What other biblical figures faced persecution for delivering God's message? Jeremiah in the cistern: the pattern begins “Then the officials said to the king, ‘Let this man be put to death…’ ” (Jeremiah 38:4). Jeremiah’s faithfulness brought him ridicule, imprisonment, and an earthen pit. He is not alone. Old-Testament messengers who paid a price • Moses – Israelite foremen confronted him after Pharaoh increased their workload (Exodus 5:20-23). • Elijah – Jezebel swore to kill him the day after fire fell on Carmel (1 Kings 19:1-2). • Micaiah son of Imlah – struck and jailed for predicting Ahab’s defeat (1 Kings 22:26-27). • Uriah son of Shemaiah – fled to Egypt but was extradited and executed for prophesying like Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:20-23). • Isaiah – tradition holds he was sawn in two; Hebrews 11:37 alludes to unnamed prophets killed this way. • Zechariah son of Jehoiada – stoned in the temple court for rebuking Judah (2 Chronicles 24:20-21). • Daniel – thrown to lions for praying openly (Daniel 6:16-17). • Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – cast into the furnace for refusing idolatry (Daniel 3:20-21). New-Testament heralds who suffered • John the Baptist – imprisoned and beheaded for condemning Herod’s immorality (Mark 6:17-29). • Jesus – crowd sought to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4:28-30); ultimately crucified (Matthew 27:22-26). • Stephen – stoned after exposing Israel’s stubbornness (Acts 7:54-60). • Peter and John – flogged for preaching Christ yet “rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer” (Acts 5:40-41). • Paul – stoned in Lystra, beaten with rods, imprisoned, yet kept preaching (Acts 14:19; 2 Timothy 3:11). • Early church – “Others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment” (Hebrews 11:36-38). Shared threads across the centuries • The message stayed unchanged; opposition could not silence it. • Persecution often came from the very people the messenger loved and served. • God vindicated His servants—sometimes by miraculous rescue (Daniel 6:22), sometimes by eternal reward (Revelation 6:9-11). • Their experiences foreshadowed Christ, “the author and perfecter of our faith,” who endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). |
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