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). 

Character Sketch of a False Prophet

As Barnabas and Paul were being led by the Holy Spirit to Cyprus on their first missionary journey, they encountered opposition from a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. Like the false prophets of the Old Testament, his life exhibited distinct characteristics that revealed his true identity as an enemy of God. By examining these qualities, we can be prepared, like Paul and Barnabas, to stand in the Spirit’s power against the lies of impostors of the Gospel with boldness and wisdom.

Opposers of True Faith

In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas set out on an exciting mission to proclaim the truth of the Gospel to unreached people in Cyprus. One of the stops they made on this journey was the city Paphos, where they had an unusual encounter with a sorcerer and false prophet by the name of Bar-Jesus. Luke writes that he was an attendant to the proconsul -- an office that was similar to an appointed governor today. He heard news about the work and witness of Paul and Barnabas and sent for them. On learning about this, Bar-Jesus began opposing them and sought to “turn the proconsul from the faith” by speaking against the disciples (Acts 13:8).

Interestingly, Paul did not try to discourse with the false prophet or to evangelize him, but instead boldly opposed him. In the power of the Holy Spirit, he declared to Bar-Jesus, whose name ironically means “son of the Savior,” that he was the exact opposite – a child of the devil (Acts 13:10). Paul’s rebuke, which sounds harsh in our relativistic culture, was based on Jesus’ very words to those who opposed him in John 8:44. He declared, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.”

This reminds us of the central truth throughout Scripture that there is no neutrality. We are either for God or against him. The ones in the Bible and those we encounter in this life who not only reject God’s words for eternal life but who also actively speak against it show their true identity as false prophets and children of the wicked one.

Enemy of All That Is Right

Paul continues to tell Bar-Jesus that he is an “enemy of everything that is right” (Acts 13:10). To oppose the truth of the Gospel and the Lordship of Jesus is to oppose God himself and become his enemy. One of the chief characteristics of the false prophet is the inability to speak truth, just like Satan. Jesus describes him as a “murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

While Bar-Jesus and other false prophets masquerade as people of insight and integrity, the rottenness of their hearts prevents them from doing anything righteous. Not only are they unable to do good, they have yielded to the fleshly desire to destroy all that is good and comes from God. We can recognize them by the fruit of their lips, as they go about opposing the truth of the Word of God, and by their lives. About this, Jesus warned, “By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:16-18).

Full of Deceit and Trickery

It’s interesting to note the difference in the way Paul and Barnabas were sent off and how Bar-Jesus was driven. We see that they went out in the power and the fullness of the Holy Spirit while he was driven along by the power of the wicked one. Paul rebukes him for being filled with deceit and trickery rather than truth and revelation from God, which he pretended to bring (Acts 13:10). Jesus warned about this in Matthew 7:15 when he said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves."

Pervert the Right Way of the Lord

Paul uses another all-inclusive word to explain Bar-Jesus’ actions in subverting the truth. He declares, “You never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord” (Acts 13:10). By this, Paul meant that he always distorted and twisted the way of Truth, which echoes God’s own declaration in Genesis 6 about sinful humanity -- that all the inclinations of the human heart are evil (Genesis 6:5). Paul’s words in Romans 3, which describe all of humanity in Adam, provide a detailed character sketch for the false prophet who knowingly has distorted the right way of the Lord.

The Hand of the Lord Against Him

Since Bar-Jesus was resisting and rejecting the person and work of Christ, Paul reminded him that the very hand of the Lord was against him (Acts 13:11). At this, God struck him blind so that he couldn’t even see the light from the sun. This physical demonstration of God‘s judgment, which happened immediately and left him groping about in the darkness, was a picture of his utter depravity and the spiritual darkness that he lived in. God exposed the wickedness of his heart through the apostle Paul’s rebuke and then laid bare his hidden sin before all those he sought to deceive. This immediate judgment revealed to all who were present that God was the sovereign Lord. His power, which trumped the power of the sorcerer and the demons controlling him, left the proconsul in awe. When he saw what happened, “he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord” (Acts 13:12).

Like Bar-Jesus, the false prophets today seek to lead others astray. They oppose the Spirit’s revelation of the Messiah and work to hinder the advancement of the kingdom of God by spreading messages that are contrary to the Word. It’s vital to first remember that God is sovereign and reigns over them all. From this place of confidence in God we can remain sober-minded and alert so that we can discern and lovingly but firmly stand against their deception.

"Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion” (Jude 1:11).