[Jesus speaking]
“Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. And so you will bear testimony to me.
But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Everyone will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. Stand firm, and you will win life.”

–Parallel verses:
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬-‭16‬
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I recently went through the effects of a “hard insurance market”. As a broker, this is a very difficult time. Prices are rising, coverage is restricted, and deductibles are high. And at times, it can seem as though your clients and your income are in jeopardy. However, since I have now been in this business for over 23 years, I do not worry about the ups and downs of the market as much. There is, I have found, always plenty of work for those who seek to become masters of their craft. And this is what I have sought after. So I prepare in advance for the hard times to be able to act and respond to clients and underwriters out of a position of strength and understanding. If I had one of my children follow in my footsteps, or a younger brother, I would encourage them to not allow the hard markets in insurance to shake their confidence and cause them to panic. Because there are greater opportunities in the hard market than in the soft (or easy) market.
.
Jesus here is describing a “hard market” in the life of being a faithful Christian. Earthquakes, famine, pestilences, fearful events and great signs can tend to “knock us off our rocker” so to speak, and cause some to cave into pressure and abandon their faith. And so he warns his disciples about this ahead of time. He warns them of the coming persecution. He warns that some of them will be put to death for their faith. And he gives these warnings for a few reasons: 1) He wants them to understand that the persecution is necessary so that they can be witnesses to the rulers of the day. They are to share the good news about life with Jesus, this abundant life we live! 2) He wants them to be free to live and serve. The temptation is to be consumed with fear and worry! To spend anxious hours building a defense of their innocence. But Jesus tells them and us that he will give his faithful followers the right words to say. We don’t need to worry in times of persecution, because his Spirit is with us and will guide us. 3) He tells them to expect relatives and close friends to betray them and at times, to expect everyone to hate them.

And then he gives them these promises: He says not a hair on your head will perish! He says to stand firm and we will win in life! Clearly, he is talking about our eternal inheritance here, as he mentioned earlier that some faithful followers will die.

So the question arises: How should I respond when everything in life seems to fall apart — when I am judged unfairly or beaten unjustly or falsely accused for doing good? Jesus is both THE MODEL and THE SOURCE of our ability to stand under intense trials. I love the cross-referenced passage in Hebrews here. It tells us that we serve a high priest in Jesus Christ who can empathize with us in every way. Everything facing me today and tomorrow, Jesus understands and has himself faced. Second, it tells us that we are invited to approach the throne room of God, and Jesus who sits at his right hand, to receive the mercy and grace we need to act in a manner worthy of him. We can be more gracious than we think we can, we can apply more mercy than anyone thinks we should, we can live better, forgive quicker and more completely, and be a more faithful servant of Jesus. All of this is possible because we can approach him and ask for whatever we need to do his will.
.
Thank you, Lord God, for your wonderful truth here. You love us and have given us so much in your son, Jesus Christ! I call out to you today, and I discipline my life to call out to you each day, for the mercy and grace I need to truly live! To live a life that is pleasing to you and full of opportunity and spiritual adventure!