “brother will betray brother to death”. Schnabel says that there was limited evidence of “brother betraying brother” before AD 70, but so what? There certainly was persecution, for we read about it in Acts, and trying to see things purely in terms of events leading up to AD 70 is, in my view, a mistake. There was partial fulfilment in the events leading up to AD 70, and to ignore that is foolishness, but so is trying to see it all as pertaining to AD 70. Children would rebel against their parents and have them put to death. “Everyone will hate you”, this is hyperbolic, though it may seem as if everyone was against them. And there are many Christians today who encounter such things.
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