There Will Be Trouble

In this life you will have trouble. These were the words of Jesus to His disciples. It wasn’t a matter of chance. It wasn’t that there might be trouble. It wasn’t that trials could be avoided if you played your cards just right. It wasn’t that in some disciples’ lives, there would be difficulties. Jesus’ words were simple and broad: in this life, there will be trouble.

At the time He spoke those words, it’s unlikely that the disciples knew just what kind of trouble would await them in a life of sharing the gospel to the ends of the earth. In the years following Christ’s ascension, His disciples would soon learn just how much trouble the world would bring them. Within three years after Jesus’ ascension, Stephen was martyred–and he wasn’t even one of the eleven remaining disciples! A few years after that, so was James, who was one of Jesus’ disciples. It didn’t take long at all for the early church to feel the hatred of the world, as promised by its Saviour.

To varying degrees of severity, all of the early churches faced persecution. In Revelation 2:8-11, we get a closer look at the life of a heavily persecuted church. The passage reads,

“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

History tells us that the church in Smyrna fell under persecution for three main reasons: refusal to worship the Roman emperor, refusal to worship pagan deities, and the opposition of the Jews (which we see in verse 9). Not only were these believers under attack by the Jews, but by the adherents of pagan cults, and the government itself. If ever there were a church that felt totally surrounded by opposition, this was that church.

In the midst of persecution to the threat of death, Jesus speaks to the church. In our human thinking, we may expect that He will promise them one of two things: power or escape. If this were in the movies, we might expect to see the church in Smyrna overcome the opposing forces by their resilience and grit, ultimately taking the entire city for the gospel. Otherwise, we may hope to see them band together and escape the city, perhaps watching its destruction from a safe distance with grim satisfaction.

These scenarios, however, are not what Christ promises His bride.

Rather, as He preached so often during His time on earth, Jesus encourages His followers to see beyond the present circumstances and look to God. Without negating or downplaying the suffering on the church, Jesus exhorts them to hold onto hope with all faith of the eternal life to come. Take note of His appeal to them: He does not promise respite from the persecution, but reward following the persecution. He tells the church to put fear aside not because He will protect them from harm, but because the prize He has for their faithfulness is of infinitely greater value than their removal from earthly danger would be.

Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor. Tim Keller explains that He knows when to apply the ministry of truth and when to apply the ministry of tears. We see this play out at the death and resurrection of Lazarus in John 11. To one grieving sister, Jesus gives the ministry of truth, explaining that He Himself is the hope of eternal life (John 11:25). To another grieving sister, when confronted with the same sentiment, He simply weeps (John 11:35). To the church in Smyrna, Jesus is bringing both truth and tears, exhortation and emotion, simplicity and sympathy in His response to their struggles. He knows there will be suffering; He does not revel in it. He does not look forward to it on His disciples’ behalf. And yet He can encourage them with the truth: they who hold fast to the truth will experience the sweetness and joy of eternal life.

“In this life you will have trouble,” Jesus told His disciples. But then he exclaimed, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

To those facing opposition, small or great, this is the encouragement that Jesus gave a church that was threatening to collapse under the deadly pressure imposed on it: He is the One Who overcame death and grave and lives again. There is nothing left to fear. Even death is no longer a threat to those who are in Jesus. He has overcome it all.