PERSECUTION. In the Eng. trs. of the Bible, the word persecution usually is employed to give the meaning of the Heb. רָדַף, H8103, and the Gr. διώκω, G1503. Both these words signify pursuit. The term, however, is somewhat ambiguous, since its use usually depends upon the particular point of view. The persecutors usually think of themselves as the preservers of truth and order, or as the initiators of reforms, whereas those persecuted see them as oppressors. The NT view of persecution is that the persecutors of Christians were the Jews and Romans who wished to preserve the status quo. This concept was then applied to the OT, where those faithful to the Covenant (the prophets, the faithful remnant) were persecuted by the unbelieving majority of Israel.
I. Persecution in the OT. Persecution began in the OT with the murder of Abel (Gen 4:5-8) and the enslavement of Joseph (37:23). Persecution as a social phenomenon, however, appeared only after Israel became a nation in Egypt. There the Israelites suffered persecution (Exod 1:10ff.) owing to the Egyptians’ fear of their growing numbers. Once in Pal. repeated defections from the worship of Yahweh occurred, and when prophets came from God to warn against such apostasy, they were attacked both by the rulers and by the people as a whole. Elijah, Jeremiah, and others received similar treatment for their clear demands that Israel should repent and return to God. They, in turn, demanded that those who were leading Israel astray should be persecuted and destroyed for their false teachings (1 Kings 19:1-18).
II. Persecution in the NT
1. NT view of OT persecution. The references in the NT to persecution in the OT illuminate much that is said in the NT concerning the relation of the Christian to the world, and particularly to Israel. Jesus spoke of OT persecution as though it were a constant element in Israel’s history. He pointed out that the prophets were persecuted because of their hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matt 5:12) and that Israel’s history had been a continuing story of attacks upon God’s witnesses, from Abel until the death of the prophet Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary (Luke 11:51). Stephen in his defense before the Sanhedrin virtually insured his own martyrdom by attacking the Jews as the descendants of those who had killed the prophets (Acts 7:52), a view already expressed by Christ (Luke 11:47f.). The writer to the Hebrews and John both see the OT persecutions as deriving from the same source—the unrighteousness of the world (Heb 11:38; 1 John 3:12). On this OT basis, the writers of the NT instructed Christian believers that persecution was a natural consequence of their witness.
2. Warnings of Jesus. Along with the examples of the OT, Christ directly warned His disciples of impending persecution. Throughout His ministry He stressed the price Christians would have to pay for following Him. He warned that opposition would come as the result of their preaching the Gospel (Matt 5:11, 44; Luke 11:49; 21:12; Mark 4:17) even as attacks would come upon Him (John 15:20). At the same time, He told His disciples not to resist, but to escape if they could (Matt 10:23). They should realize that in all their tribulations they would ultimately conquer through Him (John 16:33). The theme of persecution entered the essence of Jesus’ teaching.
3. Christ’s trial and death. Christ’s trial and death was a prototype of all subsequent persecution. For His teaching the Jews persecuted Him, ultimately laying charges against Him before the Sanhedrin and the Rom. governor. A number of writers have pointed out that much of the action taken in His trial was illegal according to both Jewish and Roman law. This also characterized much of the Early Church’s experience of persecution. The other interesting parallel to what the Church later suffered was the pattern of the legal action. Christ was first brought to trial before the Jewish authorities on the charge of blasphemy, for He had claimed to be the Son of God (John 10:24ff.). Although condemned for His assertion, they could not kill Him, because the final authority rested in the hands of the Rom. governor. Therefore, they brought Him before Pilate, but changed the charge to one of subversion and Maiestas, or treason (John 19:12f.). On this latter indictment He finally suffered crucifixion. The process, persecution first under the Jews and then under the Romans, was repeated for the next eighty or ninety years.
4. The church in Jerusalem. Although the disciples after Christ’s crucifixion hid themselves behind locked doors because of the Jews, with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost they received boldness to go out and preach. The result was persecution (John 20:19; Acts 4ff.). The first incident recorded is that of the arrest and trial of Peter and John for preaching, after they healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple (Acts 3 and 4). This was followed by the attack upon Stephen, culminating in his martyrdom (Acts 6 and 7). Shortly after this, Herod executed James and imprisoned Peter (Acts 12). Up to this point, persecution had been largely spasmodic and limited to Jerusalem and its immediate environs.
5. The Apostle Paul. With the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the situation changed radically. Saul, a Pharisee trained under Gamaliel, had been a leader in the attacks on the Christians (Acts 9:1-9; Phil 3:6), but after his conversion on the road to Damascus he became the leading missionary of the movement carrying the Gospel to Asia Minor and Greece. In his efforts to win people to Christ he often fell afoul of the religious authorities of the Jewish Diaspora and of the Rom. civic officials with the result that he was beaten, imprisoned, and even may have fought with wild animals at Ephesus (1 Cor 15:32; 2 Cor 11:23ff.). Finally, arrested in a tumult raised by the Jews in Jerusalem, he appealed to Rome for justice and was sent there in chains. Eventually he was executed, according to tradition, in the persecution of the Christians that took place at the close of Nero’s reign (a.d. 66).
III. Persecution under the Roman empire
1. Early sporadic persecution. NT persecution as a whole began with the Jews’ attacks upon the Church, but before long they sought the assistance of Gentiles, esp. the Rom. authorities. On occasion they succeeded in raising riots against the Christians by inciting Gentile opposition, as happened in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra on Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13 and 14). At first the Rom. officials seemed uncertain as to how they should act, for they were not consistent, some assisting in the persecution and others protecting the Christians (Acts 16:22ff.; 17). Before long, however, the Rom. authorities began to adopt a more hostile attitude toward the spreading Christian Church. Thus in the later writings of the NT, the threat of attack by the government is in the background, esp. of 2 Peter and the Apocalypse.
