Wednesday, February 21 Happy are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake.​—Matt. 5:10.

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Wednesday, February 21

Happy are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake.—Matt. 5:10.

 

Today, in a number of lands, our brothers and sisters are experiencing what the apostles endured in the first century when they were persecuted for preaching about Jesus. Repeatedly, the judges of the Jewish high court “ordered them to stop speaking on the basis of Jesus’ name.” (Acts 4:18-20;5:27, 28, 40) But they knew that a higher authority had ‘ordered them to preach to the people and to give a thorough witness’ about the Christ. (Acts 10:42) So their spokesmen, Peter and John, boldly said that they would obey God rather than those judges and declared that they would not stop speaking about Jesus. (Acts 5:29) After being beaten for keeping their integrity, the apostles went out from the Jewish high court, “rejoicing because they had been counted worthy to be dishonored in behalf of [Jesus’] name,” and they kept right on preaching!—Acts 5:41, 42. w22.10 12-13 ¶2-4