Jesus has just finished describing the destruction of the Temple in his prophecy of the days to come. The final verse of the previous reading is “there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.” So everything previous to these readings is establishing what will occur before and in the climax of 70A.D when the Romans destroy the City of the Jerusalem and the Second Temple and will culminate in signs from heaven.
12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.
Beginning in verse 12, Jesus says “but before all this” referring to his prophecy focused on the City and the Temple, this makes it clear that before 70 A.D the following events will occur. Turning his attention to his disciples he describes a “they” who will lay hands on them, oppressing them. These same people with bring them to the synagogues and put them in prison. They will also be brought before foreign and secular authorities like monarchs and governors because of Jesus’ name. Up until this point Jesus’ prophecies have extended beyond the time the scriptures were written but now the prophecies he gives detailing the lives of the Apostles before 70A.D are all included in the New Testament itself.
Acts 4:3 “And they arrested them and put them in custody until the morrow, for it was already evening.”
Acts 5:18 “hey arrested the apostles and put them in the common prison.”
Acts 5:40 “So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.”
Acts 22:19 “And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in thee.”
Acts 24:1-5 “And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul; and when he was called, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your provision, most excellent Felix, reforms are introduced on behalf of this nation, in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, an agitator among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes”
13 This will be a time for you to bear testimony.
Jesus now says that these exact moments in the trials they are going to face are the moments when they will be able to bear witness to the Gospel in the most fruitful way. This is true based on what is mentioned in the Book of Acts
Acts 4:8-12 “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple, by what means this man has been healed, 10 be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well.”
Acts 7:1-2 “And the high priest said, “Is this so?” 2 And Stephen said: “Brethren and fathers, hear me.”
Acts 24:10-21 “And when the governor had motioned to him to speak, Paul replied: “Realizing that for many years you have been judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. As you may ascertain, it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem; and they did not find me disputing with any one or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues, or in the city. Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law or written in the prophets, having a hope in God which these themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men. Now after some years I came to bring to my nation alms and offerings. As I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia— they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, if they have anything against me. Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, except this one thing which I cried out while standing among them, ‘With respect to the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you this day.’ ”“
14 Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer;
15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.
Here Jesus commands his disciples to not plan out what they are going to say or to meditate on it before they give an answer. The holy spirit will give them a voice and wisdom which nobody that opposes them will be able to refute. Once again this is all true by what occurs to the apostles in the previous examples given, in each case the spirit grants them the ability to say what is needed. This should be understood as a command only to the disciples, this is not a promise that in all cases this will happen, Jesus is specifically telling his disciples what they must do when they suffer their trials before 70 A.D.
16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death;
17 you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.
Jesus now goes on to tell the disciples that through whom they will be reproached. It will be by close family members like parents, siblings and cousins. Even their social circles will be responsible for delivering them to the authorities who will persecute them. Jesus also says that “some of you they will put to death” this is true and some disciples will even suffer martyrdom within the writings scripture like Saint James. All of this suffering even at the hands of those closest to the disciples will be because of Jesus’ name. They will be hated.
18 But not a hair of your head will perish.
The previous verse helps establish this verse as hyperbole, not a hair on their head will perish but he just said some will die, most commentators typically say this is proof of Jesus being hyperbolic and this is likely but there is a chance that Jesus could be referring to their glorified bodies in the resurrection which of course will not suffer any damage whatsoever and that will be their reward for going through all these trials and sufferings so although their bodies will be harmed in this life, they are only temporary tents, when their nature is changed and glorified it would be like they never suffered at all.
19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
It is this final verse of the reading that makes it most clear to me that Jesus is referring to the resurrection and is being literal, not hyperbolic about his statement on not a hair of their head perishing. If we accept the glorified body and life in heaven as to being a fullness of our lives then it is a gain of life. So by the endurance of the apostles they will gain their (full) lives. Otherwise it would not make much sense to be hyperbolic then purely contradictory.
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