3. OF THE Mark 13:9-13 (Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 21:12-19) 9 But take ye heed to yourselves:--What he has mentioned are the general experiences of the nations, but now he invites them to that which pertains to themselves as his followers. They are to play a special part in this great drama, and it is extremely important that they shall walk so circumspectly that all men shall be made to realize that the perils and sorrows which come upon them are not deserved by any wrongdoing of theirs. While the disciples should observe with interest the approaching symptoms of the nation's overthrow, they were charged to have an eye to themselves. They were to guard against and avoid dangers which would be close to and around them. There would be some danger of their love and zeal for Christ waxing cold (Matthew 24:12), and they are warned to guard against this. They were to be careful not to be deceived by any one, to protect their lives by not running into unnecessary danger. for they shall deliver you up to councils;--The higher ecclesiastical courts of the Jews, the Sanhedrin, or great council of the nation. They were themselves to be put to a strong test of their faith in Christ. Peter and John before the chief priests, scribes, and elders--the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:5-21), the body of the apostles before the high priests on a subsequent occasion (Acts 5:27-30), Stephen before the council (Acts 6:12-15), James and Peter before Herod (Acts 12:2-3), Paul before Nero the emperor, as well as before the Roman governors, Gallio, Felix and Festus (Acts 18:12; Acts 24, 25, 28) are illustrations of the fulfillment of this prediction. and in synagogues shall ye be beaten;--Paul tells, himself, how, in the days of his unbelief, he helped to fulfill this prediction. "And punishing them oftentimes in all the synagogues, I strove to make them blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign cities." (Acts 26:11.) and before governors and kings shall ye stand for my sake, --Herod, and Felix, and Festus, and Agrippa, and Gallio, and Nero (Acts 18:12; Acts 24, 25, 28) may all lend their names to illustrate and confirm this feature of the prophecy. This the disciples were to suffer for Christ's sake. for a testimony unto them.--That to all classes and before all tribunals the gift of which he is presently to speak may be exercised, and testimony be borne to the reality of his claims, while their own purity and fortitude shall bear witness to the vitality of his religion. Thus by means of persecution many in authority would hear the gospel. Paul gave his testimony to King Agrippa (Acts 26:1) and to Caesar (2 Timothy 4:16). (Compare Acts 4:8; Acts 16:20; Acts 21:30.) Persecution in the early church resulted in the furtherance of the gospel. (Acts 8:4; Philippians 1:12.) They were to bear testimony to them, or to be witnesses before them of the truth. This was for the sake of Jesus, or because they were attached to him. God would overrule it so that at the same time they should bear witness to the rulers of the truth, as was the case with Peter and John (Acts 4), with Stephen (Acts 6:7), and with Paul (Acts 23:24; Acts 24, 25). All the sorrows and trials we can suffer, all the world can do against us, will only inure to the testimony for Christ, so long as we take heed to ourselves to be true. The gospel, if received, is a witness of the power of God unto salvation;but if rejected, it is a witness of the righteousness and justice of God in final condemnation. (Mark 16:16; Acts 10:36; 2 Corinthians 2:16; 1 John 5:9-12.) 10 And the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations.--Before the end. (Verse 7; Matthew 24:14.) Suffering and preaching will go together. The evidence that this was done is to be chiefly derived from the New Testament, and there it is clear. Paul tells us it was preached to every creature under heaven (Colossians 1:6; Colossians 1:23); that the faith of the Romans was spoken of throughout the whole world (Romans 1:8); that he preached in Arabia (Galatians 1:17);and at Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum (Romans 15:19). We know also that he traveled through Asia Minor, Greece, and Crete; that he was in Italy, and probably in Spain and Gaul. (Romans 16:24-27.) At the same time, the other apostles were not idle; and there is full proof that within thirty years after this prophecy was spoken, churches were established in all these regions. But they did not all obey the gospel. Oh, no, and they do not yet. This is too true. Some think "the end" refers to the end of the Jewish dispensation and the destruction of Jerusalem. But the Jewish dispensation ended on the day of Pentecost. Some think it refers to the destruction of the temple. If so the gospel was preached to every creature 63 A.D. (Colossians 1:23), about seven years before "the end." Let all the commotions, upheavals and disasters of public and private life only impel you to do more to bring about what was evidently the great burden of Christ's thought, the preaching of the gospel to all the world! 