I, John, am your brother and companion in tribulation, the kingdom, and the patience that are found in Jesus. I was exiled on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
I can even celebrate the sorrows I have experienced on your behalf; for as I join with you in your difficulties, it helps you to discover what lacks in your understanding of the sufferings Jesus Christ experienced for his body, the church.
I have given them your message and that is why the unbelieving world hates them. For their allegiance is no longer to this world because I am not of this world.
So remember what I taught you, that a servant isn’t superior to his master. And since they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. And if they obey my teachings, they will also obey yours.
He prayed, “Abba, my Father, all things are possible for you. Please—remove this cup of suffering! Yet what I want is not important, for I only desire to fulfill your plan for me.”
But Peter was insistent and replied emphatically, “I will absolutely not! Under no circumstances will I ever deny you—even if I have to die with you!” And all the others repeated the same thing.
The student must be satisfied to share his teacher’s fate and the servant his master’s. If they have called the head of the family ‘lord of flies,’ no wonder they malign the members of his family.