21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. 23 But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.”

Many families have divided when one member becomes a follower of Christ, even otherwise pious homes. Both then and now when a family struggles with someone whose life has being radically transformed by an encounter with the Lord Jesus, tensions arise and animosity seeps in. This is frequently true when anyone “changes religions,” but with Christian conversion, a person does not just change religions or churches—he exchanges a life for a life, his for Christ’s. Add to that a disciple’s desire to share the message with his family and conflict becomes inevitable.

In some parts of the world, in some segments of history, this persecution often turns violent; Christians are ostracized simply because of their devotion to the person of Christ. Jesus gives fair warning of this—if a person desires to be a follower of Christ, he had better accept these terms of discipleship. He must count the costs. Discipleship is not a passing fad, or just the religious thing to do. This includes a willingness to sacrifice one’s personal safety and security for the task of spreading the news about Jesus Christ and His kingdom.

At the same time, there is no glory in unnecessary persecution, as a sort of “spiritual masochism” or martyr-complex. In the case of the twelve on their first missionary expedition, if they encountered opposition in one town, then they were to simply go to the next, post-haste. To continue preaching to adamantly opposed audiences would not help further the kingdom effort—they must search for those who would listen. There is little time for getting way-laid with useless endeavors. In their case, the goal was to reach all the cities of Israel before the Lord comes, presumably referring to His triumphal entry. That they completed the task is suggested by the comments made by the two disciples on the road to Damascus to the risen Lord whom they had not yet recognized, when they expressed their surprise that anyone would not have been “aware of these things” (Luke 24:18).

Lord, give me the strength to stand up under persecution and the wisdom to know when to move on.