Paul says, “through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.” The lord Jesus says the same: When the
seed is sown, three things
will happen as described by the following three words.
The first word is “tribulation,” and the second is
“persecution.” Both words appear in
Matthew 13:21 and Mark 4:17. The third is
“temptation,” it appears in Luke 8:13.
We now examine these three things: tribulation, persecution, and temptation.
Each will put tremendous pressure on you.
1. Tribulation (pressure)
In fact, the Greek word for “tribulation” (thlipsis) means pressure (cf. CSB). To be in tribulation
means to be under pressure. This is
true not only in terms of definition, but also
in
the practical realities of the Christian
life. This Greek word is
also used in Acts 14:22: “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God”.
You are going to be under pressure all the time. That is what the
word “tribulation” means. I am sure that those who just got baptized are already beginning to discover
some pressure, right? If you haven’t
yet felt the pressure, it
will probably come soon.
But if it doesn’t come soon, I worry for you as to whether you know what it is to be a Christian.
But what is the attitude of a true Christian? What does
Paul say in Romans 5:3–5? You need to keep his
words in mind if you
are going to be a true Christian: More
than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and
endurance produces character,
and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been
poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. (Romans 5:3–5, RSV)
Notice that “we rejoice in our sufferings.” The Greek word “thlipsis” here translated “sufferings” is the same
word translated “tribulation”
elsewhere. The phrase means “we rejoice in being
under
pressure.”
Does that reflect your thinking? Today the church is full
of people who become Christians to collect
lollipops or have a good
life. No wonder this kind of Christian will start grumbling as soon as the pressures come. When the
weight begins to crush on
them, they will say, “What’s going on?” Well, what’s going on is that you have become a Christian. If
a preacher doesn’t tell
you that you are going to be under pressure the moment you become a Christian, he shouldn’t be
preaching the gospel.
Evangelists who seek numbers and decisions give me much trouble.
After getting decisions from the people, they have no more concern for them. That is where
pastors have to take over and
sort out the mess. What happens is that people come to me and say, “Why is everything around me
going wrong? My father
got sick, my mother got into financial trouble, and my business is not doing well. I have problems
here and there. What’s
going on?”
If you knew what it is to be a Christian, you would rejoice with Paul who says, “More than that, we
rejoice in our tribulations!” You
might wonder what’s happening with Paul? Is he asking for trouble? No, he
understands what the
Christian life is like: being
under pressure all the time. Remember that you are called to suffer! And thank God for
that pressure. Learn to say
with Paul, “I rejoice!” We rejoice in the suffering and the pressures we have to bear.
2. Persecution
The second word is “persecution” (diōgmos). You wouldn’t be
much
of a Christian if you have never endured some persecution, the worst of which
is persecution from fellow Christians. Don’t
be upset when those who persecute you
are the religious Christians.
I have constantly pointed out that those who persecutedthe lord Jesus the most were the Pharisees, the most
religious
of the Jews; and the scribes, who are the theologians; and the chief priests, who are the
religious leaders.
John Wesley, a mighty servant of God, was persecuted by his fellow
Christians. To be sure, he was also persecuted
by nonChristians, but it was the Christians who persecuted him the most. He was thrown out of the Church of
England, of which he was
a member. He was not allowed to preach in any Church of England because he preached holiness,
and the Church didn’t want to hear any
of that. Wesley had to preach on the streets
because he was not allowed to preach in any church. But thanks be to God, it was through Wesley
that a mighty revival came
to England, and left its mark in history in a way that no other revival did. Wesley knew he was
going to be persecuted, yet he
bore no ill will against those who persecuted him. Today the Church of England regrets what they
had done to John Wesley,
and are trying to get the Methodist Church back.
Remember this: Those
who serve God will face persecution. If you are faithful to the gospel, you
will face persecution from fellow
Christians as well as from non-Christians.
You will sometimes wonder to yourself, “How come
the whole world is my
enemy?”
Paul says to Timothy: Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love,
my steadfastness, my persecutions,
my sufferings, what befell me at Antioch, at Iconium,
and at Lystra, what persecutions I endured; yet
from
them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in the Messiah Jesus will be persecuted. (2
Timothy 3:10–12, RSV)
When you become a Christian, understand that you are going to suffer persecution. If you don’t want
to suffer, don’t be a Christian
in the first place.
3. Temptation: testing, temptation to sin
The third word is “temptation,” which we see in Luke 8:13.
The Greek word peirasmos, which generally means temptation, has two meanings. The first is to be under
God’s testing or trial(sometimes it may be God
who
is testing you). The same Greek word
is used in 1 Peter 4:12 in this sense of testing:
Beloved,
do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your
testing, as though some strange
thing were happening to you. (NASB)
In verse 14, Peter says: If you are reproached for the name of Jesus the Messiah, you are blessed, because the spirit of
glory and of God rests upon you. (RSV)
The Greek word oneidizō here translated “reproached”
means,in this context, being tested through the suffering of reproach
for
the sake of the Messiah. The
word “testing”—being under pressure,
being tried in fire by God as it were;
is
very much a part of the Christian
life.
You will be tested
The second meaning of "peirasmos" (“temptation”) is to be tempted
to sin. It comes directly from Satan’s involvement
and activity. He entices you to sin, and shows
you the pleasures of sin.
In Luke 4:13, Satan tries to tempt the lord Jesus to sin and turn away from God, so that he may fall: And when the devil had ended every
temptation, he departed from him until
an opportune time. (ESV)
From the three words that Jesus uses; tribulation,
persecution, temptation; we can see why those sown on the rocky
ground collapsed. It also shows that suffering is
inseparable from the Christian
life.
In the parable, when the sun came out, those in the rocky ground
withered because they had no root and were unable to draw in moisture. The sun is compared to suffering. The sun can either destroy or cause growth. This
point is crucial to an understanding
of this parable. On the one hand, the sun is essential
for plants to grow and bring forth fruit. On the other hand, the sun destroys those plants which
have no roots. Tribulation, persecution and testing are like the sun.
They will either deepen you
spiritually or destroy you, depends on
the kind of Christian you are.
Written by Eric Chang. This
small portion is taken from Eric Chang’s book: The Parables of Jesus in the
Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1.
You can download this book at
the website listed below:
I cannot
urge you strongly enough to read this book written by Eric Chang! His message
is directed to all those who claim to be Christians, such as myself.
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