Is friendship with Jesus Dangerous?

John 12:9-11

Is friendship with Jesus dangerous to your physical body?  The question is not about being a member of a local church, but are you identified with Jesus?  The following is what can happen to anyone who has his or her identity in Jesus Christ. “When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, (Bethany was near Jerusalem) they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.” (John 12:9)  As I read this account, I realized that these people are no different than you and I, and that each of them had different reasons for coming.  Some were curious, some were sick and they were hoping that Jesus might heal them, some came hoping to find reason to expose and arrest Jesus, and some came to worship Jesus as Messiah.

Now as I read these verses, this question came to my mind; “Is friendship with Jesus dangerous to your physical body?”  Picking up the story in verse 10, “So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.  It is amazing how on the spot Blaise Pascal was when he spoke these words; “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”  And George MacDonald had this to say about religion, “As well speak of religion as the mother of cruelty because religion has given more occasion of cruelty, as of all dishonesty and devilry, than any other object of human interest.”  What was the high crime of Lazarus, what caused him to be put on the hit list of the high priests, and the answer is his personal relationship with Jesus. Did the chief priests follow through with their plans to kill Lazarus? The Scriptures are quiet about what happened to him after Jesus' crucifixion.  Lazarus is never mentioned again.  But many others are, men like Stephen, and he was stoned to death for the crime of being a friend of Jesus.  And what about the apostles, we have what the writers of that time tell us, that Simon Peter, was crucified in Rome, at the time of Nero, and at his request they crucified him head down.  Andrew the brother of Peter, was killed in Edessa, Greece after being severely scourged & tied by ropes on a x-shaped cross where he hung 2 days to expire.  James the brother of John was the first one to die of the 12, and it happen in Jerusalem under the authority of Herod, he was beheaded with a sword.  John died in Ephesus, Turkey or Turkish Isle of Patmos, about 98 A.D. and he was thrown in boiling oil but unharmed; died of Natural causes & buried near Ephesus about 100AD.  Philip was crucified in Hieropolis, Syria, Nathaniel was killed in India or
Armenia, in this manner, beaten/flayed, and crucified head down. 

And what about Thomas, he died in Edessa, Greece, he was lanced by idolatrous priests & burned up in an oven.  James the half-brother of Jesus was killed in Jerusalem by being thrown down from the Temple tower and he was not dead, so they clubbed him to death with a fullers club.  I hope you are seeing a pattern, all twelve were killed and the apostle Paul was be-headed in Rome and Matthew was axed to death and the others were crucified.  What were their crimes?  They had a personal encounter with Jesus and shared that with all who would listen.  Much of this is based on traditions and or early historians. 

Has this pattern stopped because we have become such an enlightened society?  If you doubt this, you only have to look at the wisdom of our United Nations, with such strong human rights nations as Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Cuba, China, and Libya on the council.  I do hope you see my sarcasm, no we have not stopped in fact many people are dying around the world today because of their relationship with Jesus. Newsweek Cover Story: The War on Christians by Stacy L. Harp published February 6, 2012, this is an excerpt “But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway—an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion.  It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm.” 

Have you given thought to why it has not happen to those of us who live in America, and identify with Jesus Christ?  I sure hope your not putting any faith in the United Nations council on human rights, and if you’ve been watching the leaders of our government, wake up dreamers, it’s coming to your area next.  The question is what will you do when it happens to your neighbor, will you relive history, as the enlightened people of Germany did under Hitler, or will you stand today while you still can?  Always choices!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice