Shall We Avoid the Tough Places?

“Then after that saith He to His disciples, ‘Let us go into Judea again.’ His disciples say unto Him, ‘Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?’”(John 11:7-8)

 

Twice in recent days the Jews had attempted to severely injure or kill Jesus by stoning. We must remember that, “He came unto His own (the Jews), and His own received Him not. 

(John 1:11) The prophet Isaiah said of Him, “He is despised and rejected of men… He was despised and we esteemed Him not.” (Isaiah 53:3)

 

Should Jesus and His followers stay out of hostile territory and unfriendly environments as His disciples suggested? To do that would necessitate calling most of today’s world missionaries home to their families. The hostility toward Jesus Christ and His followers in the United States as well as in the rest of the world, would dictate that we not send out any more missionaries into the world.

 

We should be thankful that God does not need nor does He want the advice and counsel of even His closest followers. God asked Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.” (Job 38:4) He wants friends, obedient servants, followers and witnesses, not advisors.