His evil reign lasted long enough to put his own country into civil war. So as well as brutally killing innocent Christians in numerous gruesome ways he killed his own family and most of his friends. Eventually his enemies closed in on him and Nero took his own life to avoid being killed by his subjects.
There are numerous pieces of material which can be used to support the question “is there any evidence that the gospel was written for non-Jews”. During and after the period of persecution, it seemed like people were beginning to lose faith. Mark created the Gospel or “Good news”, which appeared to be an account of Jesus’ life and miracles. This is believed to have been written for “believers” facing persecution, although there is also evidence that the gospel was in fact written for “non-Jews”. The Jewish people knew their scriptures well, but words such as “Ephptha” – “open up”, “Talitha koum” – “little girl I tell you get up”, “Corban” – “belonging to God” where all translated, Such a translation would have been unnecessary for Jewish readers therefore the readers Mark had in mind when writing, were almost certainly not Jews.
Evidence that the gospel was directed towards people who were suffering appears in Ch13v10 Jesus preaches these words “Before the end comes, the gospel must be preached to all peoples” religious practices such as “Corban and “fasting” were both very important to the Jews. Jesus was shown in the gospel speaking out against these practices. This would have upset the Jews, because they have lived their life by these practices. In Ch15v43 explains that the day of preparation means the day before the Sabbath. Such an explanation would not have been necessary if the readers had a Jewish background.
This explains that the gospel will be for everybody when the end comes. It seems that it is written for non-Jews at the time of persecution mostly because of the evidence given in some of the chapters. In Chapter 7, Jesus is preaching when a gentile woman interrupts him to ask if he could heal her daughter. Jesus gives a bizarre answer that he came to work with the Jews and the Jews have the necessary background to accept him whereas non-Jews didn’t know that faith. She gives the answer that she understands the message of God and she would believe in God and Jesus cured her daughter. This is showing that the message of Jesus is for everyone.
In modern times persecution of Christians in Britain is not common. However, Christians living in other parts of the world often have to endure the “Nero type” experience in order to live out their faith. In such circumstances the words and actions of Jesus remain an invaluable source of support.
An example of a Christian who has recently suffered because of his faith is Oscar Romero a Archbishop from El Salvador had his life ended prematurely and brutally because he spoke out about great injustice carried out on the on the citizens of Latin America. The murder of father, Rutilio Grande who’s only crime was living in poverty alongside helpless peasants. Spurred him an to challenge the government and its unjust treatment of the poor. As a result he was gunned down as he celebrated mass. He will have identified with Jesus who also suffered simply for trying to help the weakest members of society.
An Example which could help those who are facing persecution is “Jesus prays in Gethsemane” Ch14v36-42, this example shows how even when Jesus is in despair he will do what God wants him to. The message given from this is that in the time of great suffering you must stick to your faith at all costs. This is what Rutilio Grande did and his faith brought him death. In a way, modern Christians do have to submit to punishment, people could be made social outcasts and be called names and take physical and verbal abuse off non-Christians just for their religion. This reflects the time when Jesus was summoned to the high priest and he had to submit to questioning and suffering. He did what he knew was right and was resurrected three days after his death Another example of when Jesus was ridiculed was when Jesus healed Jairus’ daughter in Ch5v21-43 The crowd laughed him and ridiculed Jesus for believing that the girl was just sleeping when really she had died, Jesus used his healing powers and resurrected her. The message is that Christians can submit to ridicule in the belief that they are doing what is right. Your faith will carry you thought difficult times.
In the gospel there are many stories of Jesus healing the sick and removing evil spirits. In one example he heals a boy. Before he healed him, his disciples were not certain how to get rid of evil spirits. The father of the boy begs Jesus to heal him but Jesus responds by saying that he can only heal him if the father had faith. The message in this story is that people have to take responsibility for their own faith, and if this involves some suffering then so be it
“Christians today are not prepared to suffer as Jesus did” In many ways, I would agree with this statement. People are just not willing to go through the same suffering and pain as Jesus once did, and I would agree on these grounds alone. Christians in a western society are protected by the law on human rights so it is less likely that they will be harmed regardless of religious belief. Not only are Christians today apathetic in their faith, there is a vast majority of people that are basically soft, and most Christians live a cushy comfortable life made easier by modern technology, so they are less likely to go through suffering because of their faith. Also Christians today don’t have as much faith or belief in Jesus, They sometimes think the Gospel is some kind of fiction book about a man who does magic things like cure the ill with his hands or drive out “evil demons” with a couple of sentences. Though they do accept that he was an important person in his time and continues to lead people through his teachings.
Christians today are not being tortured or executed because of their faith now, mostly because we have passed the dark ages and people are more civil (although in some places of the world behind locked doors there are still Christians being punished for their faith). A further, and probably the most important, reason why people are no longer prepared or be inspired to suffer is that they have not lived with Jesus or seen the effect he would have on the massive number of people to whom he came into physical contact with. Therefore, people today are emotionally detached (or separated) from Jesus and his work and are therefore not willing to suffer as he did. Indeed, Jesus lived 2,000 years ago and we only know about him from evidence written a long time ago. Nowadays, this written evidence often appears distant and detached and it is why some “people today are not prepared to suffer as Jesus did”.
The statement “Christians today are not prepared to suffer as Jesus did” is true in one sense but there are examples of brave Christians facing death and torture across parts of the world. One of the worst of these examples is North Korea, in North Korean camps Christians are tortured and used for biological experiments or as sex slaves too, just because of their Christian faith.
Kevin Takenaka who called his book ‘Modern day hero’. “Heroes of the Christian faith are not a thing of the past. As you read this, somewhere in the world Christians are suffering death because they refuse to abandon their faith. These men and women of faith cast down their own crowns and suffer far greater pain for a vastly greater cause. They glory in tribulation because, in it, the name of Christ from the dead is at work in suffering Christians today, sustaining their souls and preserving their faith”. He records that Over 26 million Christians have been killed between 1900 and 1990. This persecution shows us that Christians are sticking to their faith even if they had to give up their lives for it. David Barrett, the missionary scholar and editor of the oxford world Christian encyclopedia, estimates that 157,000 Christians were put to death for their faith in 1995 alone so it is impossible to dispute the fact that many Christians throughout the world continue to suffer and die for their faith
There are further examples of Christian suffering in Sudan. To eradicate the Christian and non-Muslim population, the Sudanese government and its agents have bombed, burned and looted southern villages, enslaved woman and children, and even sent them to concentration camps named “Peace camps” in which they withheld food aid to starving Christian community’s until they converted into Islam. Not only this but woman and children are transferred to the north and sold into slavery as servants, housekeepers and concubines.
All of this suffering reverts back to the title “Christians today are not prepared to suffer as Jesus did” My personal opinion is that, in my own experience Christians are not prepared to die for their faith but all of this evidence shows that millions of Christians are still willing to suffer for their faith. Although there is evidence in Marks gospel that even some of Jesus’ own disciples would not go through the same suffering he went through as they fled for their lives when Jesus needed those most. There are millions across the world who have shown the same dedication and determination of Jesus to fulfill the will of God even to the point of losing their lives.