Enmity, By Sarah Tummey.

This is the penultimate instalment in Sarah’s excellent series of lent devotionals.

From the very beginning of His life, people were at odds with Jesus. “At this they exclaimed, ‘Now we know that You are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet You say that whoever obeys Your word will never taste death. Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do You think You are?’

“Jesus replied, ‘If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the One who glorifies Me. Though you do not know Him, I know Him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know Him and obey His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing My day; he saw it and was glad.’

“‘You are not yet fifty years old,’ they said to Him, ‘and You have seen Abraham!’

“‘Very truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’ At this, they picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself, slipping away from the temple grounds” (John 8:52-59). This passage highlights the types of persecution Jesus endured.

First, He was falsely accused. “Now we know that You are demon-possessed!” Jesus didn’t have a demon in Him; in fact, the very opposite. He did the miracles He did by the power of God.

Second, He was misunderstood. “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham!” They couldn’t understand the concept that Jesus had come from eternity and saw Abraham there.

Thirdly, they picked up stones to stone Him. His life was in danger, and not for the first time. Herod had wanted to kill Jesus when He was a baby (Matthew 2:13). The people tried to throw Him to His death when He was rejected in His hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:29), and the religious leaders would subsequently plan to kill Him when He raised Lazarus from the dead and they were jealous of His popularity (John 11:48-53).

This animosity was alluded to right back in the garden of Eden, after that first disobedience. When the serpent (the devil) deceived Eve, God told the serpent He would put enmity between the serpent’s offspring and hers (Genesis 3:15). That friction between those who follow Jesus and those who don’t has continued until now. Paul even went so far as to say: “Everyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Not the most cheerful of promises, but one we need to hear if we’re going to count the cost of being a Christian.

As we think of all the antagonism towards Jesus, let’s also remember those who are undergoing persecution throughout the world. Let’s take Jesus’ advice to pray for our persecutors and show love to our enemies.

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