Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. 13 It will lead to your giving testimony. 14 Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, 15 for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. 16 You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name, 18 but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. 19 By your perseverance you will secure your lives.
After foretelling the destruction of the temple and warning about wars, disasters, and false prophets, Jesus now turns to what his followers will experience. Before the great shaking of nations takes place, the disciples themselves will be seized, persecuted, and brought before religious and civil authorities “because of my name” (v. 12). The phrase “because of my name” means on account of their belonging to him, confessing him, and living by his teaching. Opposition is not random. It arises because Jesus has claimed them as his own.
Yet Jesus immediately adds that this opposition “will lead to your giving testimony” (v. 13). Testimony here means bearing witness, speaking openly about who Jesus is and what God has done through him. Because they are arrested and questioned precisely “because of my name,” the very charges brought against them force the question of who Jesus is into the open, and their defense becomes an opportunity to explain their faith in him. Situations that look like defeat become places where the good news is spoken aloud. The Acts of the Apostles shows this happening many times: arrests and trials become occasions where Peter, Paul, and others proclaim Christ before rulers and crowds. In Luke’s perspective, persecution does not mean that God’s plan has failed. It becomes part of how the message of Jesus reaches further.
Jesus then tells his disciples not to “prepare your defense beforehand” (v. 14). This is not a command against study, reflection, or knowing the faith. Rather, it is a promise that when they stand before authorities because of him, they are not left alone to rely only on human skill. “For I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute” (v. 15). Luke again echoes what appears in Acts, where the apostles, though regarded as “uneducated, ordinary men,” speak with a boldness and clarity that astonishes councils, leaves opponents unable to refute them, and moves many listeners to faith (cf. Acts 4:13; 6:10). The wisdom comes from the risen Lord, acting through the Holy Spirit, so that their words carry a strength no purely human argument can match.
The cost of belonging to Jesus can reach into the most intimate relationships. “You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death” (v. 16). In the early Church, some believers did experience betrayal from family members who could not accept their faith in Christ. The same has happened in different times and places throughout history, and in some regions it still happens today. Jesus does not hide this possibility. He speaks plainly so that his disciples understand that following him may bring division even within families.
He goes further: “You will be hated by all because of my name” (v. 17). “All” here does not mean every single person, but the surrounding society taken as a whole. When a culture or community no longer lives by God’s ways, those who remain faithful to Christ can be misunderstood, rejected, or treated as a threat. Once again, the cause of this hatred is “because of my name.” The disciples are not called to provoke hostility, but to remain faithful even when their loyalty to Jesus is no longer welcomed.
Then Jesus gives a promise that at first sounds difficult to reconcile with what he has just said: “but not a hair on your head will be destroyed” (v. 18). He has just spoken of imprisonment, betrayal, and even death. Yet he also says that, in a deeper sense, his followers are completely secure. The key is to see that Jesus is speaking about the ultimate safety of their lives before God. Human enemies can harm the body and even take earthly life, but they cannot destroy the life God gives in Christ. Luke has already recorded Jesus saying that the one to fear is not the power that kills the body but the One who has authority over both body and soul (Lk. 12:4-5). Here, Jesus assures his disciples that nothing done against them “because of my name” can separate them from the love of God and the life that truly matters.
This is why he concludes: “By your perseverance you will secure your lives” (v. 19). Perseverance is steady endurance in faith, holding to Christ over time, especially when remaining faithful is difficult. It does not mean never stumbling or never being weak; the Gospels show that those who fall, like Peter, can be restored when they turn back to Jesus. But it does mean that the life Jesus promises is not automatic or separate from our response: it is received and kept by continuing to trust him rather than finally turning away.
To “secure your lives” means more than avoiding physical danger. It refers to the deeper, truer life that God promises—life that continues beyond death and is fulfilled in the resurrection. Luke’s Gospel has already shown this paradox: “whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Lk. 9:24). The one who clings to this present life at any cost risks losing the life that endures. The one who remains faithful to Jesus, even under pressure, finds that God guards his or her life in a way no earthly power can touch.
Christ promises that in the very moments when disciples are most tested, he will be present, giving wisdom for witness and strength to persevere, so that their true lives are held secure in God’s hands.
Lord Jesus, you know every trial your followers face. Strengthen all who suffer or are misunderstood because of your name. Give them your wisdom when they must speak, your peace when they are afraid, and the grace to persevere so that their lives may be safe in your Father’s hands, now and forever. Amen.
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Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- Bernard Orchard et al., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: Luke (Four Courts/Scepter).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990).
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