Extreme

The suspense was building as what is now called Holy Week progressed in Jerusalem during the final days of the earthly ministry of Jesus.  The Passover was approaching and the perfect sacrificial lamb, the Savior of the world, was about to be brutally beaten and crucified.  The object of hostility and scorn, Jesus was facing the ultimate act of love.  The Bible tells us in Matthew 26 (ESV):
1 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples,
2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,
4 and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.
5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

But, as we can read later in the chapter, Judas accelerated the timetable and Jesus was indeed crucified during the feast, according to God's perfect plan.

While Jesus was the recipient of the ultimate hostility, there is still hostility toward His followers all around the world.  Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs Radio, heard Saturday mornings on Faith Radio, has released a statement, saying, "...as American Christians gather to celebrate the empty tomb this Resurrection Sunday, we must not forget those who are echoing Christ’s 'living sacrifice' by risking their own lives in restricted nations and hostile areas. For these brothers and sisters around the world, Easter is often a season of peril. Holy days on the Christian calendar, including Christmas and Easter, are often times when those who hate the Gospel target our brothers and sisters in violent attacks."   He called for prayer for "the protection and courage of those celebrating in danger and in secret, in underground churches and prison cells. Let’s stand in prayer with persecuted Christians this Easter season."

Even in some circles of the American government, there have been reports of religious persecution.  The Christian Post noted recently a memo from 2023 calling out a group of Catholics and stated the "FBI’s Richmond Field Office faced criticism for circulating a memo putting 'radical traditionalist Catholics' in the same category as racially and ethnically motivated domestic extremists during the Biden administration."   The FBI later withdrew the memo.  

This recent article said:

The Central Intelligence Agency retracted a Biden-era internal document warning about female “racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists" that listed the prioritization of “motherhood and homemaking," raising the concern of a conservative legal group.

The Christian Post noted, "The document, titled 'Women Advancing White Racially and Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists,' outlines concerns about women’s participation in 'white racially and ethnically motivated violent extremism.'”  This was apparently crafted in 2021, and the article says: "While the document primarily focused on groups and individuals explicitly focused on race, it also suggested that support for traditional gender roles may constitute extremism."  It reportedly included a description of one group that "has lauded motherhood and homemaking as women’s most important responsibility.”  There were 19 different intelligence reports that were recently withdrawn by the CIA due to bias.  Director John Radcliffe stated, "The intelligence products we released to the American people today — produced before my tenure as DCIA — fall short of the high standards of impartiality that CIA must uphold and do not reflect the expertise for which our analysts are renowned..."

The America First Legal Center has cried foul, relating that, "Motherhood and homemaking may be added to the list of other everyday behaviors that made everyday Americans ‘radicalization suspects’ under the Biden administration.”

The Daily Signal related cultural trends that were occurring around the time of the report:

This memo came as a growing movement of parents protested at school board meetings, demanding that schools reopen amid the COVID-19 pandemic, that schools relax requirements for children to wear face masks, and that schools cease promoting transgender ideology and racially divisive policies.

On Sept. 29, the National School Boards Association sent a letter to then-President Joe Biden, comparing these concerned parents to domestic terrorists. Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland responded with an Oct. 4 memo to the FBI, U.S. attorneys, and the Justice Department’s criminal division to craft “strategies for addressing threats against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff.” The NSBA later rescinded the letter and apologized amid pushback.

At the time, Christian parents were among those who were decrying what was occurring in schools - and continue to be vocal today when unbiblical ideas that conflict with their faith are discovered in school settings.  While not all of the targeted women would be considered "Christian" or even "Christian-adjacent," it does present a troubling scenario when you find that people that may hold to Christian ideals are being targeted by government agencies - in America.

In the time of Jesus, the progressive religious leaders, who claimed to hold to faith traditions while denying the teachings of Jesus and oppressing those under their authority, who were called hypocrites by our Lord, partnered with political leaders to craft a means to arrest, try, and ultimately kill Jesus.  He suffered and died, certainly, but He did it according to the redemptive plan of God.  His followers still face hostility and persecution today.  But, as the Bible says in 1st Peter chapter 4 (ESV):
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory[a] and of God rests upon you.

We can reflect on humbling ourselves before our Savior, who humbled Himself to death on a cross, so that He might pay the penalty for our sins and be raised to new life.  If we die to ourselves and identify with His sacrifice, we can experience His new life and walk in hope, even when there may be opposition to the practice of our faith.