This phrase was spoken by Jesus as part of His prophecy about coming disasters and persecutions, and it is precisely in this context that it should be considered. Moreover, the point is not the patience of any people in any difficult situations, but specifically Christians during persecutions. This does not mean that we should look with Olympian calm at injustices or violence happening next to us; Jesus Himself intervened in such cases, and rather promptly.

But when persecutions are being "unfolded" against us, then He calls us not to be impatient. He grounds this in trust that God holds our life in His hands, and therefore we can refrain from rushing our own reaction and allow Him to act.

Someone said that in a critical situation we have two options: reaction and response. Reaction is what arises immediately; it comes from ourselves, "from the flesh." Response is where we have stopped our first reaction, endured it, and allowed God, who never acts without our permission, to enter into action. It is no accident that in the preceding phrases Jesus says that we should not prepare or train our reaction in advance, but should trust that God Himself will give His answer. When by such patience we stop ourselves, God enters our life, and He accomplishes our salvation.

Christ's mysterious words about the end of the world and His second coming have mattered in every age. People have always been torn between a sense that the end is near and the warning that no one knows the time. But it appears that words one writer once said about death also apply to the end of the world: it is not only in the future; it is already at work in the world.

That is why the Gospel prophecies can be addressed to every person, whatever age he lives in. They contain not only a prediction of the final horrors; they are filled with confidence that Jesus will not abandon this world on the threshold of its ruin: "I will be with you, I will give you a word for bearing witness to the faith... fear nothing; not a hair of your head will fall in vain..." So these are words not only about the world's last days, but also about the final, ultimate faithfulness of Jesus to His disciples.

There is hardly a Christian on earth who has not thought about witness, either his own witness or witness in general. And persecutions for the faith are also familiar to many. It would seem that there is nothing unusual in this: history knows many martyrs for an idea who were persecuted for refusing to renounce their convictions. It can seem that Christians are no exception here: they were persecuted for their religious convictions just like many others. But is this really so?

At first glance, there really are no fundamental differences. Except, however, for one thing: Jesus, as is evident, commanded each faithful person not to think about what he would say when he had to answer before his persecutors. And this can seem truly strange: after all, the matter concerns the most important thing, the confession of one's faith, and here, as it can seem, the Savior calls us to let everything take its own course!

But it turns out that the matter is completely different: Jesus simply calls us in a critical situation to give Him the opportunity to act. He Himself will speak through us, and all that remains for us is not to hinder Him. Not to hinder Him with our fears, our self-confidence, or our self-admiration. And then He will say through us everything that must be said, but that we could never have said without His help.