Paul prepared in Acts 25 to stand before two powerful rulers of his time. 500 yrs ago Martin Luther stood alone before the Holy Roman Emperor. Would you be ready and able if called upon in your time and place?
Every Christian is meant to be a wise, mature reader of the Word AND of the World. We should be like the sons of Issachar, who "understood the times."
Jesus did not look like a threat to take the throne in Jerusalem, on a donkey, basically homeless, and peasants with palms all around. But he was set to achieve a vastly greater overthrow and victory than anyone there realized.
In his last days on earth, Jesus was determined to go into the belly of the beast: Jerusalem. He told his disciples their going "was to fulfill" what had been written long before. It was all coming to pass.
Jesus had to overcome the usual temptations of a man, including fear, in order to fulfill the ultimate and sacrificial purpose of his life on earth. It is a lesson…