Have you ever thought about this question: How much did Jesus accomplish in His ministry without the help of the Holy Spirit? The answer is nothing. The Gospels clearly indicate that Jesus began His ministry in the Holy Spirit, and everything He accomplished in His ministry was then done in the power of the Holy Spirit. Bottom line: if Jesus accomplished everything He did in the power of the Holy Spirit, we certainly will not accomplish anything unless the Holy Spirit helps us. Thankfully, His help is not just available in “easier settings.” Jesus promises His help even in difficult ones.

Perhaps one of the most difficult times to know what to say is when facing persecution or, more narrowly, when being arraigned in a legal or governmental setting. I have sometimes felt pressure when I was standing in the immigration line at a country hostile to Christianity or where freedom of the Christian religion is strictly regulated. What questions will the immigration official ask me? How can I answer truthfully without giving away the core of my reason for coming to this country? In situations like that, Matthew 10:18–20 is a great encouragement: Jesus promises that the Spirit will tell you what to say.

In Matthew 10, Jesus is instructing His disciples prior to sending them out on a teaching and preaching mission. Over sixty percent of His instruction prepares them for persecution they will endure for His name’s sake.¹ This persecution will come from many directions, but some will come from political and religious authorities. His disciples will be handed over to courts. They will be scourged in synagogues. They will be brought before governors and kings (vv. 17–18). Christ assures them, though, that when they are brought before governors and kings, the Spirit of God will give them what they are to say: He will speak through them (v. 20).

Someone might then ask why? Why would God allow His messengers to be brought before authorities and, in too many cases, be imprisoned, chained, tortured, silenced, or even killed? Why would God allow John the Baptist to languish in prison for confronting Herod Antipas about his illegitimate marriage to Herodius (Mark 6:17–18)? Similarly, why would God allow Paul to spend so many valuable years in prison?

The same passage in Matthew that promises the Spirit’s help gives the answer: Christ’s disciples will be brought before authorities as a testimony (v. 18). God allows His messengers to end up in courts and prisons because it propels witness to Christ into realms where the Gospel would not otherwise go. Paul, for example, while imprisoned in Rome, tells the Philippians that his “imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole Praetorian Guard” (Philippians 1:13). Note that word whole. His witness to Christ is flooding the palace! Similarly, think of John the Baptist’s witness.

We run to the end of the story to John’s beheading. But think of John’s witness to the truth when he rebukes Herod Antipas. Herod feared John. His conscience told him that John was right. He evidently listened to John on multiple occasions. John also perplexed him; he was not sure what to do with John (Mark 6:20). Herod is the very essence of a double-minded man until his wife makes up his mind for him (vv. 21–25)! But again, think of the testimony that sounded forth. This is why God allows His witnesses to endure arraignment, imprisonment, torture, etc.

But there is one more example we should consider: Jesus testifying before Pilate. Jesus made a deep impression upon Pilate. It would be hard to believe that Pilate washed his hands out of superstitious fear on too many occasions (Matthew 27:24). Paul will tell Timothy that Jesus witnessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate (1 Timothy 6:13). This is what God wants all His witnesses to do when He puts them in those precarious situations.

Darlene Deibler Rose in her book Evidence Not Seen tells the story of how God used her witness to the commander in her Japanese prison camp. Mr. Yamaji could be vicious. He had beaten at least two men to death and had severely broken the hands of another lady prisoner in the camp. Yet, when Darlene was given the chance to speak with him one on one shortly after the death of her husband, she shared the Gospel with him. Mr. Yamaji, visibly moved by her witness, ran from the room with tears streaming down his face. Years later in 1986, while in Australia, Darlene (and her second husband, Jerry) visited the very survivor, Elsie David, whose hands Mr. Yamaji had broken. Elsie related the remarkable story passed along to her by a friend who learned that Mr. Yamaji was now running a bicycle shop in Japan, had come to Christ, and had even preached the Gospel on the radio to his people in Japan. Darlene believed that her witness to Mr. Yamaji was the first sowing of the Gospel in the heart of this brutal man! The Holy Spirit had given her the words to say on that occasion in his office.

So, if or when you are called upon by God to witness in difficult situations, especially in government settings or before authorities where your freedom, or your neck, might be on the line, remember Matthew 10:18. God is bringing you before governors or kings as a testimony to them. With the Holy Spirit’s help, be a shining witness to Christ!