From Praise to Persecution

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).

Blesed is the One Who Trusts in the Lord

The LORD himself defines both the blessed and the cursed life in Jeremiah 17:5-8. He reveals in this passage that he is the source of all life and that trusting in him results in flourishing, even in the presence of fiery trials and seasons of suffering.

The Blessed Life – What is it?

In our culture, the blessed life is often defined by one’s ability to achieve the American dream. While this definition has been slightly modified over time, the overall description remains the same. In America, a person is considered blessed when their external circumstances meet certain requirements. As a result, the goal of this blessed life is to pursue things like a quality education that can secure gainful employment, along with a happy family, possessions, investments, and a surplus of resources. Flourishing occurs when families pursuing this dream live in community with other like-minded people who have similar goals and aspirations.

On the other hand, God’s definition of the blessed life begins with an emphasis on the source of all blessing – God himself. He describes human flourishing as the result of a person’s dependent relationship with himself, fueled by their desire to make him their greatest pursuit.

To help us better understand the essence of this life, he begins in Jeremiah 17 with a description of what he considers the cursed life. He declares that anyone who refuses to trust in him but instead trusts in other humans and their own fleshly strength are living the cursed life. This life is cursed primarily because they have turned away from total dependence on the Lord. And God likens it to living in a lonely salt wasteland without inhabitants and no hope for prosperity. 

In contrast, God reveals that the person who puts their trust and confidence in him is truly blessed and will flourish. This life, portrayed throughout Scripture, is not one that is free from hardship and suffering but prospers and produces fruit in the midst of fiery trials and hardship. God explains in Jeremiah 17:8 that this thriving happens because the person is planted near to him and dwells in his very presence. Since he is the “spring of living water” (17:13), their roots drink from him a steady supply of his sustenance.

Flourishing in the Heat

God assures those who put their confidence in him that they do not need to fear when trials come (17:8). Despite the heat of the hardship, they remain confident that their leaves will remain green. The Bible has a lot to say about trials and often refers to them as fiery, indicating the purifying purpose of their presence designed to test the heart. While the very nature of the trial is painful, God amazingly promises in this passage that those who trust him will not live in fear of being burned up or consumed by the hardship. Because God is with them, they have peace and know that he will keep them safe. This assurance, along with the Lord’s daily nourishment, enables them to continue growing and producing life.

Confidence in the Drought

In seasons of drought or shortage, God declares that the one who trusts in him will experience “no worries.” This also defies human logic since a drought in the land was a sign of God’s judgment, which usually resulted in panic and anxiety among the people. But this passage shows that those who dwell in God’s presence and drink from his water will “never fail to bear fruit”—even in the most severe drought.

We see from God’s description of the blessed and cursed life that there are essentially two ways to live and two outcomes. One is to trust in ourselves, others, and our resources, and the other is to recognize our deep dependence on the Lord and trust in him with all our hearts. One refuses to rely on God and instead puts its confidence in the flesh, while the other knows that in the flesh dwells no good thing. One results in parched, desolate wasteland living, where there is no ability to thrive, while the other is anchored to the life-giving source of water – God himself -- and never ceases to bear fruit. 

The question we must ask ourself is this — Which one describes my life?

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:5-8).