“It is a lie. I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him and seized Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan, the secretary, for it had been made a prison.
– Jeremiah 37:14–15
Here’s a picture in Jeremiah 37 of an unjust accusation and arrest. People are saying Jeremiah is deserting to the Chaldeans, to the Babylonians, when it’s not true. That is a lie, and yet people won’t listen to him. They’re accusing him of wrongdoing. They won’t be convinced otherwise, to the point that they beat Jeremiah and imprison Jeremiah, based on a lie.
Jesus Experienced Persecution for Us
Does this sound familiar? This is a picture we see at multiple points in the Bible. Think about Paul in Acts, unjustly accused and arrested. Peter and John, the same in the book of Acts. Ultimately, Jesus. It’s really interesting when I think about Acts 4, when the church is starting to experience persecution and they look back as they’re praying and they remember how Jesus was unjustly accused and arrested, and they realized that this is part of reality in a fallen world, that we should not be surprised by unjust accusations or even punishment in this world.
I think about our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world who know this, who are so familiar with this, who are in prison right now, just like Jeremiah was, because they have been unjustly accused and arrested. We have a responsibility to pray for them. And at the same time in our lives, when we walk with Jesus, when we obey Him, and all the more so when we proclaim Him and his word, just like Jeremiah was, do not be surprised when the adversary attacks you in all kinds of different ways, including through people making unjust accusations against you or trying to hurt you in some way.
Pray for Believers Among the Persecuted Church
This is the testimony of followers of Jesus, worshipers of God, prophets of God, like Jeremiah, throughout history. And we shouldn’t be surprised when it happens today, and we should pray for each other in it. And so let’s pray right now, specifically for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world, but also for our own lives, for boldness to proclaim the gospel, even when that leads to cost in this world for us.
God, we pray for that. We praise you for Jeremiah, for his faithfulness to proclaim your word, even when it cost him. God, we want to live like that. And we pray for brothers and sisters around the world who are living like that right now in places where it’s very hard to proclaim the gospel. God, we pray for our brothers and sisters in North Korea. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Somalia. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan, in Yemen, in Pakistan. God, we pray for their strength. We pray for their boldness, amidst unjust accusations.
Jeremiah 37:14–15 Reminds Us of God’s Work Among the Persecuted
God, I think of stories I know in each of the countries I just mentioned is we have urgent workers in those places who are being imprisoned or being threatened. God, we pray for your help for them, for your strength for them, for your sustenance of them, just like you did for Jeremiah.
Would you uphold them with your righteous right hand, help them to know that they are not alone, that they’re not alone in history. That there’s a great cloud of witnesses who have endured the same. And then ultimately, they’re not alone because you are with them, Lord Jesus, you who were unjustly accused, arrested, tried and crucified on our behalf.
Jeremiah 37:14–15 Leads Us to Praise Jesus for His Endurance
Jesus, we praise you for enduring unjust accusations and persecution, punishment in this world. And we pray for each of our own lives, God, that you would help us to faithfully proclaim your word. Even today, no matter what it costs. For most of us, there’s not a threat of imprisonment.
But it may prove challenging relationally, vocationally, in a variety of different ways. If we proclaim your word, if we proclaim the gospel today. God, help us to be faithful regardless of the cost to proclaim your word. To live for you as our audience of one. In Jesus’ name, we pray according to Jeremiah 37:14–15. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
