In the Fulness of Time/Part 59

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The Persecution of the Apostles: Local and National. Matthew 10:17-20

Matthew 10:17 “But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues.”

The messengers of Jesus are first forewarned to expect local persecutions by Jewish coun­cils right in their synagogues. Edersheim remarks:

Then every town had its Sanhedrim consisting of twenty-three members if the place numbered at least one hundred and twenty men, or three members if the population were smaller. These Sanhedrists were appointed directly by the supreme authority, or Great Sanhedrim, “the council” at Jerusalem, which consisted of seventy-one members. It is difficult to fix the limits of the actual power wielded by these Sanhedrims in criminal cases. But the smaller Sanhedrims are referred to in such passages as Matt. v. 22,23; x. 17; Mark xiii.9. Of course all ecclesiastical and, so to speak, strictly Jewish causes and all religious questions were within their special cognizance. (Alfred Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Life in the Days of Christ, pp. 91,92. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1957).

That local councils practiced scourging as punishment is evident from Matthew 23:34 where Christ prophesied to the Jews, “some of them ye shall scourge in your synagogues,” and Paul both practiced scourgings of Christians, “And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those that believed on thee” (Acts 22:19), and later received scourging from the Jews himself: “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one” (2 Corinthians 11:24).

Matthew 10:18 “And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.”

Not only will opposition be local, it will extend to the entire nation and beyond. John the Baptist had been imprisoned by King Herod Antipas according to Matthew 11:2 and later mur­dered (Matthew 14:1-10), but to find accounts of the Apostles being brought before governors and kings, the book of Acts must be consulted. James had been killed by King Agrippa I and Peter was imprisoned by him (Acts 12:1-3). Paul was accused before governor Felix in Acts 24:1-3, governor Festus and King Agrippa II in Acts 25:12,13. All these persecutions were to be endured for two reasons: first, “for my sake” said Jesus, and “for a testimony to (cf. NASV, not against) both Jews and Gentiles.” Here again is evidence that this prophecy extended far be­yond that first tour, because they were told at that time, in Matthew 10:6, not to go to the Gen­tiles.

Matthew 10:19-20 “But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaketh in you.”

In later passages such as 2 Peter 1:21 this method of receiving revelation directly from the Holy Spirit is called “prophecy,” “For the prophecy came not at any time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” When such prophecy was written down it became part of the inspired Word of God. Thus, it would seem that Christ is referring to revelation in this passage, but specific revelation for a proclamation or a defense of their faith. In any case, they were not to be anxious, not to worry about the method or content of their answers; the Holy Spirit would supply the words to speak. And, “in the fullness of time,” those who persecuted them would have to stand before the LORD as their judge, because they rejected the message of the Gospel of Christ!

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