The world into which the Good News is announced
Whilst Paul was committed to announcing the Good News of Jesus wherever he went, he was under no illusions as to the difficulties he faced as a result. In 2 Corinthians 11 he is quite explicit. ‘I have travelled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.‘
He encountered danger as well as warm welcomes and downright hostility.
It is worth reflecting however on how much the world has changed since Paul’s day. The dangers may be different, but attitudes to the Christian message are still as mixed. Christian missionaries have fresh ways of announcing the good news of Jesus, but apathy and antagonism to it is still rife. Pray for those who have been called to mission in the wider world, and for ourselves too as we work at both showing and speaking about Jesus.
v 1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.
If you believe the world is becoming a better place you might need to think again! The old dream was that by improving housing, health, education and so on, we could make the world a happier and better place in which to live. In some respects, and for some people, that is true of course. But any equation that leaves human nature out of the reckoning can only ever be partially true. Fail to account for greed, selfishness, lust and lying and future forecasts are woefully wide of the mark. Paul here projects forward to the ‘last days’ – by which he means the days preceding the return of Christ to the earth. Jesus Himself made similar forecasts when in Matthew 24 He declared ‘Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come. Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. ‘ Sounds a pretty grim future to me! So don’t bank on the future being bright and beautiful, and the lives of Jesus-followers becoming easier any day soon. Jesus went on to say ‘false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.‘ Thanks for that Jesus – to be forewarned is to be forearmed. And don’t be afraid, Jesus stands with you.
—