The Spirit strengthens witness in persecution

She’s been attacked so violently she landed in hospital. She’s been stabbed in the face and hand. Her home was broken into. Repeated death threats have forced her to live without a fixed address—sometimes sleeping in a tent, always moving to stay safe. She’s been chased by mobs. One man was sentenced to more than twenty years in prison for plotting to murder her. In one bizarre incident, after being assaulted by a group of men, she was the one arrested and jailed.

And all of this—for no other reason than speaking openly about Jesus Christ.

You might think this happened centuries ago in history, or in Iran, Afghanistan or even Pakistan. But these events took place during the past five years here in the UK, in London. Her name is Hatun Tash

Raised in a devout Islamic household in Turkey, Hatun was taught from an early age that Christianity was false, that Jesus did not die on the cross, and that the Bible could not be trusted. She never met a Christian until she came to the UK to study. One day, she stepped into a church—just out of curiosity—and what she discovered changed her life. Over time, she came to know the triune God and the love of Christ.

Some of you here have personal experiences of persecution for being a Christian. Hatun is often met with hostility. But like the apostle Paul, she presses on—not because it’s safe, but because she knows the truth is worth everything. As she puts it: “What did I lose? Nothing. I gained eternal life.”

How does Hatun’s story make you feel? Surprise at what she’s faced in the UK? That’s understandable. After all, we live in a country known for its religious freedom. Maybe you feel uncomfortable. After all, Hatun’s story does not reflect the typical quiet, private faith of British Christianity.

But her story is more common than you might expect when you look outside the UK. According to multiple sources, so far in 2025, more than a dozen Christians have been killed for their faith each day and over 20 Christian churches or properties are attacked each day. I know some of you are very much aware of the truth of these reports as you receive updates from Pakistan on persecution and attacks on Christians. And while those types of aggressions are less common here in the UK, Christians here face increasing challenges.

We have been spending the last few weeks considering Jesus’ words while he met and ate his final meal with his disciples the night before his arrest. Today, we hear Jesus talk about these types of challenges. He told his earliest followers, “They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.” Did you hear what Jesus said? He warned of a time when harming his followers would be seen by many as doing a good and noble service for the world.

So, don’t be surprised when we hear of these things happening. Jesus promised that they will happen. But there’s another key matter to keep in mind when you consider Hatun’s story.

We often say that, as Lutherans, we’re called to proclaim the Gospel, that we shouldn’t fear and should speak boldly from faith. But when we hear about brave people like Hatun Tash do we feel guilty if we’re not shouting out Jesus’ name in a very public manner? After all, think about what Christ has done for us. The humiliation, the pain, the suffering. All for each and every one of us, for each and every sin we’ve committed and will commit.

Consider what Paul went through to spread the Gospel. Shunned by his Jewish counterparts when he converted to Christianity, beaten, imprisoned and eventually beheaded. Knowing this, do we feel a little ashamed that we’re not out there, on a street corner every weekend loudly and visibly proclaiming the Gospel to the people of Wolverhampton?

But while we thank God for people like the Apostle Paul or a Christian like Hatun who goes to Speaker’s Corner in London and publicly shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God hasn’t told you that you’re somehow letting Him down if you’re not publicly shouting Christ’s name.

“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.”

For most of us it will be the quiet conversations we have with family, neighbours and co-workers that will be the place where the Holy Spirit, the Helper, enables us to bear witness to the truth of Gospel. Peter, who was there with Jesus to hear him say those words that night, later in his first letter explained, “always be prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”

Peter isn’t saying that you must force yourselves on people and be in their faces. He simply says, “Be ready if someone asks you.” But he does imply there are two ways we can fall short.

• By not being prepared
• By not doing it with gentleness and respect.

Said another way, we want to speak the “Truth in Love.” Which one do you struggle with more? Do you struggle with getting the truth out or do you struggle with doing it in a loving way? Perhaps both?