As the Church advanced beyond the borders of Judaism, Jewish antipathy to the Christians tended to decline in intensity. With the Christian expansion, however, the Church increasingly came into direct conflict with the civil authorities, esp. in Rome itself. For some centuries the Rom. authorities had followed the policy of recognizing as “official religions” those of considerable numbers of the population, and to these they added new cults as people of different faiths moved into the city. Whereas Rom. citizens might find that joining one of the new religious groups, such as the worshipers of Isis, would bring them into disfavor with the government, generally the latter’s policy was that of toleration for all religions that were neither immoral nor subversive. Christianity, however, with its exclusivist attitude and its refusal to accept the developing emperor worship inevitably had a confrontation with the imperial authorities. This came during the reign of Nero (a.d. 54-68).
2. The Neronian persecution. According to the Rom. historian Tacitus, the first Rom. persecution took place when Nero sought to divert public suspicion from himself as the originator of the fire that burned a large part of Rome in a.d. 64. He accused the Christians of being the incendiaries, charging them with “hatred of mankind,” and had them put to death with horrible tortures, usually in imitation of some classical myths. Although no other early historians seem to make this connection between the fire and the persecution, most modern historians have followed Tacitus. However, as Canfield pointed out in 1913, the persecution took place in 66-67, two years after the fire. Although there is little information concerning the church in Rome at this time, it would appear to have been largely Gentile in membership, but relatively small. There is no indication as to how many suffered or that the persecution extended beyond the imperial city.
The legal grounds for the persecution of the church are obscure. Judaism had been tolerated from the days of Julius Caesar, and until a.d. 70 when Jerusalem had fallen to the Rom. armies, the Jews paid their Temple tax to Jerusalem as well as to Rome. Considered a sect of Judaism, Christians had at first been tolerated; but when the differences between Judaism and Christianity became more obvious to the Romans, toleration became somewhat less certain. Furthermore, the Christians in their vigorous proselytizing among non-Jewish citizens tended to come into conflict with the Rom. ethos. They disrupted families, refused to serve in the army, and generally formed a divisive element in society. On these grounds the local magistrates had the “right” to institute persecution, particularly if popular opinion demanded such action. This would seem to have been the legal basis for Nero’s action and for other persecutions.
3. Persecution under the Flavian emperors. During the next thirty years, the government followed Nero’s policy toward Christians. There was no general law against them, but the magistrates could take action as they saw fit, or as the populace might demand. This accounts for the spasmodic and localized character of persecutions under the Flavians, if persecutions did indeed take place. It has usually been held that the Emperor Domitian (81-96) authorized a widespread persecution that involved even some of the Rom. nobles. Canfield points out, however, that the evidence for this is very weak. Although Domitila, a Rom. lady of noble lineage, and the Apostle John were banished for their Christian beliefs, it would seem that persecution was not very extensive.
4. Persecution under Trajan. Under Trajan (98-117) the situation of the Christians changed. Around a.d. 112, Pliny the Younger was sent as governor to Bithynia to deal with some political and financial matters. While fulfilling his office, he encountered the problems caused by the spread of Christianity. Apparently the butchers who sold meat for pagan sacrifices had difficulties because people were forsaking the temples; therefore, a number of people were reported to him as Christians. For those who obstinately refused to give up their beliefs he ordered execution, but those who recanted he imprisoned until he could be sure of what he should do. Possibly he had doubts about the justice of executing even the “obstinate” Christians. To set his mind at rest he wrote to the emperor requesting instructions concerning the treatment of these people.
Trajan’s rescript on the subject of the Christians is of great importance in the history of persecution. He instructed Pliny that those who confessed themselves Christians and refused to give up their beliefs were to be executed. On the other hand, those who recanted could be released. He also added that Pliny should neither hunt for Christians nor receive anonymous accusations. Such was the first clear statement of imperial policy. Two things to be noted are that Trajan took a middle ground between complete toleration and complete persecution, and that although he gave an answer concerning a local problem, his views undoubtedly would be followed in the other imperial provinces. Trajan’s rescript remained the basis for action against the Church until the middle of the following cent.
In summary, there were not many persecutions by the Rom. authorities down to the time of Trajan, nor apparently did many Christians suffer in those that took place. Generally sporadic and localized, they may have occurred largely as the result of popular outcry and perhaps mob action. There is no evidence for ten separate persecutions, as some have postulated.
IV. Reasons for persecution. Persecution of Christians by the Jews can be traced primarily to the Jewish unwillingness to accept the Christian teaching that Jesus Christ was their long-expected Messiah. They also resented the Christians’ claim that their Church and its teaching was the fulfillment of Judaism, while at the same time Christianity seemed to be undermining their whole Judaistic system. To the Romans, on the other hand, although Christianity might cause little religious trouble to the government, it was subversive of the mythical imperial unity. It was disruptive both socially and politically; therefore, it must be stamped out. These are the views usually set forth by historians as the cause of the antagonism and hatred of the Christians.
Basically, the Christian message is of itself offensive to man. The demand for faith and commitment to Christ as Savior and Lord has always prompted hatred by those who will not believe. This interpretation often is omitted. Persecution was not a problem just for the NT church, but remains a problem for Christians in every age.
Bibliography H. B. Workman, Persecution in the Early Church (n.d.); E. G. Hardy, Christianity and the Roman Government (1894); L. H. Canfield, The Early Persecutions of the Christians (1913); A. Harnack, “Persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire,” SHERK, VIII; K. S. Latourette, A History of Christianity (1953); M. C. Tenney, “Persecution,” BDT.