The Word of God reminds us that “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). During Jesus’ ministry, when many expressed belief in him because of the miracles he performed, he refused to entrust himself to them because he knew the condition of the human heart (John 2:24). What began as praise among the people could quickly shift to persecution. We witness this in Luke 4:22-30 when the crowd, who were praising Jesus, became infuriated by the truth and “drove him out of town,” seeking to throw him off a cliff.
Similarly, the apostles Paul and Barnabas experienced this quick transformation from favor to rejection while on a mission in Lystra and Derbe. After healing a man who had been crippled from birth, the people began to worship them rather than God, shouting, “The gods have come down to us in human form” (Acts 14:11-12). To stop them, the apostles declared their own mortality and testified to the Gospel – that God alone was worthy of worship as the sovereign creator. This truth encounter, along with the slander of Jewish people, laid the groundwork for persecution. The crowd quickly morphed from worship to murderous rage as they listened to lies spread about the apostles.
Seeking to destroy
The shift in their attitude is hard to understand since it happened so quickly – maybe within hours or days. It reveals not only the true nature of man but the power of the tongue to stir up strife. The slander, along with the apostle’s rebuke, so infuriated the people that they stoned Paul, dragging him “outside the city” to die (Acts 14:19). The scenario is disturbingly similar to Jesus’ interaction with the crowd in Luke 4, where they quickly moved from praise to an attempt to end his life – revealing the true condition of their hearts.
Different crowds; same problem
The crowds that sought to kill the apostles and the Lord Jesus had different group dynamics -- one was made up of Jewish people, and the other was primarily Gentile. But they shared a common problem. Though they appeared to desire to worship Jesus and the apostles, their real motivation was to make an idol that they could manipulate and control. Their worship was self-centered and flowed from a commitment to their own glory, bearing evil fruit (Matthew 7:17-20). When confronted with the truth by Jesus and the apostles – who called them to repent and worship God alone – this false adoration quickly transformed into persecution. In essence, their hearts were hostile to God and all that he stood for. True worship would have yielded to God’s Word and given glory to Jesus as King -- as the crowd did in Acts 2:37 when they sought repentance.
Warning from Jesus
Jesus knew that the disciples and followers of Christ would encounter similar opposition, so he warned about it throughout his ministry. In John 15:20, he promised that, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.” He explained that the source of this persecution and opposition was a person’s hardened heart toward God and his truth (John 15:21). “But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:18-19). Those living in this darkness despise the light because it exposes their inner wickedness and convicts them of their evil works (John 3:19). Since they cannot and will not change, their only choice is to attempt to extinguish the light.
What can we learn from this?
Jesus told us that in the world, we will have trouble and tribulations, but not to fear, because he has overcome the world (John 16:33). Paul, echoing his warning, said that we would have to go through much persecution to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Often, this comes suddenly on the heels of praise as it did for Jesus and his disciples. While we cannot predict the unreliable shifting of the human heart and emotions, we can be certain of the unmoving Rock – who is Christ. He urges us to put our hope in him alone and assures us that his heart does not change like shifting shadows. He will uphold us in trouble, shield us by his power, give us his wisdom, and enable us to continue advancing with the Good News despite great opposition.
“You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition” (1 Thessalonians 2:2).