But before we look at how we can speak “Truth in Love”, be assured, as if you needed reminding, that there will be times when you will suffer persecution and humiliation for your faith, sometimes very publicly. You don’t need to be putting yourselves out there for your faith to get you into trouble, persecution will come for you. As Jesus said:

“Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.”

And two days prior to Jesus’ final meal with his disciples, they sat on the side of the Mount of Olives and Jesus told them this, recorded in Mark 13:9-11:

“Be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus warns us we will be delivered by others, sometimes by those who we thought were close to us, to stand trial for Christ before those in authority and we will “bear witness before them”. But if this happens it comes with a promise. Jesus reassures and promises us to “not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit”

And why does he tell us these things? Why does he give us these warnings? Jesus gives us the answer in our reading today: “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.” He gives us these warnings so that we don’t think that we’re being attacked because of something we’ve done wrong, that we’ve failed God. Rather, as Christ tells us earlier in John:

“If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.”

So how can we be prepared “to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” as Peter tells us? Look again at the first verse of the words Jesus said in that upper room: “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father…”

Jesus uses a very special Greek word here to describe the Holy Spirit. He calls him a “paraclete”. Literally, a paraclete is one who has been called in to help. That’s why you’ll see it translated as, “Helper” or “Comforter” or “Advocate”, depending on the Bible version you use. Jesus is saying, “I’m calling in the Holy Spirit to help you, and he will do so with the Spirit of truth” . What does he mean by the “Spirit of truth”, well that’s simply God’s Word.

When we as Christians become complacent about gathering regularly with other Christians to worship and hear God’s Word, we are saying, “I don’t need the Helper.” We can fall into the trap of thinking, “I’m fine. I know what I believe. I don’t need have anything else to learn” and we pass by on Bible study opportunities or the Bible sits dormant on a shelf in our home, we’re saying we don’t need the Helper, the Holy Spirit.

The night that Jesus’ disciples were arrested they all felt this self-confidence, and they failed. For times when we follow their example, we must repent. Thankfully, Jesus hasn’t left us on our own. He kept his promise. Next week, we’ll celebrate Pentecost—the day the Helper arrived, and we’ll talk more who the Holy Spirit is then. On the Day of Pentecost the Spirit came with wind and fire. He opened mouths that had once been silent in fear. He turned hiding disciples into bold preachers. Presented with an opportunity, they bore witness before a multitude.

What happens today is perhaps less spectacular—but no less supernatural. The Spirit still comes. Not with wind and flame—but through Word and water, through bread and wine. Through the witness of the apostles—written down and preserved for us—the Spirit shows us Jesus: Pierced with nails for our transgressions, raised to life for our justification, and now seated at the right hand of God, interceding for us. And just as he did for them, the Spirit strengthens us.

You might not be called to stand in front of a mob. You might never be dragged before a judge. But the Spirit will give you moments. He will place someone in your path. He will open the door for a conversation. And in that moment, you won’t be alone. The same Spirit who helped Peter and Paul, who helps Hatun, who has helped timid Christians for two thousand years—that same Spirit is with you.

Jesus called him the Helper. That means your weakness doesn’t disqualify you. Your fear doesn’t stop him. Your past silence doesn’t make him walk away. He’s been sent to help you—to give you courage, to give you words, to give you love, now and forever. So let the Spirit do what he’s been sent to do.

Open your Bible. Let the Helper God sends you fill your heart with Jesus. Surround yourself with fellow believers to encourage each other. And when the moment comes to speak—with a friend, with a child, with a neighbour—remember what Jesus said: “It is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.”

You are not alone. You are never alone.
The Spirit of truth walks with you—into every hard conversation, every moment of fear, every quiet act of faithfulness.
He is your Helper. Your Comforter. Your Advocate.
And he always draws you closer to Jesus.

Like Paul said: “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
Like Hatun said: “What did I lose? Nothing. I gained eternal life.”

Amen.