Witnesses On Trial

Witnesses on Trial

Read: Luke 21:12-14

“This will result in your being witnesses to them.”

Luke 21:13

“God has called us to shine.”

—Dwight L. Moody

IN WORD We can become extremely self-absorbed in a trial. We see how it will impact us, we pray for deliverance from it, and we obsess about how to work ourselves out of it. But we often become blind to God’s larger purpose. Our trials, though they seem like disasters to us, may be God’s means for bringing honor to His name.

In this passage in Luke, Jesus tells His disciples they will be dragged through courts, prisons, and the world’s halls of power. But He does not tell them to call their attorneys and clear their names. He tells them to be more concerned with His name—in other words, to be His witnesses. Their “disaster” is for His glory, He says, and He reminds them to go through trials with that purpose in mind.

Though few of us are hauled before the world’s judges for our faith, we all go through difficulties. Rather than turning inward and focusing on our hardships and how to get out of them, Jesus would tell us by the implications of this passage to have a greater purpose in mind. We are to seek His glory in all circumstances, even the ones that pain us deeply. They are often His means of letting the world know who He is.

IN DEED How does Jesus display Himself in our trials? That depends on our response. Are we in a situation where people are trying to take advantage of us, draw us into their controversies, or compel us to behave in conformity to the world’s standards? Then Jesus is displayed in our refusal to be conformed. Our lack of contentiousness and competitiveness will indicate faith and hope in higher realities. Are we suffering in a way that would cause most people to despair or cry out in bitterness and anger? Then Jesus is displayed as we demonstrate that our treasure is above and that this world’s travails are swallowed up in our hope of eternal life. Whatever we go through, it can result in our being witnesses.