Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:36-38, NKJV).
It is unlikely, in this sophisticated and oh-so-tolerant era, that a Bible-believing Christian well be held in high-esteem by the world. In fact, you can almost be completely assured that such a person, however pure and harmless, will be held, not in high regard, but contempt.
And the more vocal that person is about his or her faith, however circumspect and sensitive, the more this contempt will accrue, like compound interest on a bad debt.
It has always been so.
These are what the writer of Hebrews terms, trials of mockings - scathing, scoffing ad hominem attacks on a believer's intelligence, ancestry, character, and humanity.
Know this, however, that while there are undoubtedly obnoxious, hypocritical, contentious, and cold-hearted so-called Christians out there, who deserve such scorn from the world, the vast majority of these attacks are not truly aimed at the person, but at Christ.
And He feels these attacks, as we discover in one the earliest accounts of persecution in Scripture - the Apostle Paul before his conversion and renaming, on the road to Damascus to help put and end to this upstart Christian sect.
He saw a great light, and was knocked off his high horse. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4, NKJV).
Note the Lord's intimate identification with His followers. When you persecute us, who are largely powerless, you are, in reality, persecuting Him who has all power and authority, and will one day cause every knee to bow, and every tongue to confess to God. (Ro 14:11; Php 2:10).
He is the One held in foolish and insane contempt. He is the One who is the object of thinly veiled hatred. And He is the One who will, on That Day, judge the world and hold each soul accountable for every single word and deed, and thought and intent of the heart.
The rebellious God-haters, for that is what those who hate you are, at heart, are furious at the impending judgment, and they vent that hatred and terror upon you, as if to pretend their fear and unacknowledged guilt are your fault.
When you are mocked for Christ's sake, and not for any evil you have done, you are standing in a long line of venerable saints who have lived and been targeted beforehand. This is good to know, because it makes the inevitable self-questioning and self-doubt less intense.
The Lord, through His Word, desires that you know these things for your own sake, to ease the feelings of betrayal and hurt.
Mockery is a cruel practice, especially when it comes without warning, and from those closest to you, perhaps even in your own household. It can bring its victim to humiliated tears, sometimes as hard to bear as physical pain.
If perpetrated enough, it can harden the heart of the victim, and become a self-fulfilling prophecy, so that he takes on the vile characteristics attributed to him. Or it can lead to abandonment, isolation and bitterness, such that the Christian is no longer a witness to the world.
And that is the real purpose - to get you to shut up about Jesus; to shut your mouth and cease condemning what the world holds near and dear to its evil heart.
Don't succumb. The very people who come at you the hardest are the ones who would benefit most from the truth.
Remember Saul the Persecutor who became Paul the Apostle, and his encouraging exhortation:
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13, NKJV).
