The negative side of God's impartiality is also seen in what he allows. In a world under the curse of sin, all are made to realize this fact in one way or another. We have already explained what we mean by this. This was an unnatural trial artificially imposed upon him. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
Persecution certainly is an unnatural trial artificially and externally imposed upon a person.
The Lord said that his followers could expect this to happen to them. The book of Acts verifies that it did happen, as well as the rest of the New Testament. The epistle of I Peter says much about the trials and sufferings of the early Christians as consoling words are written to them. This is all great reading. Besides the trials involving temptation to sin, perhaps he has trials in reference to persecution in mind too.