11 And when they lead you to judgment, and deliver you up, --Before the civil authorities to be judged--to have judgment passed upon you by the court. be not anxious beforehand what ye shall speak:--Do not think or prepare an answer beforehand. Do not worry over what questions the court may ask nor what your answer ought to be. but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour,--The time when the questions are asked. The Spirit will furnish the words to be spoken. that speak ye;--You know not in advance what the accusations will be;and God will furnish you with a reply that shall be adapted to the occasion. Speak whatever God puts in your mouth. for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit.--The Holy Spirit speaking through them. The Spirit took possession of their tongues and used them to speak his thoughts. This is a promise that they should be inspired, and consequently their defenses recorded in the book of Acts are the words of the Holy Spirit. There could be no more explicit promise that they should be under an infallible guidance; and we are not left to doubt that they were taught of God. 12 And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father his child; and children shall rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.--Here our Lord enlarges upon the persecutions that would come upon Christians, which would be so severe that even the nearest and dearest relations of life would not form a barrier. This was a general persecution and not limited to the apostles. This hatred, so bitter and cruel, should be because of faith in Christ. One of a family accepting Christ would create such a religious prejudice and hatred among other members of the family that they would deliver the Christian member up before the civil au-thorities. Religious hatred and prejudice is the worst and meanest in the world. It has led to all sorts of persecutions and crimes. It has led to bloody wars. Tacitus assures us that, in Nero's persecution, the Christians betrayed one another, Christians, of course, who had apostatized. The history of persecutions of Christianity has always been made more horrible by their insensate zeal which induced men and women to give up their nearest and dearest to death because they would not deny Christ. It is no shame to you to be abandoned by your dearest for Christ's sake, but oh! the shame of being the betrayer of Lord Jesus. Better be abandoned by all than to abandon him. 13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:--On account of their attachment to Christ, and because they bore his name. The enemies of Christianity called its representatives a sect. "Concerning this sect, it is known to us that everywhere it is spoken against." (Acts 28:22.) "The friendship of the world is enmity with God." (James 4:4; 1 Peter 2:12; 1 Peter 3:16; 1 Peter 4:14.) Their preaching was a crucial test. If accepted, it saved; but those who rejected it hated the preachers. There was no compromise. Jesus was divine or not. If divine, the whole fabric of Judaism and idolatry must go. If not, these disciples were publishing the most atrocious lie the world had ever heard. The logical accompaniment of rejection was hatred. But so long as hatred was not for their own sake, because of their evil-doing, but for his name's sake, they need not care. "If ye are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are ye; . . . but if a man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this name." (1 Peter 4:14-16.) (See also Matthew 5:11; 2 Corinthians 12:10; James 1:12; 1 Peter 2:19; 1 Peter 3:14.) but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. --This is a comforting promise and a great inducement to remain faithful through all persecutions. From Luke (Luke 21:18) we learn they were promised that not a hair of their head should perish. This does not mean that they should not suffer, for they did, but that God was their Father and friend, and would save them eternally. If we would apply this to physical salvation from the destruction of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, we have the remarkable fact that "not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem, though there were many there when Cestius Gallus infested the city; and had he persevered in the siege, he would soon have rendered himself master of it; but when he unexpectedly and unaccountably raised the siege, the Christians took that opportunity to escape." (Clarke, from Eusebius.) The words however are sufficiently fulfilled in that salvation of the soul, which is to be the glad gift of him who endured unto the end. Christ's followers may be exposed to every peril, but, enduring in faithfulness, no final disaster can come to them, for beyond all is the eternal salvation at the right hand of God in heaven. We live in the happy age when general hatred, at least, does not come to a man because he loves Christ.